What is a doula? What do they do? Why do you need one?
What is a doula?
Think of a doula as your travel guide and advocate while you navigate the territories of the perinatal experience! The word "doula" comes from ancient Greek, meaning "a woman who serves." Today, "doula" refers to a professional trained to provide emotional, physical and informational support to women throughout their pregnancy, birth and the early postpartum period. You’ll see me use the terms “birth worker” and “doula” interchangeably. Birth workers encompass all people who are trained to aid birthing people such as midwives, L&D nurses, doctors, doulas, etc. Despite doulas being historically female, there are male doulas and men in birth work have been a norm in many cultures.
What do doulas do?
Doulas are present during and after your pregnancy. There are many different types of doulas and specializations within the work that they do. Some doulas specialize only in labor and birth (labor/birth doulas). Some specialize in the postpartum period (postpartum doulas). There are doulas who specialize in food to nourish pregnant/postpartum people (often referred to as “foodie doulas”). There are also doulas who work in all of the above full-spectrum doulas— thats me)!
Pregnancy/Birth/Delivery
My favorite aspect of being a doula is the advocacy work. Many birthing people (especially people in marginalized communities, POC, and LGBTQ+ community members) do not have the same birthing advantages and access to care that people of privilege do (i.e: people in higher socioeconomic classes like white people, cisgendered heterosexual people, and people born into wealth). Did you know that in the United States, Black and Indigenous women are disproportionally affected by maternal death?
“These disparities are devastating for families and communities and we must work to eliminate them,” said Emily Petersen, M.D., medical officer at CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health and lead author of the report. goal is to bridge this gap in care and resources. “There is an urgent need to identify and evaluate the complex factors contributing to these disparities and to design interventions that will reduce preventable pregnancy-related deaths.” (You can read more about this here and here. ) If you want to read about how black birthing people were affected during the COVID-19 pandemic, here is a great resource.
My goal with my doula services is to help bridge this gap in care. I will advocate on behalf of my clients to help them receive the best possible outcome of their birth experience. If you contact me very early in a pregnancy (which I love) I help you locate health care options that are aligned with your birth goals. I help narrow down providers in the area to help take a little bit of stress off of your plate in the early days. I will also be available to you by phone or text with any questions you may have or that arise during your pregnancy or before/after appointments. I will provide you with as many tools and resources that I can to help you achieve a healthy birth with as little trauma as possible.
Having a “birth plan” is one tool doulas use to achieve this. Having a birth plan is like having notes before a big exam. Completing one during pregnancy helps you feel more prepared for your birth. A solid birth plan will encompass things such as: desired pain relief (if any), desired type of birth (vaginal/cesearean/VBAC). Did you know that having a doula significantly lowers your chance of needing a cesarean birth? But be assured, if that is what is needed, I will support you! Other things detailed in your brith plan are topics like: who you want in the room during labor/delivery, where you would like to birth (at home, a birthing center, or hospital), who you would like to deliver your baby (a midwife or OBGYN), and it will also have valuable reminders of tools to use during your labor process such as the B.R.A.I.N decision making tool (Benefits, Risks, Alternatives, Intuition, Nothing). Another tool that doulas often aid with is helping the birthing person with different physical positions during labor that promote a smoother and quicker labor process with less need for medical intervention. Spinning Babies is a great resource to explain this and shows different helpful positions for progressing labor. During your pregnancy, I will meet with you 1-3 times (depending on how far along you are when you contact me) to help you and your partner practice these positions as well as getting familiar with physical tools (such as rebozo scarves and yoga balls) that can also be helpful and used during labor regardless of where you choose to birth.
Postpartum
The postpartum period is the hardest time of the perinatal experience for many parents. Even if you have a seemingly “perfect birth” experience, postpartum can hit you like a train. The physical changes are intense as the birthing person’s body begins to heal. Navigating the new family dynamic can be challenging as well (whether this is your first child or fifth). Establishing breastfeeding often doesn’t come as naturally as we’d hoped or thought it would. Then of course, you have this beautiful baby with you who needs unconditional love and support that at times can seem endless. A doula can help you through all of these challenges and make make the postpartum period a little less stressful and chaotic. Ways that I serve my clients postpartum vary depending on each family’s unique needs. I may come for one once you are home from the hospital to bring you a homemade meal, homemade skin care products for the birthing person, and to check-in on how you are feeling and how breastfeeding is going ( I want to make it clear that I support all feeding choices. I will support you if you choose to breastfeed, formula feed, or a combo of the two). Some families need more ongoing support (especially families with limited familial help in the area). For those families I might come a few times a week to help out with household chores like dishes, wiping counters, and sweeping. I might walk the family dog or drop off/pick up an older sibling so you don’t have to take your fresh little baby and recovering body out of the house during the first week or two. I can pick up groceries if you send me a list. Basically, all I want to do is make this time easier on your family so you can focus on resting, recovering, and bonding time.
My Services
A detailed list of my services and rates can be found here!