— Take advantage of the time before baby
Prenatal & Labor Support
Throughout Your Pregnancy
There is no “best time” to choose your doula. Once you decide you want a doula to become part of your support team, the sooner you can lean on me to provide emotional support, refernces for products and services, and building a relationship that feels so good in your birth space. A doula can accompany you at home, any hospital, and any birth center.
Choose a great provider who loves that you have a doula!
Home births rose 12% in 2020! The option to give birth at home is for women who have no health complications, and became a better option than being alone during COVID.
I would love to support your home birth, provided you remain under the care of a medical provider throughout your labor and delivery. This is important because a free birth doula would be someone different!
If you are considering this option and want to know more about midwives as providers, Read more about midwives and OB’s here.
Hospitals are selected as birth places by the majority of women in the US, which probably does not surprise you. The reason the choice is made can be varied – health complications, need for a NICU (and there are levels of these as well), insurance coverage, provider restriction, and emotional security among them.
Certified Doulas are allowed in any hospital in the northeast. Most hospitals do not allow a doula into the OR with clients, depending on the doula and the hospital. Inquire about your particular situation before you give birth.
Having a doula at a hospital birth has become more commonplace and impactful , as c-section rates climb and induction for size, date, or convenience becomes standard.
CDC’s Cesarean Delivery Rate by State
Knowing that you do not want a home birth, but looking for some extra TLC with amenities and personal attention may make you a perfect candidate for a birth center! Should anything arise with your health, a midwife can continue your care in an affiliated hospital setting.
A birth center has long been the place to find quality medical care in collaboration with emotional support, often complimented by birth doulas, comfy beds, showers and tubs.
If you are fortunate to have insurance that covers midwifery care, this option is often less expensive or equal for out-of-pocket expenses.
To Find a Birth Center Near You
What to Expect from a Labor Doula
As your prenatal and labor doula, you have the comfort of knowing what to expect with regard to birth. You can also feel assured that regardless of shift changes by nurses or providers, you will have consistent companionship and support for your and your partner. Regardless of when we select me as your doula, we will spend time getting you ready!
- Meet in person to go over your birth vision, which I will make into a concise plan that highlights what is most important to you
- Practice comfort measuares for early labor
- Recommendations for products and services enjoyed by other clients and doula friends
- Back-up in the event of illness or emergency
- 2-week on-call availability prior to and after your due date
- Virtual support from our first day through early labor
- In-person support from active labor through one hour postpartum and your baby’s first feed
- Breastfeeding support, formula preparation and proper sanitization of bottles or pump parts
Once you get home with your baby, I will come by for a postpartum visit. We spend time together talking about the birth, covering newborn care basics, and meeting any needs that support recovery, including seeing that you and your partner have had a hot meal, shower, or rest. If anyone in your home needs additional resources, we can
Fertility Benefits
Many companies now offer their employees fertility benefits, which may cover more than you might expect. For example, Carrot covers many fertility related services that insurance does not because the business of insurance is medical expense. Fertility benefits enhance your wellbeing by covering services that benefit you and your family, like postpartum or birth doulas.
I have had many clients over the last 15 months who learned that this benefit was available to them! Because I have this experience, I am proficient in completing the attestation form needed for pre-approval, understand how my invoices need to be written and what they need to include. One of my clients found me because I was on a list of doulas with excellent feedback shared by Carrot.
Experience working with benefit companies means I can help you navigate the process, improve reimbursement times with correct submissions, and maximize your use of the benefit, depending on your situation. When you choose to work with a doula directly, rather than an agency, there is nobody in the middle of the transaction and you are free to build your circle of care without restriction!