Doula Services

Doula services include a free initial meeting, where all your questions will be answered and we can determine if we are a good match. Once services have been established, we will schedule 2 prenatal visits to get acquainted and prepare for your birth.  We will discuss your preferences for labor support, pain control, interventions, and how I can support your goals. We will review comfort measures, help you with writing a birth plan, and discuss postpartum adjustment planning. Along the way, we will have established a supportive relationship. You will have access to our lending library and professional resources.  We are always accessible by email and phone for any questions that arise.

During labor we will stay in frequent contact until you are ready for me to meet you at your home, birth center, or hospital. I will provide continuous physical and emotional support throughout your labor, birth, and recovery. As a doula, I do not provide any medical care. I will be sensitive to the preferences and needs of you and your partner. I will remind you of your wishes and provide information so that you can make educated decisions, but I will not make decisions for you. I bring with me a wide range of knowledge and resources to assist you with your birth.  I will provide help with breathing and relaxation, massage, position suggestions, encouragement, support for partner, and reassurance of normalcy. A few commonly used tools in our doula bag include massage oil, aromatherapy, rice socks, and a birth ball.  By far, our most widely used measure requires no equipment at all….our caring and supportive nature.

After your birth, I will stay for approximately 1 hour and assist with establishing breastfeeding. I will be in contact with you the next day to discuss your needs for a postpartum visit.

I will be on call for 3 weeks before and 2 weeks after your due date. If you give birth outside that range, I will make every effort to still attend your birth. Most appointments are held in our offices in White Lake and Madison Heights. Your birth will be attended by either Wendy or Christa, unless we are both at a birth and need to send a back-up doula. In those cases, we usually use Beth Smith, CD(DONA) or Kristin Lacey, CD(DONA).

Monitrice services can also be offerered. A monitrice is similar to a doula in that she provides labor support in a hospital setting. The difference is that before it is time to go to the hospital, a monitrice can perform clinical skills that a doula does not do in order to monitor a baby's wellbeing. She is trained to monitor fetal heart tones and to check for cervical dilation in the mother. This service is seldom necessary, as doula services are usually sufficient. Situations where this can be helpful would be in the case of a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean), for example, although some first time parents also take comfort in having a concrete idea about what is going on during their labor while they are still at home

What is Support?

Support is unconditional.
It is listening…
Not judging, not telling your own story.
Support is not offering advice
It is offering a handkerchief, a touch, a hug… caring.
We are here to help women discover what they are feeling….
Not to make the feelings go away
We are here to help a woman identify her options.
Not to tell her which options to choose.
We are here to discuss steps with a woman…
Not to take the steps for her.
We are here to help a woman discover her own strength…
Not to rescue her and leave her still vulnerable.
We are here to help a woman discover she can help herself…
Not to take that responsibility for her.
We are here to help a woman learn to choose…
Not to make it unnecessary for her to make difficult choices.

- Anonymous