Doula Support

What is a doula?

A birth doula provides emotional, physical, and informational support during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. A doula is a non-clinical role and is not the same as a midwife or nurse.

Doulas do not diagnose or treat medical issues. Instead, a doula supports you and your entire team throughout all types of births and in all birth settings.

With over eleven years of supporting families during pregnancy and birth, I bring extensive knowledge, experience, and compassion to each and every birth.

In an effort to help maintain everyone's health at this time, I am offering some options when it comes to doula support. Based on your needs and desires, my services are available for only virtual support or for virtual support and then in-person birth support given the right circumstances.

If you're curious about having a birth doula, let's meet for a {virtual} cup of tea and a complimentary interview to explore how a doula might fit in with your birth goals.

Virtual doula support

Virtual support is centered around education, planning, preparing your birth support partner, and honing your inner resiliency.

Virtual doula support includes:

a complimentary virtual interview to explore your options and get acquainted
one or two virtual prenatal meetings to become more familiar with one another, answer your questions, go over your birth wishes, and practice comfort techniques
continued ongoing support via phone calls, emails, or texts during your pregnancy and postpartum to ensure that you're feeling prepared
access to my Lending Library of recommended books and educational materials
access to my extensive list of vetted and trusted community services and healthcare providers (like lactation consultants, massage therapists, or yoga instructors)
availability via phone and text support during labor as you feel you need it
a virtual postpartum meeting together to ensure you're off to a good start on your parenting journey

Virtual doula support is priced at $450.

In-person birth doula support

In-person support for your birth may be available depending upon where you are planning to deliver and when. In-person doula support would include all of the above virtual support plus:

an on-call period with consistent availability from 38 weeks until you give birth (and I always have a back-up doula just in case!)
compassionate practical, emotional, and physical support for you and your birth team throughout labor and birth
my undivided attention throughout your labor and birth and the first few hours postpartum without restrictions on our time together or no added costs if you have a long labor

In-person doula support is priced at $800.

Benefits of doula support

High-quality studies show there are many benefits of laboring with the continuous presence of someone who is not employed by a hospital. These benefits include:

increased chance of having a vaginal birth
decreased use of pain medications during labor including an epidural
decreased chance of needing instruments to assist in birth (like vacuum or forceps)
a decrease in the average length of labor
increased scoring for newborn wellbeing
a decrease in the rates of postpartum depression
happier, more fulfilling memories of the birth experience

If you're looking for something like doula support while birthing in a hospital, but with the added benefits and expertise of having a midwife, check out Wisdom Within's monitrice services.

My passion is helping families have empowering, confident birth experiences - let's prepare for yours!

Reference: Dekker, R. (2019). Evidence on: Doulas. Retrieved from https://evidencebasedbirth.com/the-evidence-for-doulas/

Let's Chat