What is a doula?
This is a question I get asked often. While doulas have been around seemingly forever, (once birth servants/slaves, doulas date back to the ancient greeks) it has only been in the last 20 or 30 years that the doula business has grown in the US.
One reason for the surge in popularity of doulas was the release of the documentary, The Business of Being Born.
But this film depicts only a very narrow view of what doulas do and doesn’t reflect the attitudes of most people having a baby.
Birth Anywhere you Choose
While the image of the doula supporting the birthing person during a home or birth center birth is one aspect of our support,
it doesn’t tell the whole story.
Doulas support your choice for hospital birth too!
In fact at Orlando Doulas LLC we specialize in supporting you in your hospital based birth.
We understand that what’s most important to you and your family is bringing home a healthy baby and receiving quality care for yourself too! Often, that means using traditional obstetric care in a hospital environment. (Over 98% of births in the United States occur in a hospital)
But we also know you have a vision for what your birth will look like.
And that is where doulas shine.
We support your choices and help bring your vision for your birth into reality by providing physical, emotional and educational support.
First…
…we will provide you a Zoom or phone call to learn all about your birth wishes and introduce how we can help you achieve them!
Then…
…(once you have decided to hire us) 😉
we will have an in-person prenatal meeting with your chosen team of professional doulas to build a relationship and discuss your wishes and options. This is where your “birth plan” will emerge!
Next…
…we are on call waiting for the big day with you!
Just imagine you call and say “I think this is it” and your experienced doula on the other end of the phone confirms that you are in fact in labor!
And this is when we REALLY go into action providing:
- Telephone support through the earliest stages of labor
- In person support when you feel ready to have your doula present
- Reassurance and affirmation
- Positional changes to ease the discomfort of labor
- Massage for relaxation
- Comfort measure techniques specific to each stage of labor
- Guidance in pushing positions and techniques
- Gentle guidance during the early handling, bonding and feeding of your new baby
And my favorite part
helping to reduce fear and instill strength as you birth your baby the way you want!
We will be there to nurture you through with zero bias or judgement!
But that still only tells part of the story.
Not just for birth
Preparing for the birth of your baby and not actually preparing for life with your tiny new human, is a bit like foucusing on the wedding and not the marriage.
Bringing home a new baby requires thoughtful planning to meet the needs of the entire family.
While newborns are sweet and precious, they sure can turn things upside down…
…for a little while anyway.
A schedule of sleep, feed, snuggle, repeat – seems like it should be relatively simple – but a constant schedule of it, neglects to account for important life changes like birth recovery, exhaustion, postpartum emotions, hormonal imbalances, and relationship changes, that go along with this new little person in your home.
This is where a postpartum and infant care doula can provide invaluable support.
Postpartum doulas
provide the same important physical, emotional and evidenced based educational support, but for the period after birth as you make the transition home with your new baby.
Your postpartum doula is an expert in planning for this new life transition, while nurturing both you and your baby!
Here are just some of the things to expect:
- Recognizing normal and “not so normal” signs of recovery
- Recognizing the early signs of postpartum mood disorders
- Infant feeding; be it breast, bottle or both
- Sleep elongation for baby and parents
- Newborn care regarding soothing and hygiene
- Current industry recommendations regarding infant safety
- Light household upkeep
- Meal and snack preparation
And my favorite part
Listening, understanding and affirming.
Your postpartum and infant care doula attunes to your needs, whether that means sharing a cup of tea, or running you a hot bath, or just a giving you a big hug.
And sometimes it means all of the above!
Hi I’m a Doula…
A do what?
A do WHATEVER it takes to assure your labor, birth and postpartum period is filled with unbiased physical, emotional, and educational support.
For more information and to reserve your due date on our calendar, click the image below
References
1.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1595283/
