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?
This is simply what I’ve been born to do. I use to play “healer” with my toys as a child and I’d be the one who helped nurse my family back to health when they got sick. It was always assumed I would become a nurse or a care giver of some sort as an adult. As I got older, I became more and more dedicated to creating a space for people to embrace the naturality of their bodies, vulnerabilities, and feelings. At University, I wrote passionate research papers about midwifery, menstruation, and body autonomy. Finally, as a young adult, I found out that there was such a thing as a doula so I set my heart to making that happen.
I began my Birth Doula and coaching studies in the spring of 2017 by way of a local doula training course: Bay Area Doula Training. It was a serendipitous post to find at the time and I was pretty flipping excited. My studies took about a year and a half to complete and during that time I was a volunteer Doula at El Camino Hospital in Los Gatos working with the BAM midwives. I completed my training and qualified as a Birth Doula and Coach in the fall of 2018 and have been serving clients within my community, family and friends ever since.
Please visit my Birth Doula Coaching page to learn more about my services.