The labor and birth of your child will be one of the most joyous and challenging experiences of your life. Understandably, most people are a bit nervous about this upcoming event. Women ask themselves countless questions when thinking about the birth: How will I handle the contractions? What if my water breaks before I go into labor? How will I know what labor positions to use? Will I know when it's time to go the hospital? Will I need medication? Will I know how to push? Partners are often just as nervous about these things, but in a slightly different way: What if I don't remember the signs of active labor? Will I know how to support her the way she needs me to? How do I park the car and stay with her at the same time? What if I need a break? How will we have time to eat? How can I possibly say all the right things?
With all of these things to think about, no wonder you are considering a doula!
About my services…
As a doula, I have been trained to provide knowledgeable support to women and their partners through labor, birth, and the immediate post-partum. Though I will be there to support you in whatever way you need me, following are a few ways in which I can assist you throughout the birth process.
At our prenatal visits I can:
- provide you with information on the labor and birth process
- discuss and practice methods for handling pain
- provide you with unbiased information on medications and the benefits and risks of your options
- help you create a birth plan
- suggest reading materials and provide access to my library of books on pregnancy and childbirth
- help you to prepare for the post-partum
- attend you in your home or in the hospital, depending on when you would like me to come
- help to create an environment conducive to birthing your baby
- reduce the stress of the event for both you and your partner, allowing you to focus on each other and bringing your child into the world
- suggest helpful positions for contractions
- provide pressure on the hips or low back to ease the pain of a contraction (or help your partner do this)
- massage between and during contractions to relieve pain or tension
- help you decide when to go to the hospital
- provide unbiased information on hospital procedures and interventions
- assertively coach you through contractions when needed
- take photographs of the labor, birth, and the first precious moments of your family together
- help you to achieve immediate bonding with your newborn
- help you get started breastfeeding and with any difficulties you might be having at the time of your post-partum visit
- teach you how to do a newborn massage (post-partum visit)
- answer questions about newborn care
- provide you with detailed notes taken during the labor
- provide referrals to lactation consultants or other post-partum practitioners
Many partners worry that a doula will be an intrusion on an intimate experience, or take away from his/her role of support during the labor. While an understandable concern, the roles of a partner and a doula are actually very different. My primary goal is to support a couple so that they can have their needs met individually and together on such an exciting and challenging day. This might mean that I show a partner where to massage the laboring woman, that I provide them both with food or drink, or that I stay with a laboring woman while her partner takes a shower and calls family. A doula can track a woman's progress and provide knowledge on the labor process, so that a partner can relax and simply be present as his/her baby comes into the world. Appropriate support from a doula should serve only to enhance a couple's connection, never interfere with it.
Details
I am located in Oakland, CA and attend births in Oakland, Berkeley, and Walnut Creek. My fee is $1300 and includes two prenatal visits, two massages, the birth, and a post-partum visit. I am happy to have a phone conversation with you and if your needs and my skills and personality align we can set up an interview in your home.
Please feel free to contact me at candacep@sbcglobal.net or call (510) 917-7175 with any further questions you have or to set up an interview.
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