Doulas at a Planned (or Unplanned) Cesarean Birth

I just found a great article on the ICAN (International Cesarean Awareness Network) blog. It explains well what doulas can do during a cesarean to help the mother and her partner have a more fulfilling experience.

Here are a few excerpts from the blog post:

Moms having a cesarean birth hire a doula for many of the same reasons you would benefit from a doula at ANY birth – emotional support, explanations and reassurance, reminders of your birth plan, recording a time line of events, someone to stay with mom while dad is at the baby’s side, and breastfeeding support.

Doulas are a fantastic help for ALL moms, as they work with you through your pregnancy, birth, and postpartum time.

Doulas are not just for home births or natural births! Also,

Specific to a cesarean arrival, your doula is able to talk you through what can be a scary experience! We can explain the steps of the surgery, reassure your partner if they witness some things that can appear alarming, report back to mom as the baby is examined and encourage the nurses to make sure the baby stays within mom’s line of sight. The sights, smells, and sounds of a cesarean birth can be surprising and your doula can help explain what is happening.

A doula can be of help after the birth as well:

Once your baby is here a doula continues to help, perhaps snapping photos of those first sweet moments with your baby. If skin-to-skin care is possible in the OR we can help hold baby in place so your partner can focus on you and this exciting arrival. If there are any concerns we can stay with mom while dad accompanies your little one to the nursery, which hopefully will not be necessary! Once in the recovery room we can assist you with positioning while nursing to help avoid pressure on your incision site, and assist in getting baby situated for some skin-to-skin time. Doulas will remain generally a couple hours postpartum so we can accompany you to your postpartum room and help make sure you get settled, and ensure our partner has a chance to grab something to eat and drink.

Here's what one mom said in the comments section after the post:

Thank you for this article. I had a doula present at the birth of my first child, which was a scheduled C-section thanks to some serious complications. I was heartbroken that I could not have a natural birth, and my doula helped me through what would have been a very scary experience without her. OR staff tend to be good at their jobs, but not so much with bedside manner and kindness, which is what a new mom so desperately needs. I’m tired of seeing doulas and holistic birthing practices only being stressed for natural births – while far too many C-sections happen for the wrong reasons, some of them are truly necessary and I’d love to see moms be better cared for “above the drape."

No matter what kind of birth a mother and child experience, there are benefits to having a doula present. There's just something about having another woman there who has experience in childbirth and can be an encouragement to the mother and her partner, to reassure them in what can be an extremely stressful time.

So if you are planning on a c-section and you're not sure about having a doula present, read the article. Then please come back and tell me what you think. I'd love to hear from you!

 

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Save the Date: April 20, 2013

Busy days lately. I'm getting ready for the Natural Parenting Expo that will be in Knoxville next month. I will have a booth, sharing with people what I do as a doula. I'm so excited as I prepare brochures, order free samples and gather supplies to take with me.

If you are expecting, or have little ones, or if you are a grandparent, guardian, etc., you will probably find something to enjoy at the Natural Parenting Expo. There will be door prizes, lots of cool products offered by local businesses, as well as doulas, midwives, and other health care professionals there to offer their services.

Also, at 11:00 AM the day of the event there will be The Great Cloth Diaper Change, a Guinness World Records Diaper Changing Challenge. This will be a time where parents will attempt to break the record for the most reusable cloth diaper changes at one time. Diapers will be changed around the world as a part of this event.

From the Great Cloth Diaper Change website:

"2013: This year, the Great Cloth Diaper Change moves to a more global-friendly Guinness World RecordTM format. We will be changing diapers at the same LOCAL time (11am), meaning the change will roll around the globe with the clock. We expect to beat our previous record and increase the number of countries participating in this cloth diaper awareness event!"

It sounds like we will be having a great time on April 20th! For more information on location, times and who will be there, visit the expo's website.

I hope to see you there!

 

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Interview Questions When Hiring a Doula

When you are thinking about hiring a doula, it could be helpful to have a prepared list of questions to ask her (or him). I have recently found a good resource for doula interview questions. Take a look and tell me what you think.

Possible Questions When Interviewing Your Potential Doula PDF :: Childbirth Connection

What other questions would you want to ask when interviewing a doula?

