What is Birth Doula?

Birth is the one experience that will stay with you more powerfully than any other experience of your life -more than your first car, your graduation, your marriage, your first house, your vacation... Birth is often the most defining experience in a woman’s life (and a father’s life). When a woman feels as though she has succeeded with birth she feels as though she can accomplish anything!

As your Birth Doula my goal is to help you keep that experience a positive one to be fondly remembered as one of your greatest lifetime achievements.

A Birth Doula is a woman who accompanies you in your journey of Childbirth, supporting, informing and encouraging you to have the safest, least painful and most fulfilling birth experience that you are capable and willing to have. A Birth Doula helps you protect yourself from unwanted and unnecessary interventions to your healthy and happy birth experience, by informing you every step of the way. She is with you in your home as you labor, in the hospital as you birth and postpartum to assist you in your breastfeeding experience. Visits start prenatally to ensure your increased preparedness for what is to come, and raise the likelihood of you enjoying your dream birth experience.

Offering Specialized Prenatal and Birth Support for Natural Childbirth

Each Birth Doula has her unique talents and niche in what she offers the families she serves. I specifically specialize in supporting clients who have Natural Childbirth as their goal, in the home, hospital, or wherever birth takes place.

I am here to support you in finding your answers. I consider myself to be very honest and thorough in all respects. I believe that each family’s birth should be unique and I am there to help keep the birth space sacred and in line with the desires of the birthing family.

Why Hire a Birth Doula?

*Research from The Journal of the American Medical Association has shown that the presence of female labor support includes the following obstetrical outcomes:

Cesarean Sections: Down 50%

Length of Labor: Down 25%

Oxytocin Use: Down 40%

Forceps: Down 30%

Epidurals: Down 60%

 

*Research from the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (May 1999) reports that the continuous presence of female labor support has the following obstetrical outcomes:

Duration of Labor: 1.64 hours less

Need for any analgesia: 36% less

Need for oxytocin : 71% less

Need for use of Forceps: 57% less

Need for Cesarean Section: 51% less

*Women supported by a doula during labor have been shown to have:

50% reduction of cesarean rate
25% shorter labor
60% reduction in epidural requests
30% reduction in analgesia use
40% reduction in forceps delivery

From Mothering the Mother: How a Doula Can Help You Have a Shorter, Easier and Healthier Birth by Marshall H. Klaus (Perseus Press, 1993)

*There are a lot of a good golf courses in Monterey County...

*Penny Simkin, renowned childbirth educator, speaker and author of Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn, has said the following about professional female labor support:

    "Doulas are the most positive innovation I've seen. And that's because they fit in anywhere: at home, at the hospital, at birth centers. Doulas appeal to many women and their partners -- the idea of having someone there just for them, who has no other obligations, no shift changes -- even fathers who want to play the primary support role are relieved to know there's going to be someone there reminding them and helping out and giving them a break if necessary and offering perspective. The doula is the most significant change that's taking place on in the direction of woman-centered childbirth."

Birth Doula Services

1. •Free Initial Interview with no obligations
   

2. •Prenatal visits
   

3. •Use of the childbearing library of books and DVD’s as available
   

4. •Prenatal, Labor and Postpartum 24/7 phone support
   

5. •24/7 On call Birth Doula
   

6. •Join you once you are in labor
   

7. •In-home labor observation and support
   

8. •Accompany you to the hospital, provide full labor support
   

9. •Accompany you while at the hospital throughout your labor until 1-2 hours postpartum
   

10. •Photography of your labor, birth, and happy family postpartum!
    

11. •Postpartum visits w/expert IBCLC Breastfeeding assistance
    

12. •Option to lend a Breast-pump if necessary or Baby Carrier as available
    

13. •Back-up Doula provided
    

14. •Insurance billing assistance
    

Initial Interview:

The initial interview will be free of charge. In this time we can meet and discuss any questions or concerns you may have. This gives you a chance to clarify your specific preferences and birth plan and explore the ways in which I can help you meet your goals.

Some fun Homework for you to do before your interview:

1. 1)In deciding to hire a doula, it’s a good idea to ask other women who have given birth in a hospital what they think. Ask women who have had doulas whether they would have a birth doula again.
   

2. 2) Ask women who have not had doulas whether they would have one next time.
   

3. 3) Bring any relevant past labor records or current prenatal information so we can discuss your personal needs from me as your Birth Doula
   

Finding an OBGYN is open to supporting your dream birth                                   The most non-interventionist, natural and respectful OBGYN’s I know of actively encourage their clients to hire a Doula because they sincerely care about their client’s birth experience being a natural and satisfying, low intervention birth, which Doulas greatly increase the chances of. Beware of any Doctor who is opposed to or belittles the idea of you hiring a doula for your birth, regardless of your “risk level”. Select a doctor who supports your individual needs and wishes for a happy and healthy birth.

If you wish, I will gladly provide you with recommendations for you of local OBGYN’s who have built up a good reputation for being respectful of the normalcy of Childbirth and their clients wishes.

It is ideal to have all members of your birth team on the same page (of your birth plan!). As a client of mine, I am happy to accompany you to one of your Prenatal Appointments with your physician so that we as a birth team (you, your partner, your baby, your OBGYN, your doula)can together clarify your goals and wishes for your birth experience.

Is it really worth the money?

The presence of a Birth Doula who has been trained as a Midwife and Lactation Consultant will likely significantly reduce the medical interventions needed during pregnancy, labor, birth and breastfeeding. Because I will be actively supporting you, educating you, helping you with positioning, massaging or helping your partner to massage and encouraging you, your chances of having a Cesarean section, an extremely costly medical procedure, (even after what insurance pays) are reduced significantly (see statistics above). Many costly interventions are avoided by hiring an experienced Birth Doula, thus hiring a doula undoubtedly will save you money, among other things.

The presence of female labor support will help you feel empowered by your birth experience, a feeling you will carry with you into parenting. Most women who have utilized the services of a doula report that their birth experience was tremendously enhanced, therefore making it an incredibly valuable investment.

Please call or schedule a free consultation with me to find out the current fee schedule. At no additional charge, I provide assistance with insurance billing for doula support. Because I strongly believe that every woman deserves labor support, for qualifying families, I am  willing to work out an individualized payment plan. In this case my fees are not reduced but the payments can be broken into smaller payments.

Commitment to Non-Toxic, Organic Supplies

I have a commitment to myself and my clients to use the least toxic supplies during appointments, consultations and other interactions with clients. I avoid PVC Vinyl, BPA, Plastic(when possible) and other materials known, evidenced or strongly suspected to be toxic whenever possible. I try to use Silicon (eg. feeding tubes, milk storage containers), PVC-free, BPA-free, Non-toxic, organic/holistic materials and supplies in my interactions  with clients whenever possible because I understand that the unborn, the newly born, and childbearing women are especially sensitive to their needs for a pure, toxin-free environment, in all aspects.