Personalized birth and postpartum doula support to meet your unique and individual needs, from conception through weaning.
Imagine a birth experience where you feel safe, supported, and in control every step of the way. I believe that each birth is a deeply personal and transformative experience, and it is my goal to provide you with compassionate, individualized support tailored to your specific needs desires and needs.
HOSPITAL BIRTH $1850 |
HOME BIRTH $1850 |
BIRTH CENTER $1650 |
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WHAT IS A BIRTH DOULA AND WHY DO I NEED ONE?
A birth doula is a vital part of the prenatal, birth, and postpartum season of parenthood. Consider your doula as your family’s go-to person for information, resources, physical support during labor and birth, and emotional support from the beginning of your pregnancy to your final postpartum visit. Your personal sherpa for those never-ending questions and decisions you encounter throughout your pregnancy, labor, and postpartum stages. They are committed to providing you with excellent care, so you feel pampered, supported, and nurtured as you prepare to welcome your little one.
I WAS CONSIDERING HAVING A FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER BE MY BIRTH DOULA, WHY SHOULD I HIRE A PROFESSIONAL?
Although having family members present during such a memorable occasion can be a tremendous blessing and addition to the birth process, I recommend having a professional fill the role of a birth doula. A birth doula has specialized training that equips them in the areas of comfort measures, relaxation techniques, massage, pain management, positioning, and more, which sets them apart from the support offered by a family member. Furthermore, although highly invested in your labor and birth, a professional birth doula doesn’t have the emotional connection to you that a family member does, thus making them the ideal support person able to assist you throughout the entire undertaking.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A BIRTH DOULA AND A MIDWIFE?
A doula is a non-medical support person who focuses on caring for you emotionally and physically while advocating for you to be informed of all of your options during pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. While they often have similar approaches, a midwife differs from a doula substantially. A midwife is a medical professional, meaning that the primary focus of their care is on the health and safety of you and your baby. Both doulas and midwives work with you prenatally, support you throughout the birth and follow up with you postpartum. Specifically, at a birth, doulas are often found offering comfort measures, refilling your water bottle, providing guidance and reassurance (to you and your partner), and repeating affirmations that uplift you. At a birth, midwives may be found doing similar things to a doula, but their top priorities include: ensuring that you and your baby's vital signs are stable, assessing you and your baby, completing a variety of exams when needed, administering medication if necessary, and assisting you with receiving the baby you are birthing.
WHEN SHOULD I HIRE A BIRTH DOULA?
The earlier, the better. Typically, the beginning of your second trimester is a good time to have your doula secured. It is recommended that you start your search in your first trimester, talk to and interview a couple of doulas, and determine who is the best fit for you. You deserve someone you feel an easy connection with and someone you think fits your personality and needs
HOW FAR DO YOU TRAVEL AS A DOULA
I am able to travel to home births, birth centers, and hospitals up to an hour in any direction from Guthrie, OK.
Experience supporting families birthing in their homes.
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Birth Doula Support All Locations
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Postpartum Doula Support All Locations
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Experience supporting VBAC and HBAC families.
Doula Availability
To uphold the highest standards of care, I consciously limit the number of clients I take on each month. This deliberate decision is rooted in a deep commitment to ensuring that every client receives the attention and support they deserve during this crucial time in their lives. My decision to limit the number of clients I take on each month is not just about managing my workload; it's about prioritizing the quality of care and support that I provide to each and every family. This approach allows me to uphold the core values of doula care—compassion, advocacy, and personalized support—ensuring that every client receives the dedicated attention they deserve during the transformative journey of childbirth.
A full time client load for a birth worker is typically 4-10 on-call clients per month. I limit my Birth Doula client load to 4 clients per month and my Postpartum Doula client load to 4 clients per month, totaling 8 doula families served monthly.
A full time client load for a birth worker is typically 4-10 on-call clients per month. I limit my Birth Doula client load to 4 clients per month and my Postpartum Doula client load to 4 clients per month, totaling 8 doula families served monthly.
My Personal Experience
My first birth was a very common hospital birth, facilitated by an un-necessary induction (no medical indication), and required me to have an epidural due to the fear-pain-tension cycle I was unknowingly allowing myself to feed into by being under prepared. In the end things went fairly straight forward during labor, but I was left with feelings of disconnect with my body and my baby, all the while feeling very sore and experiencing a painful recovery from directed pushing when I could not feel my contractions well enough to assist with them on my own.
I was not prepared for breastfeeding either. I had called the hospital where I was planning to have my baby and requested to enroll in the next breastfeeding class, I was ready to learn! When I spoke with the scheduler she let me know that I was calling a bit ahead of when I would be able to enroll. I marked the date on my calendar for when I could enroll next and when I called back I was told that they were full for prenatal classes but that they could enroll me in a class after my baby was born. How would that help me know what to do until then?
When I found out I was pregnant for the second time, I knew in my heart that I wanted my birth experience to feel different than it had before. I wanted to have an out of hospital birth, but due to finances and late planning I decided to stick with my original provider and facility. After months of thorough preparation, reading books, and hiring a doula, I achieved my birth goals and welcomed my second baby by unmedicated water birth in the hospital.
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It was with my third baby that I made the change to home birth. Late in my pregnancy I decided to change providers with only a few weeks left to go before my estimated due date approached. I reached out to local midwives and formed a plan. I welcomed my third baby into the world in my bedroom in the early hours of the morning, swiftly and with confidence in my abilities and my doula by my side.
My fourth baby brought with it the joy and peace of complete midwifery care from beginning to end. Oh what a joy it was to be cared for by midwives for my entire pregnancy! All of my prenatal visits were calm and long, full of education and autonomous decision making. Ironically, my sweet baby needed intervention at birth and we followed the quick decision of our midwife to transfer care during labor where I was able to birth at the exact location that we needed to be and still maintained my overall goals of a medication free vaginal birth. My midwifes care continued both in the labor and delivery room, and at home in the weeks and months following postpartum. I am so thankful for the care of my heart and my health that my midwifery teams have provided for me over the years.
All of my birth experiences have collectively helped form and humble me as I serve others through birth work.
All of my birth experiences have collectively helped form and humble me as I serve others through birth work.
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My Professional Experience
I have helped a variety of families, dynamics, and situations as a doula and a lactation consultant such as:
- Home Birth
- Hospital Birth
- Birth Center Birth
- Single Parents
- Inductions
- Planned Surgical Births
- Emergency Surgical Births
- Vaginal Birth After Cesarean
- Home Birth After Cesarean
- Twins
- Medicated Births
- Unmedicated Births
- Intrauterine Insemination/IVF
- Adoption
- Surrogacy
- Induced and Relactation
- Breastfeeding After Reductions and Implants
- Infant Oral Evaluation & Rehabilitation Pre and Post Tongue Tie Revision