DOULA SERVICES

A doula is an experienced and trained labor companion who stays with a laboring woman throughout her entire labor and birth experience, providing emotional, physical, and informational support. Your birth experience will be a lifelong memory, and using a doula can help ensure that the birth of your child will be a memory filled with satisfaction.

A doula recognizes birth as a key life experience, and understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor. She supplements rather than replaces the woman's partner and care-provider. She helps make a woman's birth experience a positive event with rich rewards and feelings of accomplishment.

We do not charge anything for initial consultations. We strongly believe it is important that you choose the doula that will work best for you and your individual needs and shouldn't feel pressured to pay a preliminary fee. That said, we are confident that you will find that we are just what you are looking for in a doula.

Our initial meeting is mostly for you to get to know us. Subsequent visits are intended for us to get to know you - to discuss your hopes for your birth and your labor preferences, to learn what comfort measures you'd like us to try and to practice them, and to address any concerns or fears you have regarding your birth. We will meet with you monthly until you reach 34 weeks, and bi-weekly after that until you call us to join you for the birth of your child.

We offer doula services including the following for $125 -

Monthly (and then bi-weekly) pre-natal meetings
Unlimited pre-natal phone support from the time you hire us until birth
Labor support
A postpartum visit 24-48 hours after the birth.
Unlimited phone support for 2 weeks postpartum

DOULAS DO:

* Provide physical,
emotional, and
informational support
to women and their
partners during labor
and birth.

* Offer comfort
measures such as
breathing, relaxation,
movement, touch,
and positioning.

* Assist families in
gathering information
about the course of
their labor and their
options.

* Guide the
mother/couple
through informed
decision-making with
birth information and
resources.

* Guide fathers to
participate with
confidence at their
own comfort level.

* Recognize birth as a
key life experience.

DOULAS DON'T:

* Perform clinical
tasks.

* Project her own
values and goals
onto the laboring
woman.

* Diagnose medical
conditions, offer
second opinions,
or give medical
advice.

* Make decisions
for the family.