Serving women in all aspects of childbearing and birth...
If you are planning to give birth in a hospital or Birth Center, you might desire the services of a doula or monitrice. Both provide you with support and care prenatally and during your labor, helping with your birth planning, childbirth education, physical and emotional comfort, and breastfeeding.
A labor doula provides:
- Continuous physical, emotional, and informational support during pregnancy, labor, and childbirth.
- Training and ability to understand and trust the process of
birth and help facilitate the birth experience for the parents,
baby, and primary care providers.
- Emotional support;
- Exercise and physical suggestions to make pregnancy and childbirth more comfortable;
- Help with preparation of a birth plan;
- Facilitation of communication between members of laboring woman's
birth team - though most doula certification programs discourage doulas
from talking directly with caregivers for the mother/partners;
- Massage and other non-pharmacological pain relief measures;
- Positioning suggestions during labor and birth;
- Support the partner so that s/he can provide support and encouragement to the laboring woman;
- Help to avoid unnecessary interventions;
- Help with breastfeeding preparation and beginning;
- Some doulas offer a written record of the birth (birth story);
- Is present during entire labor and afterwords as long as is needed by parent(s).
A postpartum doula provides:
- Assistance with breastfeeding education and offers tips and informational support;
- In-home support for the mother, baby and family, anywhere from a couple days postpartum to several months;
- Informed and helpful newborn care help and assistance;
- Support for the partner so that s/he can support and nurture the mother, and the newborn baby;
- Evidence-based information;
- May also offer help in the following areas: household care, help
with childcare/sibling care, meal preparation, errand running, and
other tasks that may be requested.
Monitrice Services:- Doula care as well as specialized care to provide peace of mind when remaining home during labor;
- Continuous evaluation of the mother and baby's state of wellness as well as the advancing stages of labor, to help the family decide when it is the right time to head to the hospital/birth center;
- Assistance with hydrotherapy for laboring comfortably at home.
- Extended educational support, breastfeeding support & postpartum care;