Questions about doulas:
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What is a doula?
A doula is a non-medical birth professional who gives physical and emotional support and provides information to expectant parents in late pregnancy, throughout labor and delivery, and during the early postpartum period.
How can a doula help me have a better birth?A doula is someone who comes alongside you to support you in preparing for and having the wonderful birth you want. Part guide, part friend, part expert, a doula is a versatile individual who identifies what you most need at any moment of your labor and works to meet that need.
Doulas soften the experience of birth for mothers. We close doors, turn off lights, and create the private, cozy space laboring women need. |
As doulas, we help facilitate communication between you and your partner, your family and your care provider. Good communication helps everyone be on the same page so we can work together towards the same goals. Help with communication can be especially important when you are laboring naturally through difficult contractions.
We offer physical comfort measures--techniques like counterpressure, the double hip squeeze, heat on your back, cool cloths on your forehead. Many time, use of these skills is the difference between a mother coping well during contractions, and a mom who feels like she can't handle it anymore. Doulas stay in tune with your needs and can often offer relief options you didn't know would help.
Doulas are often the person at your birth who will make you do the beneficial things you don't instinctively want to do in labor to help the baby come more quickly and easily. (Walk! Squat! Get up and use the bathroom!)
We help you mentally and emotionally change plans when necessary. Every birth will contain at least one unexpected hurdle. Most women experience multiple unexpected challenges during their birth. Doulas help you move forward and re-evaluate, "What are my options now?"
A doula is often the one labor support person who is both experienced in birth and able to be with you throughout the entire labor and delivery process. Having that kind of support and information at your fingertips can be priceless.
We offer physical comfort measures--techniques like counterpressure, the double hip squeeze, heat on your back, cool cloths on your forehead. Many time, use of these skills is the difference between a mother coping well during contractions, and a mom who feels like she can't handle it anymore. Doulas stay in tune with your needs and can often offer relief options you didn't know would help.
Doulas are often the person at your birth who will make you do the beneficial things you don't instinctively want to do in labor to help the baby come more quickly and easily. (Walk! Squat! Get up and use the bathroom!)
We help you mentally and emotionally change plans when necessary. Every birth will contain at least one unexpected hurdle. Most women experience multiple unexpected challenges during their birth. Doulas help you move forward and re-evaluate, "What are my options now?"
A doula is often the one labor support person who is both experienced in birth and able to be with you throughout the entire labor and delivery process. Having that kind of support and information at your fingertips can be priceless.
I'm planning an epidural. How can a doula help me?
Whether you birth with or without an epidural, you will still be giving birth. An epidural may reduce pain, but cannot eliminate all the potential challenges of labor. Relying on the epidural as your only labor support is a poor substitute for the focused care of a doula. A doula is there if your epidural doesn’t work well, if you experience side effects, if you need emotional support through the birth process, if you need help communicating with your care provider, if your partner needs to take a break, if you need someone to help you relax, if you need someone to help protect your privacy, if you need help pushing, if you need help initiating breastfeeding, and a myriad of other actions that can make your birth go smoother.
Does a doula replace the dad in the delivery room?
Many expectant parents are concerned that a doula might take dad's place at the birth of their baby. After all, this is a special day for dad as much as it is for mom, for although mom will be the one pushing the baby into the world, dad is welcoming his child as well. Parents worry that a doula will swoop in, taking over all the comfort measures, and slowly but surely elbowing dad aside. In reality, the presence of a doula almost always enhances dad's role at the birth. She gives dad gentle instructions when he isn't sure what to try. She offers him information when the burden of decision making falls on him. She makes it possible for dad to take a guilt-free bathroom or snack break, knowing he is not leaving mom to labor alone. And yes, when labor gets dicey and dad find himself overwhelmed by the intensity of the moment, the doula is there to step in and help them both get through the moment.
A doula fills in the gaps. We never interrupt what dad and mom are doing as long as it is working. We carefully observe the dynamics of the relationship and then fill in gaps as needed.
What a doula does at a birth is also greatly impacted by dad's birth personality. Some dads really want to be involved in the process. They want to be the one wiping mom's forehead with a cool washcloth, applying counterpressure, and giving foot massages. Doulas are there to hand these dads the washcloths or lotion, or spell them when their arms are about to give out. Other dads just want to be there. What these dads really want is the freedom to be present for the birth of their baby without the pressure of being mom's sole support. For these dads, a doula can remove a lot of stress, allowing them to actively participate as much, or as little, as they feel comfortable doing.
I think the emotions dads experience at birth are an often neglected aspect of the process. Somehow everyone gets so focused on mom (as I told my husband while pregnant with Daniel, "I'm the one having the baby here!") that it's easy to forget that a father is born every time a child comes into this world. As a doula, I want to make sure moms and dads can look back on their babies' birth with joy.
A doula fills in the gaps. We never interrupt what dad and mom are doing as long as it is working. We carefully observe the dynamics of the relationship and then fill in gaps as needed.
What a doula does at a birth is also greatly impacted by dad's birth personality. Some dads really want to be involved in the process. They want to be the one wiping mom's forehead with a cool washcloth, applying counterpressure, and giving foot massages. Doulas are there to hand these dads the washcloths or lotion, or spell them when their arms are about to give out. Other dads just want to be there. What these dads really want is the freedom to be present for the birth of their baby without the pressure of being mom's sole support. For these dads, a doula can remove a lot of stress, allowing them to actively participate as much, or as little, as they feel comfortable doing.
I think the emotions dads experience at birth are an often neglected aspect of the process. Somehow everyone gets so focused on mom (as I told my husband while pregnant with Daniel, "I'm the one having the baby here!") that it's easy to forget that a father is born every time a child comes into this world. As a doula, I want to make sure moms and dads can look back on their babies' birth with joy.
I really want a VBAC. Can you help me achieve this goal?
Absolutely. I am VBAC mom myself, so I’ve been there! I know what it’s like to want a VBAC but feel like it’s an impossible goal. It is possible to successfully VBAC! I’ve done it twice, and I know that having an excellent support system can make the difference. I like to spend time with VBAC moms helping them work through and process their previous birth as well as prepare for their upcoming trial of labor and hopefully vaginal delivery. I also help moms who want a VBAC figure out if their doctor is truly VBAC supportive and whether they will have the best possible chance at vaginal birth with their current care provider.
What if you can't make it to my delivery?
First of all, my goal is always to be personally present at your delivery. I limit the number of clients I take in a single month to reduce the chance of multiple clients going into labor at the same time. However, because there is always the possibility of multiple moms in labor as well as unexpected sickness, I have an awesome back-up doula on call who will step in to provide doula care for you if I can’t be there.
Will you keep the details of my pregnancy and birth private?
I treat my clients’ information with the strictest confidentiality. I do not share your personal information with others, and I do not post any of your information online unless I have your explicit permission and consent.
