As your Birth Coach Doula, my care and support can take on many different forms that will influence your birth. So it’s very important that you feel comfortable with me and my role in the birth in order for our partnership to be successful.
What does a Birth Coach Doula do?
As a Doula, I provide families with physical, emotional and informational support throughout the last weeks of pregnancy and into those moments of newborn parenthood. My priority will be to enhance the quality of your desired birth experience by working with you to elevate the involvement you want to have in the birth process. My support will be catered to your individual needs and will reflect the following 5 core competencies:
Self-advocacy Support: Your care network is a team and it’s important that we are all supporting you in the ways you need it. I will assist with facilitation so that you can best communicate with your care providers and members of your support community.
Knowledge of Common Medical Interventions and Procedures: We will work together to form an understanding of how these suggestions will affect your birth vision prenatally, so when the time comes to make a decision you can commit with confidence.
Comfort Measures: Throughout your pregnancy you’ve learned a variety of coping techniques and with my help you’ll be able to practice these with at home and hone in on which methods you prefer best so you can have the confidence and comfort leading into your labor.
Continuous Support During Labor and Delivery: Unlike other care providers, I will be with you from the very moment you think you feel a contraction to when you hold your baby for the first time.
Understanding the Physiology of Childbirth: Each stage of labor will present itself through the mother’s emotional, physical and mental state. Through these displays, I’ll be able to guide you through the birth process, reassure you of your progress and integrate the comfort measures you requested for your birth experience.
As a Birth Coach, I believe that you possess the intrinsic ability to determine and fulfill the goals you have for a satisfying birth. Together, we will create an ideal birth vision with detailed action steps so that you can remain accountable for the progress that brings your baby into this world. My role will be to always encourage you and keep you focused on what you can achieve in the present.
What doesn’t a Birth Coach Doula do?
It’s important for you to understand that I cannot – and do not – guarantee a specific outcome for your birth. My goal is to help you have a satisfying birth as you define it. I am not a medical professional and I do not perform medical tasks such as blood pressure, fetal heart checks, or vaginal exams. My role is one of support and nonintervention.
Why did I become a Birth Coach Doula?
In my heart, I feel as though every choice I made in my life has led me to the path of becoming a Birth Coach Doula. From the searching “why” questions I always asked as a child to the passionate research papers I wrote at University about midwifery, menstruation, and body autonomy. I’ve always been dedicated to finding a deep emotional understanding for the people around me and through that create a space for people to embrace the naturality of their bodies, vulnerabilities, and feelings.
I began my Birth Coach studies in the spring of 2017 when I first came across the term “Doula” in an advert for a local training course. At that moment, there was a click. I was overjoyed that this was a thing and knew this is what I wanted to do with my life. I spent a year and a half studying and volunteering as a Doula at El Camino Hospital in Los Gatos before I completed the Bay Area Doula Training and qualified as a Birth Doula and Coach in the fall of 2018. Since then, I’ve been serving clients within my community, family and friends.