Birth doulas provide support during your pregnancy and attend your birth. Throughout your labor and delivery, we offer a calm, steady hand of support. We assist in establishing connections between every member of your team, including your partner, nurse, caregiver, and family.
One of the most vulnerable times a woman and her family will go through in their lifetimes is during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. Working with a birth doula will give you peace of mind, evidence-based support, emotional connection, and the chance to approach the birthing environment with more ease and joy, rather than fear and apprehension.
Seven Resources You Need When Giving Birth
1. Keep Your Heart and Mind Open
Your pregnancy and delivery will follow an unpredictable course. You can learn to surrender to the process and have an open mind about what is beyond your control by letting go of expectations as you move through this precious and vulnerable season. Your birth preferences are a guideline, and not a rule.
2. What to Have for Your Labor and Delivery
There are many resources out there to help you make sure you have everything you need for your labor and delivery. Depending on if you are having a home birth, delivering in a hospital, or delivering at a birthing center will determine everything you need for your labor and delivery. Be sure to talk with your provider for a checklist.
3. Childbirth Class Options
It is very important for you to take a childbirth class. A childbirth class will provide you with the knowledge and abilities to weigh all of your alternatives both during your pregnancy and during delivery, empowering you to make the best decisions during this process. You'll get unbiased knowledge on the physiology of birth, birthing techniques, and a ton of practical and emotional coping strategies.
There are many different options for taking a childbirth class. You can find an in-person class, a live Zoom class, an online class, or a book study. Doulas and midwives also offer custom-planned childbirth classes. It is wise for you and your partner to decide which birthing class avenue is best for you.
4. Create a Birth Plan
Your care team will benefit from knowing your preferences for labor and delivery. Every birth would be ideal if everything went without a hitch and everyone was in good health. Yet, there are many various methods to give birth, so your idea of things "going smoothly" might not be the same as someone else's.
A birth plan outlines your desired birth situation and conveys it to your care team to ensure the smoothest possible delivery. Yet, what does a birth plan entail?
A birth plan is a written statement that informs the medical staff of your preferences for labor and delivery, including those related to pain management, postpartum care, infant procedures, and even the atmosphere of the delivery room (lights, aromatherapy, etc.).
Here is a birth plan template as a guide to help you get started on your planning!
5. Supportive Provider
If your insurance and circumstances permit, choose a provider who is at ease with and accepting of the style of birth you want. If you want to give birth in the water, pick a provider that is skilled in water births and encourages it. Select a practitioner with a high VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) success rate if your goal is vaginal labor after a cesarean delivery.
You'll have a better chance of having the delivery you want if you choose a provider who genuinely supports your desires and understands your goals. You'll also feel more at ease throughout the entire birth process, no matter what turns out to be best for you.
6. Birth Location Options
There are several options for locations for labor and delivery. There are in-home births, birthing centers, and hospitals. In order to support your birthing priorities, choose a birthing location that aligns with your birthing goals.
7. Strong Support System
Your feelings around your impending birth will be influenced by the people you let into your space during this incredible and vulnerable moment. Be surrounded by encouraging family, friends, and birth experts.
Here is where having a doula by your side can truly help. Since we at Kooshlie Care work as a team of two doulas, you can count on us to provide dependable, sympathetic care right away! In order to build a trustworthy connection with you, we will support you with evidence-based education, decades of experience from hundreds of births, both medicated and unmedicated births, and compassionate, prompt replies.
You can also interact with other local birthing families at our twice-monthly prenatal support group, many of whom may be giving birth at the same location and are probably going through many of the same concerns, joys, and wonders as you.
Kooshlie Care Doula Services
Our mission at Kooshlie Care Doula Services is:
- To empower families during the process of pregnancy, labor, birth, and parenthood.
- To educate families with the most up-to-date information regarding all aspects of pregnancy through early childhood.
- To bring comfort, joy, and lasting memories for the early years of child-rearing.
When you choose to work with Kooshlie Care, we are with you every step of the way. We are there to assist you with the discomforts, fears, concerns, and joys of pregnancy, labor, and birth. We provide continuous support that is needed to bring your whole care experience together.
All Doulas with Kooshlie Care Service are certified or in the process of certification. Collectively we have 25+ years of experience to offer the families who bring us into your journey. Our doulas hold a wide range of certifications, including DONA International, Lamaze, Hypno-Babies, as well as Pro-Doula.
We would love to talk to you about your birth journey. If you are interested in seeing if Kooshlie Care Doula Services is a good fit for you, please contact us for an interview. We look forward to supporting you in your pregnancy journey.
