How does this work?
I am SO excited to meet you and learn about you and what you hope for in your birth experience. We start this process with a simple chat on the phone, which can be followed with a free consultation, so that I can get to know you, and you can get to know me!
We’ll talk about your pregnancy thus far, whether you have any special circumstances, where you want to deliver, etc.
If we decide that we are a good fit for each other, we will have a prenatal visit to go over your birth plan and some activities you can do to prepare for birth. I will also be available by phone/text or email throughout the rest of your pregnancy to answer any questions you may have.
Once you are in active labor, I will join you at your place of birth. I will stay with you through the rest of your labor and delivery, while providing emotional and physical support to you. It is also a goal to draw your birth partner, and anybody else attending your birth, into the experience in whatever capacity you all would like. Birth is a beautiful time for growing families!
I will stay with you for the first hour or so after birth to help with skin to skin contact between you and your baby, and to help with that first breastfeeding session.
We will then meet one more time postpartum to go over your birth and to see how everything is going.
I’m delivering in less than a month! Is it too late?
Nope! Unless I already have another client due at the same time or another prior commitment, I can almost always make time for another mother!
Can you speak to your experience?
I have completed a DONA International approved birth Doula training, and am actively pursuing my certification through them. I have also taken a breastfeeding education and a childbirth education class, in addition to completing an advanced Doula training – Supporting VBAC Families.
I am still somewhat new to the Doula world, but have been blessed to attend several births. One was a home birth, and the others were in hospital settings. I have attended births at Shawnee Mission Medical Center, St. Luke’s on the Plaza, and Research Medical Center.
I have supported first time moms and 4th time moms; moms who birthed without medication or intervention, and moms who opted for an epidural. I have attended inductions and labors that started spontaneously. Every birth was unique and every mom, and her particular needs and desires, was unique. In addition to that, I have also had four of my own children, each birth with it’s own unique challenges and experiences.
Why should we hire you?
Women who have had Doula’s attend their birth:
- Were more likely to give birth ‘spontaneously’ (without vacuum or forceps)
- Were less likely to have a caesarean section
- Were less likely to use pain medications,
- Were more likely to be satisfied,
- Had slightly shorter labors.
- Were more likely to have babies with a higher 5-minute Apgar score
See the Cochran Review for more information.
My husband plans to be with me at the birth. Won’t you just be taking away his role?
Absolutely not! Your birth partner – your husband, mom, sister, whoever – plays a vital role on your birth team. My job is not to take their place, but rather (among other things) to help them in their place. Some birth partners are very comfortable in that role and some need a bit more encouragement. I will help your husband (or other birth partner) be as involved as you and he would like him to be, through advice leading up to the birth, gentle encouragement during labor, and suggestions for ways to assist you as you give birth to your baby. I can take over physical support of you when he is getting tired (i.e. being your support in a physically demanding position like a deep squat), allow him to take a breather outside without having you be left alone, grab some refreshments for him (and you) while he is supporting you, be a liaison to waiting family members so he doesn’t have to leave you, help explain to him what is going on throughout labor, and be additional support to you when you need somebody to hold your hand AND somebody to rub that painful ache in your back.
I don’t want the doctors to do anything that I don’t have on my birth plan, and I heard that a Doula will stand up and fight for me and my birth plan while I’m in labor. Is that what you do?
Not exactly. It is not my job to make medical decisions for you or to get in between you and your care providers. Any decisions made concerning your care need to happen between you and your providers. What I can do is help to facilitate discussion about medical procedures. For example, if the medical staff just suggested a procedure, and you aren’t sure what all it entails, I can help you come up with questions to ask of them when they come back in the room to help clarify what is going on.
Also, if your care providers seem interested in doing something that is not on your birth plan, (i.e. breaking your water) I can help call that birth plan to mind by asking you a simple question like, “Do you have any questions about this procedure?” Again, you will be the one communicating with the medical providers about your care. I will just help facilitate the discussion.
While having a birth plan is very important, and helping the medical staff know what type of birth you would like to have is a very important thing, there are times when it may become medically necessary to deviate from the plan. When those times happen, it is my job to help you navigate those changes while still feeling like you have control over, and a say over, what is going on. While it is not my job to stand in between you and the medical staff or to get in the way of your relationship with your care providers, I most certainly can help you and your care providers stay on the same page throughout your labor.
How do I get started?
Give me a call at (913) 228-2260, or fill out my contact form.
