Frequently Asked Questions

"What is the difference between my OB/Midwife and a Doula?"

In short, your OB/midwife team are medically responsible for you and baby. They perform medical assessments and monitoring while I am  there to help you understand what is happening, facilitate your choices for birth and labour, help with pain management in a non-medicinal way, and provide support for you and your partner physically, emotionally and spiritually. I remain a constant support during labour and birth while nurses and doctors may have shift change or other emergencies that pull them away. Postpartum care from me means I come to your home to care for you for as long as you'd like/need, and it is a support for the whole family; including some light housekeeping, meal prep, infant care, overnight care etc.

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"Why have a doula when I have a supportive partner?"

I am there to help your partner as well as you. I do not replace your partner, but is there to support them as well. Labour and birth is an experience for both partners and my job is to make that experience meaningful, less stressful, and how you want it to be. Your partner knows you better than I do and therefore has insight that I may not have about you. I have practice and expertise in labour, birth and postpartum while your partner has knowledge on you; together we make a great team. Some examples are; If your partner needs to take a rest, I will stay with you so that when the time comes for birth your partner is well rested and can support you better. If you are needing some food, I can be the one to leave and get that.

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"Do I have to have a natural birth to have a doula?"

Absolutely not. You can have any type of birth you'd like or have to have. I will be there for you at your home birth, at your hospital birth, at the birthing centre. The only time I am limited is when a c-section occurs; not all hospitals allow two support people into the operating room, but I would meet you in the recovery room as soon as you are done and I would be with you during preparation. If you and your partner choose that you would prefer that I am with you during surgery that is okay too.

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"Is there evidence to prove having a doula is better than not having one?"

Yes! There is a ton of information out there but here are a couple statistics from Evidenced Based Birth:

"25% decrease in the risk of Cesarean; the largest effect was seen with a doula (39% decrease)*

8% increase in the likelihood of a spontaneous vaginal birth; the largest effect was seen with a doula (15% increase)*

10% decrease in the use of any medications for pain relief; the type of person providing continuous support did not make a differenceShorter labours by 41 minutes on average; there is no data on if the type of person providing continuous support makes a difference

38% decrease in the baby’s risk of a low five minute Apgar score; there is no data on if the type of person providing continuous support makes a difference

31% decrease in the risk of being dissatisfied with the birth experience; mothers’ risk of being dissatisfied with the birth experience was reduced with continuous support provided by a doula or someone in their social network (family or friend), but not hospital staff"

This is just some evidence from a study done on Doula work if you'd like more I'd be happy to provide more.

To see the rest of this article go to: https://evidencebasedbirth.com/the-evidence-for-doulas/

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"Why did you become a doula?"

I became a doula because of my own experiences with pregnancy, labour, birth and postpartum. I have 3 children and I had very different experiences with all of them. I've had a home birth, hospital birth, induction, epidural, breech baby, postpartum depression, a colicky baby, not a great sleeper, I've breastfeed and also done formula. I would not have been able to do all that without the support I had. I realized that not everyone has that experience and support I want to be able to provide that for other families.

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"What is your birth philosophy?"

My birth philosophy is that I support you in your choices. I don't take into consideration my own experiences and advise you based on those, but I look at evidence, and share that with you and allow you to make your decision, based on your experiences and feelings and I support you in those.

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"Do you have additional resources?"

I personally do not provide photography, belly casting, placenta encapsulation, benkung binding (belly binding) but I do have recommendations on those services. I also have community resources on infant care, public health, lactation consultation, and programs offered in the area. If you would like any of these additional services please let me know and I can put you in touch with each provider.