What is a Doula?
Doulas provide supportive care before, during, and/or after birth in the form of:
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Comfort measures such as soothing touch, massage, counter pressure, water therapy, low light, music, etc.
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Physical support such as providing food and water, bracing, suggesting positions, sharing movements for optimal fetal placement, etc.
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Emotional support such as continuous presence, companionship, encouragement, reassurance, nonjudgmental acceptance, debriefing, etc.
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Information such as guiding, helping to explain options, providing knowledge and evidence-based information, offering non-medical pain relief, etc.
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Advocacy such as encouraging choice, supporting decisions made by birthing person, facilitating communication between client and health team, amplifying the client's voice, etc.
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Spiritual support such as helping to work through fears and doubts, maintaining a safe and calm environment, etc.
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Doula-client relationships may begin early in pregnancy or at the last minute, whenever the birthing person feels ready to reach out. Relationship is developed where birth preferences are voiced and any queries, fears, and concerns can be freely expressed.
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A doula does not perform a clinical role and does not take the place of a midwife, obstetrician, or nurse.
What is a Birth Map?
A birth plan/path/map is prepared in advance of your birth. It is a vision outlining the wishes and choices you would like to make during the stages of birth and with your baby.
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A map doesn’t enable us to control our environment, but it does give us a sense of the topography. Birth maps help to envision the path that we want to take to bring our baby into this realm with us.
They help us cultivate our birth space, making it a sanctuary of our own vision. They help us find the mind-space that grounds us and brings us peace in a time that can so easily be ruled by fear.
These maps help us surrender to our body's ancient knowledge of how to birth. As we tune in to our journey, our intuition guides our steps.
Your vision should be shared with your support team during your pregnancy so that everyone involved in the birth is aware of your preferences.
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Your birth map might include:
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relevant information about your medical history, any triggers that you would like to avoid
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the physiological pathway, the medical pathway or the caesarean pathway
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preferences regarding induction, augmented labour, augmented birth, third stage management
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an outline of who you want in your space and the support you are asking them to bring
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a richly detailed description of your birth space
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comfort measure preferences
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techniques you would like to explore
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ways that you would like to encourage natural oxytocin
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preferred labouring and birthing positions
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instructions for newborn care and standard procedure preferences
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your forty day postpartum preferences and supports
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a prepared note for your door with information for post-birth visitors
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See Mapping Your Birth to explore some typical birth pathways.
What is Oxytocin?
"Oxytocin has been called the hormone of love because of its connection with sexual activity, orgasm, birth, and breastfeeding. In addition, oxytocin is produced in social situations such as sharing a meal, making it a hormone of altruism or, as Michel Odent regularly suggests, of 'forgetting oneself '.
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Oxytocin is also the most powerful uterotonic (contraction-causing) hormone, and its release is associated with the contractions of labour and birth in all mammalian species. Oxytocin is made in the hypothalamus, deep in the middle brain, and is released in pulses from the posterior pituitary into the bloodstream every three to five minutes during early labour, becoming more frequent as labour progresses."
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- from Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering by Sarah Buckley
What is the financial investment for doula birth support?
My doula care is covered by some extended healthcare benefits and in an effort to make birth support accessible to all, my doula care is offered on a sliding scale.
Birth support includes prenatal connection, labour and birth support, and postpartum followup. Tier 3 Birth Support would be $1200; Tier 2 might look like a payment plan or $550-$800; Tier 3 might be a payment plan or $300-$500 or bartering.
Every family's finances look different and I aim to build relationship with each beloved with respect and understanding.
