Doula’s around the country are working hard to offer medical insurance reimbursements to families just like you. But until then, every expectant family deserves a doula and I will work with you to make my services affordable for your unique situation. Fees for my doula services are provided to each family on an individual basis. I offer a sliding fee scale and flexible payment plans to make doula services a reality for every family and every financial situation. Please contact me today to discuss how I can assist you in making your pregnancy and childbirthing expereince the most enjoyable and memorable time of your life.
Women have been giving birth since the beginning of time– but those times have now changed and many women give birth without having witnessed the childbirthing experiences of their own mothers, aunts, sisters and community members. We are now seeing that women truly need extra support through this transformative time. A doula is there to help.A doula is an advocate for the birthing mom and her partner. Whether you want a birth in hospital with or without drugs or or interventions–whether you want to birth at home with a midwife or other trained attendant–your doula is there to help you feel involved, safe, and empowered.The doula is not there to replace the birthing mom’s husband or the loved one she has chosen to be with her. The doula is there to provide objective nurturing support & education, to make suggestions about comfort measures & positions, keep mom hydrated & focused, provide breaks for the other members of the birth team, and to be the gatekeeper between mom and the outside world. The doula is there to help make birthing easier.
When parents choose to birth in a hospital, a doula can provide comfort and support in the home long before it is time to head to the hospital. Often, parents wonder if “this is really labor?” or “is it time to go to the hospital?” A doula is trained to recognize the signs and stages of labor through close observation of the mother. Parents tend to be more relaxed in their own home and labor may progress more gently & quickly. Plus, If mom is already in active labor (4-5 cms) when she arrives at the hospital, there is less chance for the use of labor inducing or labor augmenting drugs or procedures (like Pitocin, Cervidil, and Artificial Rupture of Membranes). During your time at the hospital, a doula can help you to understand any procedures or complications that you may run into and help you communicate with your care provider.
Consultation: Determine if a doula is right for you. This can be via phone, email or in person. there is no charge or obligation for your initial consultation. Call 814-558-6068 or email me at Justine@JulianARTS.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to make arrangements.
Home Visits: Build rapport, discuss your health & pregnancy history, create ideal birth plan, determine needs and address concerns. Relaxation, breathing and comfort techniques. Belly casting and/or belly henna painting. Pregnancy photography is also available.
Care Provider Visit Meet with your care provider, share birth plan, follow up on expectations and concerns of labor and birth, review health history with care provider. Become familiar with care provider and his/her policies.
Labor Support: Early labor and family support at your home, accompany to hospital if not birthing at home, birth plan support, continuous encouragement & guidance during labor and through entire birthing process. Early breastfeeding and bonding support. Photography and video taping are available.
Postpartum Visits: Review of the birth at your home. Can include a wide variety of services, including breastfeeding support, house cleaning, laundry, shopping, errands, older child care, scrapbooking, mailing birth announcements, yoga, etc…New parents need to enjoy their new baby and rest!
The Benefits of Doulas Having a doula attend your hospital birth has been proven to reduce:
- Episiotomies
- Cesareans by 50%
- Shorter Labor by 25%
- Epidural Requests by 60%
- Oxytocin use by 40%
- Analgesia use by 30%
- Reduction of forceps by 40%
Benefits of Labor Support to the Mother:
- Increases positive feelings about labor
- Decreases intervention
- Decreases need for medication
- Increases acceptance of the baby
- Enhances maternal/infant bonding
- Decreases neonatal complications
- Decreases anxiety and tension
- Shortens labor
- Increases other’s feelings of self-esteem
- Increases feelings of control
- Increases mother’s cooperation and participation
- Decreases postpartum depression
The Unique Role of a Doula
I recognize childbirth as a transformative life experience. On your birthing day, not only is your baby being welcomed into the world, you and your partner are simultaneously being transformed into parents. There is no other single day in our lives when we are asked to do, be, and experience so many things. Protecting the sacredness of this event is my priority.
As I see it, the role of a doula is to mother the mother. As our society has grown and progressed, many advances in science and medicine have made it possible to save lives that might have been lost a hundred years ago. But with those advances, we have lost the trust in our bodies and trust in the process of birth. Experts agree that interventions can help, but they are grossly overused and unnecessary in the majority of childbirth experiences. Birth has become filled with fear and misinformation. Doula’s support the joy of birth by eliminating the fear and myths.
A birth doula helps families come as close as they can to having the kind of birth they desire. To be successful parents, they need to come away from the birthing experience with the best possible feelings about themselves and their capabilities. I work to educate mothers and their partners about childbirth, to help mediate the stress and discomfort that can be associated with pregnancy, and to provide physical and emotional support throughout the entire childbirth process. I can offer suggestions on comfort measures, pain relief, positions, movement, breathing and relaxation that will provide the optimal experience for you and your baby.
While the outcome of labor and birth can be unpredictable, the care you receive during your labor should never be. Doula’s work alongside physicians, midwives, nurses, and birth partners, but do not replace any of these important birth team participants. As a doula, I will assist women giving birth in hospitals, birth centers and at home. As your doula, I am YOUR assistant. I am employed by you, and therefore I have your desires, hopes, and best interest in mind. I hope to provide constant, nurturing, helpful and objective support as well as first-hand knowledge and understanding of what you, the laboring mother, is going through.
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We want to hold a fact-gathering + opinion-generating meeting with area doulas, birth advocates, and maternity care-providers to help build our organization into something that will benefit families in the ways that really matter! So, put your thinking caps on and plan to join us on June 29th @6pm at the Millcreek Mall Borders! Our website exists (but has no content yet!) at DoulasForAll.org and you can always email me at Justine@DoulasForAll.org for info or questions about this project. We also have a new phone number: 661-DOULAS-1