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I'm Still Here

Wow, so much has happened since I last posted. I have been to two more births (two girls!) and now have one client due in July. I am really enjoying this new "job". It is an amazing thing to be a part of what God is doing in the lives of these moms and their families!

I will be sharing much more in the coming days about what is going on in my sphere of influence as well as in other places where doulas are making a difference. Thanks so much for coming to my blog. I hope you will be blessed by reading what I have to share and will give feedback in the comments.

 

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Celebrating World Breastfeeding Week

Beautiful Baby Born Yesterday!

So exciting! I attended my first birth as a doula yesterday. What an experience! I feel so privileged to be a part of witnessing the miracle of birth. How amazing that God has chosen us to be vessels of His wonderful creation. And to be women, who have the opportunity to carry this creation inside of our own bodies and to bring them forth into His world. I can't imagine ever getting tired of seeing this miracle occur.

The baby is healthy and mama and daddy doing wonderfully. Me? I am tired but happy. Need to catch up on my sleep now and prepare for the next birth.

Thank you, God!

Getting Started!

Well, it's very exciting around here right now. I currently have two clients who are due in the next two months. The first is due in the first week of July, so it won't be long before I will be going to my first birth as a doula!

I received an email recently asking me what I do and what I charge for my services. I will be adding that info to my blog soon in the form of additional pages, but for now, I will copy and paste what I sent to her so that any of you who are interested can get more of an idea about my business.

Here is what I do (copied from my contract that I give to all my clients):

General definition of a labor doula:

* A labor doula provides continuous physical, emotional and educational support for the pregnant woman before, during, and after labor and childbirth.

* A labor doula works for the mother and her partner, not the care provider or the hospital.

* A labor doula does not perform any clinical/medical tasks such as fetal heart rate monitoring, vaginal exams, or administering medications, nor does she make medical diagnoses.

* A doula will help the mother and her partner make decisions by providing information and support, but will not make decisions for them.

Responsibilities of our labor doula:

* Our labor doula will be on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, beginning 2 weeks before the EDD and ending 2 weeks 1 week after the birth of our child. She will carry her cell phone with her at all times and will not leave the Greater Knoxville/Maryville area unless it is an emergency or an event disclosed at the time of the signing of this contract.

* Our labor doula will meet with us for 2 prenatal preparation sessions in our home (or the location of our choice) including, but not limited to the following discussions: help designing a birth plan, choices in childbirth, comfort measures, pain management, risks/benefits of various procedures, and postpartum adjustment.

* In the event of a possible induction of labor, our labor doula will provide an additional prenatal preparation session to discuss options with regard to induction of labor, including the risks and benefits of each method, medical reasons for induction, and choices that may prevent unecessary induction.

*Our labor doula will provide continuous labor support from the time we ask her to come until after the baby is born. She will come to our home or meet us at the hospital, whichever we prefer. She will not leave unless we ask her to, and then will be available by phone. In the event that labor exceeds 24 hours, our doula may call a backup doula to care for us while she takes a nap. We have the option to meet this backup doula if we desire.

*Our labor doula will provide 1-2 postnatal visits to our home (or hospital) to discuss the birth, answer any questions we may have, and provide breastfeeding support. These visits will take place within three weeks of the birth.
______________________________________________________________________

For my doula fee, I charge $300. That includes all that is stated above. A non-refundable deposit of $100 is due upon signing of the contract with the remaining due at or before 36 38 weeks of pregnancy. This $200 is refunded if I (or the backup doula) do not make it to the birth due to my own error. If I or the backup doula misses your birth due to your error or actions, the $200 is not refunded. A spot on my calendar will be reserved for you when the deposit is paid and contract signed. I will not schedule any other expectant mother one week five days before or after your due date.

I charge an additional $150 for photography. That includes 50+ pictures during labor and after the birth, a CD of the edited photos and an 8" x 8" embellished scrapbook of 20-30 selected photos. We would discuss what pictures you would want taken a few weeks before your estimated due date. A non-refundable deposit (unless I cannot make it to the birth) of $50 is required upon signing of the contract and the remainder due at 36 38 weeks of pregnancy.

If you have any more questions, please let me know.

Judy Dudley, Doula
Wonderfully Made Childbirth Services

email: wonderfullymadechildbirth@gmail.com