Prenatal & Labor Support
What does a birthing doula do?
A birth doula provides emotional, physical, and spiritual support for the birthing person (and their partner, if present) before, during, and after birth. Through prenatal appointments, a doula provides resources and helps you prepare for your upcoming birth. During your labor and birth, your doula will be an important member of your support team. As your doula, I will draw on my professional training and experience to provide you with support and help make sure you have the information you need to make informed decisions as they arise in labor. I can provide reassurance and perspective in labor for you and for your partner (if present), make suggestions for labor progress, and help with relaxation, soothing touch, positioning, and other techniques for comfort.
It is not my place to just the decisions of my clients - prenatally, during birth, and in the postpartum period. It is my place to provide evidence and information while supporting your choices throughout. As your doula, I work for you. Not the hospital or your care provider. I am here to support you (and your partner, if present) during this very special time. My goal is to assist you in creating the most enjoyable experience you can have while also listening, supporting, and empowering you along the way. I will be here to ensure you have your needs met.
Upon contract signing, clients are entitled to two prenatal appointments (approximately one to one and one-half hours each). Ideally, clients schedule the first appointment anywhere from 32-34 weeks gestation and then the second appointment two/three weeks after the first. These meetings help us to establish rapport and get to know each other better. Ultimately, these prenatal meetings are for us to talk about your individualized personal preferences for this labor and postpartum period. We will also discuss your priorities, fears, concerns and how we will work together for the best overall outcome. I will ask about coping mechanisms for pain, triggers (social/emotional and sensory-related), fatigue and how it affects you, and how you (and partner, if present) plan to work together during labor and in the postpartum period
During your active birthing phase as your doula, I provide clients with continuous support in the following ways:
Facilitation and execution of birth-vision, including but not limited to comfort measures, movement, positioning, aromatherapy, soft/calming music and lights, special prayers/scriptures (to be discussed during prenatal visits), or anything else that feels supportive to the client (per the client’s intake form or as noted from our prenatal meetings) or as requested during labor
Working with and supporting your partner (if present) to establish and maintain a peaceful, positive, and empowering environment the client
Working with the staff and care providers to establish professional and genuine rapport so as to ensure that the client can receive the information needed to make informed decisions about overall care and delivery.
Can a doula help with Cesarean Births? (C-Section/Belly Births)
Doula support with planned or unplanned cesareans is just as valuable as having a Doula for vaginal labor and delivery. Doulas offer clients emotional and informational support, navigating the hospital/birthing center procedures and policies, helping the client make a birth plan, advocating for a gentle cesarean, assisting with body feeding, etc. If the doctor(s) performing the Cesarean allows me in the operating room, and the client would like me present, I will support the client before and/or during the procedure, as the client prefers. I will support the client in the OR or wait until I can join the client in recovery if permitted by the hospital/birthing center. It is the client’s responsibility to communicate support needs/wants to the staff (as generally, only one support person can be present in the OR).
Should labor convert to an unplanned cesarean/belly birth, I will offer support as the client prefers (see above) and remain present until the client is in recovery. If the birthing person and baby/babies are separated at all after the birth, I offer support to the birthing person and provide continuity of care. This allows the partner to stay with the baby/babies. This also ensures that the birthing parent is not left alone, a very important but often forgotten factor. The presence of a Doula at a cesarean birth can provide comfort, ease fears and smooth the process of birth.
I remain with my clients for about one to two hours after the birth, until my client is comfortable and the client’s family is ready for their time together. I can also help the birthing person with initial body feeding if needed/desired. I am available to answer questions about the birth of your baby/babies. All clients are entitled to one postpartum visit a few days after delivery, lasting up to one hour. This visit focuses mostly on the client (we will of course chat about the baby and feeding progress), while going over how everyone is adjusting at home and reviewing the birth/experience at the hospital/birthing center.