If a Doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use it.
( Dr. John H. Kennel)
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THE BIRTH DOULA
Doula is a greek word referring to an experienced woman who helps other women. The word has now come to mean a woman experienced in childbirth who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after the birth.
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The day of her child’s birth is a day a woman will remember in minute detail for the rest of her life. Having a Doula at her side will help her make this memory the best it can be.
The Birth Doula complements the birth team by bringing emotional, physical and practical support to the labor and delivery. The comfort measures and support the Doula offers allow the birthing woman to labor more effectively and help her experience her birth as empowering rather than traumatizing.
"[W]e need to accept the premise that labor is a time of unique sensitivity to environmental factors, and the events and interactions during labor may have far-reaching psychological consequences. Given the fact that very few human experiences approach in intensity the levels of stress, anxiety, pain, exertion, and emotional tumult which occur during labor, this is not surprising.” (Hofmeyr et al., 1991)
HAVING A DOULA:
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decreases the risk of interventions like episiotomies, cesareans, forceps or vacuum deliveries.
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decreases the need for pain-relieving drugs which can lead to further interventions, and affect the mother’s recovery as well as the newborn's ability to breastfeed.
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increases the chance for the woman to feel empowered by the birth of her child. Studies have shown that women who were supported by a Doula viewed their bodies as strong and capable.
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shortens labor on average by one-and-a-half hours
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helps a birthing woman feel safe and well cared for which can – as studies have shown - affect the mother’s ability to parent her newborn and/or her willingness to breastfeed her child.
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relieves the partner of the sole responsibility in his/her role as labor support. This allows the partner to participate more fully in the birth.
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“(…) helps the reality of labor and birth to exceed the laboring mother’s expectation” (Mayer Eisenstein)
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Services
I am committed to working with the mother-to-be to ensure that her birth experience will be loving, positive and empowering.
As your Doula I will support you during your pregnancy, labor and in the postpartum period, in whatever choices you make. I will draw on my knowledge and experience to provide emotional support, physical comfort, and communicate with the medical staff to make sure you have the information you need to make informed decisions during labor. I can provide reassurance and perspective to you, make suggestions to help labor progress, and help with relaxation, massage, positioning, and other techniques for comfort.
The presence of a Doula lifts the sole responsibility of the labor off the shoulders of your partner, allowing him to enjoy the whole birth process. I can help your partner to feel calm and informed, giving him ideas to support you. I am there to provide support to both of you at all times.
Prenatal
- I believe that an important prerequisite for a positive birth experience is knowledge. During our prenatal visits I will provide you with information on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period (childbirth preparation).
- I will provide birth plan information and consultation
- I will answer questions and make suggestions over the phone or by email any time before labor begins.
- I will be on call for you 24/7 beginning two weeks before until two weeks after your estimated due date.
Labor and Birth
- I will provide early labor support as requested, including in your home.
- I will remain with you once active labor has begun until one to two hours after your baby is born.
- I may utilize non-medical support techniques for labor and birth.
- I will strive to maintain a calm and peaceful birth environment.
- I will maintain a birth log as circumstances allow. This will then be given to you within 2 weeks of the birth of your baby.
Postpartum
- I will assist in providing information and supplying emotional support by telephone and/or email on postpartum care, breastfeeding, and newborn care after the birth, as requested.
- I will help to initiate the breastfeeding process, if that is what you choose to do.
- Within the first 5 days after the birth of your baby I will visit you at home or in the hospital. I will answer any questions or give you a referral to the appropriate professional that can meet your needs.
- I also offer one additional follow-up visit to discuss the birth with you if desired.
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"What makes being born so frightful is the intensity, the boundless scope and variety of the experience, its suffocating richness. People say - and believe- that a newborn baby feels nothing. He feels everything. Everything, utterly without choice of filter or discrimination."
(Frederick Leboyer)
