Each woman’s pregnancy and birth are unique, but every woman or couple needs support and information during this special time.   In our culture, many women are not exposed to the information that was once common knowledge when it comes to labor and birth.  To help fill the gap, many women today use the services of a professional doula.

Doulas support women and their partners during pregnancy, labor, birth and the immediate postpartum.  By assisting the mother and her partner to educate themselves about their options during pregnancy then providing continuous, non-medical labor support, a doula can help make your labor and birth experience more satisfying.   As a team, we work together to meet with you at the first prenatal visit in order to discuss your preferred birth location, care provider, the progress of normal labor and the risks/benefits/alternatives of interventions. One of us meets with you for the second prenatal visit to discuss postpartum care, breastfeeding and infant care.  When you are in labor, the doula on call will attend your birth, including laboring with you at home if you choose.  During labor, we provide verbal encouragement and reassurance, assistance with relaxation, help with understanding of options during labor, and suggestions for supporting normal labor and birth.  After birth, we help with initiation of breastfeeding and bonding then assist the new family in settling into their post-birth space.  The same doula who attends your birth would provide 1-2 postpartum visits as well, to cover breastfeeding issues, postpartum concerns and discuss your birth.  As a doula, we support all women:  mothers wanting medicated and unmedicated births, mothers having home and hospital births, and mothers with traditional and non-traditional families.  We recognize and honor birth as a physical, emotional and spiritual process.  We support the mother's desires for her labor and birth, and do not let our personal preferences influence the type of support we offer.

Birth doula service includes...

• Prenatal visits to form a relationship with the mother and her partner, where we will discuss preferences for the birth, share information about various aspects of labor and birth, formulate a birth plan, and discuss strategies for managing labor

• Telephone support throughout pregnancy to answer questions or provide support

• Remaining on-call for several weeks at the end of pregnancy, to be available to join the mother and her partner when desired during labor

• Continuous support throughout labor, birth and immediate postpartum.  We provide assistance with relaxation, aromatherapy, suggestions for supporting a normal labor and birth, help with understanding of options during labor, verbal reassurance and encouragement, and assistance with initiation of breastfeeding and bonding

• Support for the husband or partner during labor, birth and postpartum

• One to two postpartum visits to discuss the birth, provide any information desired about infant care, facilitate breastfeeding, and provide referrals for additional support as needed

But we don’t…

• Take the place of the husband or partner during labor and birth

• Provide medical care or advice

• Speak for the mother

• Allow our personal preferences for birth to supersede the preferences of the mother

The fee for birth doula services is $600.  We believe that this fee is fair, given the number of hours we typically spend with each client.  However, we also believe that every woman deserves continuous labor support.  Please contact us if you believe that a discounted fee would be appropriate in your circumstances.