Experience

Although I have only been a doula since January 09 I have attended 29 births to date as a doula.  Besides the personal experience of birthing my daughters I also have professional experience with:

• Hospital birth
• Birth center birth
• Home birth
• Water birth
• Successful VBAC
• Hypnosis for pain relief (both HypnoBabies and HypnoBirthing)
• Premature birth
• Baby born in the caul (with the bag of waters still intact)
• True knot in the cord
• Using positions to turn malpositioned babies
• Induction for medical reasons
• Cesarean
• Instrumental deliveries (both vacuum and forceps)
• OBs and Midwives
• Medicated and unmedicated births
• Sibling Support
• Pain relief for back labor

What I do

Fee:  $550-650

I have attended over 65 births as of July 2011 and my rates reflect my experience.  If you have any monetary concerns I’d be happy to chat with you about any flexibly in cost.

First you will meet with me so we can get to know each other and you can get a sense of whether or not our personalities would be a good fit.  If you decide we’d be a good match, we will meet several times before the birth to discuss birthing information, fears, and expectations.  With planning, I can go to a few prenatal appointments or a hospital/birth center orientation if you like.  I will also meet with you once after the birth to recap and see how everyone is adjusting to life with a new baby.  I am available for phone and email support as well.  Here are some of the things I can provide around, during, and after birth:

• Let you know your options so you can make informed decisions
• Help you create a personal birth plan if it makes you feel better to have something on paper
• Help you talk to your care provider about issues important to you
• Provide hands-on support during labor
• Help you to relax to eliminate the fear-tension-pain cycle
• Suggest different positions during labor to aid in the turning of the baby, comfort of the mom, and pushing
• Help you to create a positive, calm, birthing environment where you feel safe
• Support the partners too!   I show them labor support techniques so they can actively participate in the birth, as well as taking the pressure off them to know how to do everything perfectly.  It’s their birth too!  I want dads to experience the joy from the birth of their child to it’s fullest by being your “birth slave”.
• Help you with initial breastfeeding if you desire
• Provide you with a detailed account of your birth story (believe me, amnesia sets in after labor!) at your postpartum visit
• Bring you one meal after birth, because who wants to cook when you’re “baby mooning”?
• Provide you (and anyone) with unlimited FREE breastfeeding help as long as you want it (I am an accredited La Leche League Leader, *see below)

***Any ideas or inferences about childbirth found on this site may or may not reflect that of La Leche League International. Their policy only states that “Alert, active participation by the mother in childbirth is a help in getting breastfeeding off to a good start.”  Since they are solely a breastfeeding organization they do not take a stand on matters of childbirth.