Doula Work| @olivejuicelifestyle

Doula

My journey into doula work, happened naturally. After witnessing over 100 births, I began to see how desperately families needed to not just document, but truly take control of their birthing experience. What unfolded from here was a powerful and ongoing journey to discover how I could support families to approach their birth feeling calm, confident, informed and empowered. My approach to doula work is rooted in a belief that with the right information & support, all women are capable of making decisions in the best interest of their body and baby. As such, I am firmly pro-choice and will support and advocate for women to be able to grow, birth, feed and care for their baby’s, however they see fit. Whether you are planning a freebirth, a scheduled c-section or something in between, I will be your fiercest advocate and an unwavering presence of support throughout your birthing journey.

How we work together?

In the face of an overstretched and imperfect maternity system, much of my doula work is focused around helping you to get clear on what kind of birth you desire + providing you with physical, emotional and informational support to achieve it. Every birth is unique and therefore every doula package I offer is too. However all doula clients receive:

Emotional support:

Providing you with encouragement, empathy and reassurance throughout your entire birthing journey.

Education:

Sharing resources and knowledge about the birthing process, pain management options, postpartum + more.

Support to make informed decisions:

Providing you with evidence-based information and resources to make decisions about your pregnancy, birth and baby.

Birth preparation + mapping:

Helping you to get clear on your ideal birth by considering all the options available to you and addressing potential roadblocks and concerns as we go.

Partner support:

Supporting and involving partners in the pregnancy, birth and beyond.

Communication with medical staff:

Helping you to decode medical lingo, assess what this means for your birth and find your voice advocating for yourself when necessary.

Continuous presence during labour:

Offering continuous physical and emotional support, comfort measures and advocacy during your birth

Postpartum support:

Immediate support in the postpartum period as you transition to this new stage of life.

Processing the experience:

Helping you to make sense of your birth and work through any feelings that may arise.

Referrals and resources:

Connecting families with additional support and resources to help them thrive

From the moment we connect, I will be your friend, your coach, your cheerleader and your confidant. I will hold space for you, provide you with resources, send you little love notes to let you know that I am thinking of you + more.

What does this look like in practice?

Antenatal Doula Visits:

• Get to know each other over 2-3 visits

• Discuss your fertility journey, any past births and your ideal birth experience

• Share information and resources

• Watch birth videos to help you prepare for your journey

• Explore pain management options

• Discuss birth positions and optimal fatal positioning

• Do exercises to help you connect with your baby and release your fears

• Create a birth map

• Prepare for life after birth

• Ongoing emotional support throughout your pregnancy:

On call support:

On call 24/7 from 38 weeks

(however, if you go into labour before this, you better believe I will move mountains to be with you).

You have unlimited access to me via phone & email

Birthing support:

• During your birth, I am there to help you to surrender, embrace the process and find as much calm in the experience as possible. Some ways that I support mamas in labour:

- Providing acupressure

- Assisting with a TENS machine

- Suggesting and assisting with position changes

- Creating a calming environment (lights, curtains, etc)

- Assisting with hypnobirthing techniques

- Hydrating and feeding you and your birth team

- Hands off/ hands on infant feeding support within my scope

- Anything else you feel will help you have the positive birth experience you desire

Immediate postpartum support:

• Birth continues for long after your baby arrives earth side and I will be with you in those powerful hours after birth while you birth your placenta, come back into your body, learn to feed your baby and more.

• Once you are settled in at home, we book in a postpartum catch up to debrief your birth, discuss how feeding is going, rally your village (if necessary + more). At a time when everyone is worried about holding the baby, I am there to hold you. While we only have 1 formal postpartum catch up, most doula clients become lifelong friends and I relish in the opportunity to check in and catch up as your little one grows.

COMPLIMENTARY VIDEO CALL