I will help you put together your birth preferences in the comfort of your own home. I will provide breathing and relaxation techniques, visualization, massage, pressure point and counter pressure, productive positional changes, encourage beneficial movements and facilitate continuous support throughout labor. I will remain with you post delivery to help with your initial breastfeeding experience I will visit you in home, after delivery, to answer postpartum questions and to reflect on your birth experience.

A Birth Doula: Recognizes birth as a key experience the mother will remember all her life Understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor Assists the woman in preparing for and carrying out her plans for birth Stays with the woman throughout active labor and delivery Provides emotional support, physical comfort measures and an objective viewpoint, as well as, helping the woman get the information she needs to make informed decisions Facilitates communication between the laboring woman, her partner and her clinical care providers Perceives her role as nurturing and protecting the woman's memory of the birth experience

Research supports labor support: Numerous clinical studies have found that a doula’s presence at birth tends to result in shorter labors with fewer complications reduces negative feelings about one’s childbirth experience reduces the need for pitocin (a labor-inducing drug), forceps or vacuum extraction and cesareans reduces the mother’s request for pain medication and/or epidurals Research shows parents who receive support can: Feel more secure and cared for Are more successful in adapting to new family dynamics Have greater success with breastfeeding Have greater self-confidence Have less postpartum depression Have lower incidence of abuse