Birth Support - Natural Birth Doula Services

I am a strong advocate for natural birth. I believe in your body, in your baby and in your ability to birth without intervention just as women have been doing for millions of years! As a trained doula and childbirth educator,certified both with Doulas of North America and with the HypnoBirthing ® Institute, I draw on my knowledge and experience to provide education, continuous emotional support and physical comfort techniques for a natural birth experience. The more knowledgeable and comfortable a woman is in labor, the more she is able to make informed decisions as they arise. As a result, laboring women who use a doula receive far less interventions than those who without this assistance.

As recognized by The World Health Organization, The Medical Leadership Council and the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada, women who use doulas have on average:

shorter labors (by 98 minutes)
51% less cesarean sections
71% oxytocin use
57% forceps use
16% epidural medications

As provided by a submission of 1227 birth reports from laboring women using HypnoBirthing ® had as compared to the Listening To Mothers II Survey:

72% HB moms used no pain medication (LTM II is at 14%)
20% HB moms used epidural anesthesia (LTM II is at 71%)
16 % HB moms had a surgical birth (C-Section) ( LTM II is at 32%)

Note: the World Health Organization states that a 12-15% c-section rate is necessary to reduce infant and maternal mortality. Anything under or over that rate puts moms and babies at risk. Arizona is currently at 34%.

Why Choose Me As Your Doula?

The combination of my doula, massage, hypnosis and HypnoBirthing ® education, enables me to use a variety of tools to help facilitate a safe, gentle birth. It is important that the pregnant woman and her partner are making fully informed childbirth choices, from a healthy lifestyle to selecting a care provider and birthing location that will support your desires for natural birth. Education is so important. As your doula, I am working for you, not for your caregiver or hospital.

Some of the methods I use during the actual birth are breathing techniques, hypnosis, effective positioning, acupressure, reflexology, massage, hydrotherapy, music, aromatherapy, encouragement and movement.

Services Provided

• Prenatal visit. After you have completed your HypnoBirthing ® Course, we will meet to discuss your birthing desires, determine any additional education or supportive needs that you have and how I can best honor and support your birthing goals. I will accept the prenatal support fee at this time.
• Be available by telephone both before and after your birth.
• Be on-call 24 hours a day 2 weeks before and for 2 weeks after your estimated due date.
• Arrange for a back-up or co-doula.
• Attend the birth. If you are birthing at a location other than your home, I can labor with you at home and then proceed to the birthing location or meet you at the birthing location.
• Assist with breastfeeding.
• Meet with you postpartum to discuss your birth experience and present a birth diary - from a doula's perspective and to collect the birth support fee.

Fees

My fee for the services described here are $400 for home birth or birth center birth and $600 for a hospital birth to be paid as follows:

50% of the total fee for prenatal support services
50% of the total fee for birth support services

For hospital birth, I offer my natural birth support services only to moms that have taken a HypnoBirthing ® course. I believe that approaching birth without fear, from an empowered state of mind is the key to reducing discomfort as opposed to other childbirth preparation methods that "manage the pain". Please see my page on HypnoBirthing ® for more information. For home birth or birth center moms,the HypnoBirthing ® course is not required.

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