A birth doula:

• Provides educational, physical and emotional support to a woman and her partner during pregnancy, labor, delivery and immediately following birth

• Shares educational materials, evidence based resources and objective viewpoints on options and choices available to women

• Helps a woman and her partner understand the stages of labor, what to expect during birth and how to make it a beautifully personal experience

• Encourages strength and active participation, from women and their partners, during labor and birth

• Shares comfort measures with partners so they can physically comfort and lessen the pain women experience

• Affirms a woman’s intuition and self-confidence in her decisions about her body and the birth of her baby

• Helps a woman find her own voice during pregnancy, labor and birth

 

Studies on the effects of doula support have found:

• Shortened labors

• Complications are fewer

• Cesarean rates are reduced

• Increased maternal satisfaction

• Less requests for epidurals and pain medication 

• Reduction in oxytocin augmentation to speed up labor

• Lower rates of newborn complications

• Increased success with breastfeeding

• Reduction in use of forceps

• Reduction in postpartum depression

• Increased bonding with baby postpartum

 

Birth support includes:

• 2 prenatal visits (depending on client need) 

• Birth vision (sometimes called birth plan) assistance

• 24-hour telephone support during the early labor period at home

• On-call support starting at 37 weeks until the birth 

• Continuous hospital support during labor, delivery and immediate postpartum period

• 1 postpartum home visit

• Back-up doula support

• Recommended reading materials

• Referrals for additional assistance as needed

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What Clients are Saying:

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"I cannot imagine what my daughter’s birth would have been like without our doula, Betsy Cafe, being a part of it. I’m honestly overcome with gratitude when I think about what she did for me and my family. Before I contacted Betsy I was fearful of the birth process. Despite taking classes and reading everything I could find, and despite having a loving and invested husband, I was still so afraid that labor and delivery would leave me feeling alone and powerless. Regardless of how I personally envisioned my daughter’s birth, I imagined that the team of doctors in the hospital would treat me like a number instead of a person, and that my baby’s birth would be a series of medical procedures done to me without my true participation. 

 

"Betsy completely changed all of that. From the first conversation we had, I felt instantly understood and supported. It is obvious that being a birth partner is more than a job for Betsy—it is a passion, a calling, and she is excellent at it. Betsy radiates warmth and compassion. She is calm and focused, and she gives 100% of herself to every moment she is with you. Having her with us during delivery was a comfort not only to me, but also to my husband. Even the nurses loved her! Betsy made it so that even when unexpected events happened during labor, they weren’t scary or outside of my control. She helped give me a voice, and she helped me feel cared for and safe. Betsy provided everything I needed to feel empowered before, during, and after labor. Quite simply, she was a godsend. I cannot recommend her highly enough." 

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