Doulas
support women and their families through the emotional and physical
aspects of birthing and bringing their children into this world.
My Philosophy
about Birthing as a Doula:
My style is very
holistic and nurturing. To me, birth is a sacred experience and as your
doula I will support you and your family with all my heart and soul:
physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually every step of the
way. I bring energy to ground each mother and to create a safe, sacred
and loving environment for the newborn to enter into the world.
What is a Doula?
Doula is
Greek for "in service of" or "with women." Other
terms for doula are birth assistant and labor coach. The doula’s
role is to be by the side of laboring women to support her and comfort
her during the course of her entire labor. Typically this role is played
by the father or partner of the laboring women, but these days’
parents have the option of hiring a doula on their own. This takes much
of the pressure off the fathers to be "super coaches." Instead
of trying to remember all the tricks and skills from their childbirth
education (sometimes crash) course, and worrying about doing everything
"right", now they can focus on their loved one and let their
doula take care of the details. Often I hear that fathers fear they
are going to feel left out if they hire a doula, but what I have found
is that they actually feel more included. The doula will give the fathers
reminders of specific ways to comfort their partners during labor. Remember
that most fathers have never seen a birth before, so how can we expect
them to "know" what to do or what is going to happen.
My Qualifications:
- Certified Doula
by DONA: Training Sept 2000
- Birthing From
Within Childbirth Class: Feb 2000
- Certified Massage
Therapist: January 1999
- Doula Volunteer
at SF General Hospital: ‘98 -‘00
- Natural Resources
Doula Training: March 1998
- 2years of Energetic
& Healing Training: ‘95 & ’96
- BA in Psychology:
University of MA 1991
Benefits of
Having a Professional Doula:
Every mother deserves
to have her own doula to be supported and honored throughout her entire
delivery. Plus my doula clients receive discounted massage rates. Statistics
from over 1000 births assisted by doulas have shown these benefits:
- 50% reduction
in cesarean rates
- 25% shorter labors
- 60% reduction
in epidural requests
- 40% reduction
in pitocin use
- 40% reduction
in forceps delivery
Research by Marshall
Klaus from "Mothering the Mother."
What does a doula
do exactly?
As a doula I
will provide unlimited phone support to the couple during early labor. When
the couple is ready, I will meet them at the hospital or birthing center
(unless a home birth is planned.) Once at the hospital, the
nurses will check the mother in and get the mother set up in the labor
and delivery room. From there the father/partner and I, as the doula,
will continue to provide support for the mother in labor. With the nature
of the health care system, often nurses are over worked and do not have
the luxury of spending the quality time "coaching" mothers
through every contraction. By hiring a doula the parents are guaranteed
to have personalized labor support through every contraction. She might
get lucky and get a nurse on duty that is not too busy that day and
who is focused and ready to support her through, but she might not.
To many women, this is a big risk to take. Each birth is a once in a
lifetime experience. Another issue with hospitals these days is that
if the mother has a really long labor then there might be a shift change
with the nurses and doctors and then she has to get use to a whole new
crew. It can be a smoother transition if she brings in her own strong
labor support team with her. That way the dynamics are not completely
changed because her core labor support people will never leave her side.
As your doula my
focus will be to empower the mother into having to most supportive and
nurturing birthing experience.
My support will
include…
- Massage
- Counter pressure
(for back labor support)
- Keeping you Hydrated
& Energized
- Reminders &
Recommendations for Position Changes
- Answering Questions
& Providing Information
- Keeping your
Husband/Partner calm & supplying them with suggestions to keep
the mothers best supported
- Creating a safe
and sacred space for your newborn to enter into the world
Below
are additional statistics about the medical system and benefits to the
mothers by hiring a doula…
- 50% of the U.S.
hospitals obstetrics units are short staffed.
- The Medical Leadership
Council stated that the inability to provide continuous coverage to
laboring women could increase the chance of a cesarean birth.
- Women who are
accompanied by a doula in childbirth are more satisfied with their
birth experience.
- Women who are
supported by a doula feel more confident and are more likely to interact
closely with their infants and are less likely to have postpartum
depression.
- Women are more
likely to initiate and continue breastfeeding and fewer newborns have
complications.
Price Rates for
Doula Services:
My package includes…
- One prenatal
visit
- Support throughout the entire labor and birth
- One postpartum
visit
- A Personalized
Written Birth Story
The price for the entire package is $950.
Meghan Warner | Boston, MA |
781-639-6002