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Respectful Guidance
As a professional I inform my clients on different aspects of pregnancy, labor, delivery, and early postpartum so they may make informed decisions in regard to their labor and birth. I will inform, but I will not push particular decisions. I will guide, but I will not direct the experience. I may advocate, but I will not speak for the birthing woman under my care. I may influence the process, but I will not force outcomes. A specific birth outcome is never the intent of my doula guidance or care. I respectfully provide guidance and honor the decisions made by the women who place their trust in me.
Philosophy
Labor support should be as individual as the woman who seeks it. Each woman’s needs and desires are as varied as her family history, life experience, and ideal expectations.
Doula care, like birth, cannot be scripted. It should be organic in nature; free to flow with the ever changing needs and desires of the birthing woman. An experienced doula is able to respond to the unique needs of each woman and each birth through the use of her intuition, her concrete knowledge of the birth process, and her ability to identify the birthing woman’s physiological and emotional needs, both spoken and silent. This is what I offer.
As a doula I validate, motivate, educate, initiate and celebrate each woman throughout the prenatal, labor & birth, and early postpartum periods. Through an understanding of what the expectant mother's needs and desires are, intertwined with the knowledge and experience I bring, my doula care nurtures the woman's pregnancy, birth, and early bonding; the most sacred of life's memories for mother, (partner), and child.
I nurture trust in the woman's body and the unfolding of the birth process, harmony between (and with) the mother and baby, flexibility in decision making, and honesty with ourselves and between all persons involved.
My commitment is to provide highly personalized and individualized care to the mother (and her partner, if present) based on the needs and desires expressed to me prior to the labor and birth, as well as those which spontaneously occur during the birth and postpartum periods. (please scroll down)
Benefits
The presence of a doula has been shown to reduce: - Length of labor - Need for pain medication - Occurrence of cesarean section and other interventions
The presence of a doula has also been shown to increase: - Positive birth experiences - Mother/infant bonding - Breastfeeding success rates - Marital satisfaction after childbirth (please scroll down)
The Women I Serve
I serve a population of diverse women. Understanding the customs, cultural practices, and individual beliefs surrounding birth is crucial to providing the best and most individualized quality of care. Personal choices based on religious, philosophical, cultural, life-style, and medical influences are always honored and respected.
Home birth, birthing centers, hospital births, natural, pain assisted (through medication), labor assisted (such as induction), cesarean, vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC), are all equal candidates for the individualized care I provide. While I genuinely support a woman's natural ability to birth unassisted by intervention (in uncomplicated pregnancy and labor), my support for those who choose otherwise is not judgmental. It is not my philosophy to decide for my clients what is best for them or their babies, only to respectfully offer guidance and support for their decisions.
Birthing in awareness requires the mother to enter into birth with knowledge. Having an empowered birth lies in her ability to claim her choices and experience as her own. (please scroll down)
The Partner’s Role
A doula does not replace the invaluable support of a partner during labor and birth. As part of the support team a doula strives to assist the couple in having a positive birth experience as they define it. One of the most valuable things I can do is respect the level of involvement the birthing couple desires from me. What I offer is the chance for your partner to experience birth alongside you as your loving and supportive partner, relieving them from the expectation of providing sole support.
For the partner who wishes to simply experience the birth without expectations of active involvement, I become the primary source of support and encouragement for the mother throughout the labor and birth. I will reassure and support both mother and partner, offering full and complete care to the couple as needed.
For the partner who seeks guidance in their role of participating more actively, I encourage and lead the partner to provide physical and emotional support to the mother, as I continue to be a source of support and encouragement to both.
For the partner who wants to be the primary means of support (such as with the Bradley Method of Husband Coached Childbirth), I become a source of support and encouragement to the partner by maintaining privacy for the couple, offering suggestions for massage techniques and position changes, getting nourishment or towels, starting the shower, and providing other assistance to the extent desired.
Clear communication, both prior to and during labor and delivery, on expectations regarding my level of involvement will help ensure a positive experience.