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Doula Services

I'd be honored to be part of your baby's birth

I provide evidence-based research, resources, and anecdotal experience so that expecting parents know and trust their pregnancy, their labor, and their baby. I will never speak for my clients but, rather, offer unbiased and experienced knowledge along the way so that my clients can choose the right providers and advocate for themselves while I provide endless physical and emotional support.

fern fern

more about my doula work

  • explore birth settings with you, and support your decision for a home, birth center, or hospital birth;
  • prepare you and your partner for childbirth by discussing your hopes and concerns with you; educate you on emotions, physiology and potential interventions of labor and delivery; provide childbirth books and videos; and orient you to birthing techniques and classes;
  • help to plan or host a Mothers Blessing ceremony, as an alternative to or in addition to a Baby Shower;
  • remain a calm source of comfort and an objective source of knowledge prior to and throughout your birth, explain clinical language and care as needed;
  • guide your partner in his/her labor role of dance partner, human pillow, massage therapist, cheerleader, and touchstone;
  • help maintain relaxation, rhythms, and rituals to cope with the intensity of labor, as well as assist with visualization, central nervous system pain management techniques, breathing, movement, and positioning;
  • provide heat or cold when desired, pressure or light touch as is helpful, food and oils as seen fit, and soft words or firm guidance as needed to ease the intensity of contractions;
  • remain with you through thick and thin during your labor and delivery, and then in the first 1-2 hours after childbirth to make you comfortable and/or help with breastfeeding;
  • visit you at home in your first couple weeks post-partum to assist in the transition to parenthood.
I'd be honored to be part of your baby's birth

once you’ve reached out

  • We'll plan a time to meet in person or virtually, to discuss any prior births, your pregnancy, and your upcoming birth. I'll answer your questions about the doula's role and my experience. Then we''ll decide if we're a good match.
  • Once I'm hired, we'll schedule one or two pre-natal visits to get more into the nitty gritty: stages of labor, comfort techniques, potential interventions, breast or bottle feeding, and your post-partum plans for rest, food, and TLC.
  • Next, we wait. I'll be "on-call" from 38-42 weeks, and 100% available to address questions that inevitably arise as your mind, body, and soul shift into parent mode.
SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT
fern fern

frequently asked questions

  • How is a doula different from a midwife?

    Well, for one thing, doulas have nothing to do with orifices. (I know, it's an icky word.) A doula's support is non-clinical, meaning there is a great deal of touch and care, but never internally or diagnostically. Midwives provide health care (as an alternative to OB/GYNs), and birth doulas provide complementary heart and head care for birthing person and partner. A midwife's time with a laboring person centers around baby's safe arrival, and a doula will be with you prior to and throughout the birth, providing holistic comfort measures. I love being a doula and also happen to think midwives are fierce and inspiring.

  • Will my doula give me the stink-eye if I want an epidural?

    Not this one. A doula should understand your birth vision and help you achieve it when you're in labor, without a separate agenda and with zero judgment. This is your body and your baby, and a doula should meet you where you're at. That said, I hope to provide ample evidence for the immense physical and emotional benefits of birthing without interventions, and empower you to trust your body's spectacular and natural ability to do so.

  • Will birthing person's partner feel second fiddle to the been-there-done-that doula?

    The best doula is successful when the new parents come away feeling amazed by one another instead of amazed by the doula. By coaching the birth partner in pain management, comfort techniques, and emotional fortitude, the doula allows him or her to shine. Similarly, by giving the birthing person the tools to be present and strong and focused, a doula bolsters birthing person's most radiant and powerful self - a stunning force to behold.

  • What are some research-y reasons to hire a birth doula?

    You may hire one for any of the following evidence based reasons. Birthing people who receive continuous support are:

    • more likely to have vaginal births (versus C-sections);
    • less likely to have any pain medication, epidurals, vacuum or forceps-assisted births;
    • have labors shorter by about 40 minutes. (We could be talking about eleven less active labor contractions here, people.)
  • What's your birth doula fee?

    $1900 includes 1-2 visits prenatally (in addition to the free initial in-person interview), phone calls & e-mails galore, labor & delivery support beginning to end (plus 1-2 hours after birth), and 1-2 post-partum visits. ​Couples who opt for my complete 8-9 hour birth education package pay an additional $300 (totaling $2200).*

    Half the fee is due by our first meeting, and the second half is due by 6-weeks post-partum. The additional $300 is due at the first meeting for clients doing the entire birth education package.

    *Occasionally I partner with another doula for births. Please add $200 for this arrangement.

    Flexible payments plans and sliding scale fees are available
    I believe anyone who wants doula support deserves it! Please ask.

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