Labor Support

Why hire a doula?

Are you a first time parent? Pregnancy, birth, postpartum, taking care of baby…it’s a brand new world! You are looking for someone to walk through the whole process with you. For someone to be an emotional support, an educator, provide comfort in labor, and to support your birth preferences.

For others, this is not your first rodeo. You know what’s up and you’re thinking, get me a doula! Maybe laboring was more overwhelming than you thought it would be? Did your partner find labor difficult to navigate or were they unsure of how to help? Did your previous birth play out differently than you expected? Maybe you carry some trauma around birth and could use support sorting it out and preparing?

For partners, please know that I do not want to be the star of this show and my ultimate goal is to blend and support. I want you to be the person looking into their eyes. I do not replace you, I want to build you up and support this experience of birth for you as well.

My support as a doula is for all people. I don’t care where you want to have your baby, who you want to catch your baby, or how medicated or unmedicated you plan on being. I will come behind what you choose and support you whatever way I can. Personal responsibility and informed choice are two values of mine that impact how I support my clients. This means I will encourage you to take ownership of your birth. First and foremost, intuition has a place, your gut feeling is valuable, pay attention to it. Ask questions and explore out of that place. As your doula, my goal is to point you in the direction of evidence-based information around your options. Then you get to sit with that information, consult with your provider, and make a choice for yourself. If you are looking for someone who is going to tell you what to do, I am not the doula for you. You are so capable and what you want, feel, and think matters. I will help you explore your values, then from there we look at models of care, birth location and providers that might best suites those values. This is where a positive experience begins, you may need to shift and make new decisions as your pregnancy progresses or as your birth unfolds. That is part of this journey, making the best decisions you can for yourself and your baby each step of the way. But it begins with a foundation of trust in yourself and aligned care provider(s). Then you get to build on on this with education, mental and physical preparation, and support from a doula along the way (not just in labor).

You deserve to be centered as an individual and not as a statistic. Birth matters, what you want and need matters. I don’t care what you choose, what I care about is that you made the choice. Everyone is different, so every birth is different. Birth is not black and white, because people are not black and white. If experience has taught me anything, it’s this!

As for who I am, by nature I am a calm and thoughtful person. A calm-steady presence is something I feel I contribute to the birth space in all settings and in difficult circumstances. I value relationship. I want to know you, your partner and anyone else you decide to invite to your birth. I value honesty, supporting physiology, consent, informed-decision making, evidence-based care, personal responsibility, and open communication with care providers. These values will always come through in my work as a doula and educator. I love this work and I would love to get to know you.