Birth doula support in the Finger Lakes
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You’re skeptical about medicalized obstetric care. You want to avoid unnecessary interventions like induction, cesarean birth, and maybe even an epidural if you can. But you’ve gotten your information a bit haphazardly from websites, articles, a few books, and other parents’ birth stories. You know that you’re probably missing things, but you don’t know what you don’t know.
You’re nervous about coping with the intensity of labor too. You’re not sure exactly what to expect, but suspect that it won’t be a walk in the park and you want to physically and emotionally prepare for it as much as you can. You want to learn all about labor positions, comfort measures to help you cope, and what your partner can do to support you.
You also want to be sure you know what decisions you want to make if something unexpected happens like a longer than average pregnancy or an unusually intense labor.
More than anything though, you want personalized, evidence-based support that recognizes that you’re a person, not a number.
Schedule your free consultation!
"Mandi was invaluable during my labor and birth. She had a way of making my husband and I feel both in control of the birth, while also feeling like we could defer to her expertise at any moment. She emanated a strength, certainty, and security that made me feel that she would ‘take care' of me while also constantly affirming and building up my own sense of strength and certainty in my decisions. Mandi adapts to unexpected situations with grace. During the various ups and downs during my baby’s birth, she adapted without resistance. It often seems as though Mandi has anticipated all possible disruptions and has already created a plan. She was physically and mentally strong as she applied counter pressure during my contractions for seven hours. It was wonderful to know I had her as an advocate and to guide me in comfort measures.”Kati, first time mom
During Pregnancy
- Work with you to clarify your birth goals
- Make suggestions for the ways you can prepare to give you the best opportunity to reach your goals
- Give you the tools you need to accurately communicate your goals to your care provider
- Prepare your partner for an active support role
Labor, Birth, Recovery
- Phone support in early labor before you want my physical presence
- Help you determine the best time during your labor to contact and meet each member of your birth team (partner, doula, care provider)
- Continuous presence as soon as you decide you need me
- Help to establish a calm and peaceful birth environment
- Offer various options to promote labor progress customized to what’s happening with your labor that very minute
- Suggestions for comfort measures tailored to your specific birth goals
- Encourage support and bonding between you and your partner
- Help facilitate communication between you, your partner, and your care provider as needed
- Help you and your partner cope if plans change unexpectedly
- Provide practical support to your partner - everyone needs a break to use the restroom, eat, drink, and process everything that’s happening
- Help facilitate uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact during The Magical Hour
- Help your baby get a great first latch to get breastfeeding off to a good start
After Baby Arrives
- Discuss how your body is recovering from labor & birth
- Help you emotionally process your labor & birth
- Help you with basic newborn care & feeding
Through It All
- Offer unconditional acceptance, affirmation, and support of your goals - whatever they may be
- Provide provide compassionate, un-biased care with no expectations, opinions, or judgement
- Answer all of your questions openly and honestly
- Help you ask the right questions to get the information you need to make the best decisions for you and your baby
- Respect your wishes and help create a supportive atmosphere for others to do the same
- Help you challenge yourself to work through any fears or hangups
- Help you listen to your instincts (sometimes referred to as your gut feeling or mother’s intuition)
- Help facilitate constructive communication between members of your birth team
- Energize you when you’re feeling tired
- Encourage you when you’re feeling discouraged
- Believe in you even when you don't believe in yourself
"After an amazing workshop series, Mandi continued to bolster me as my doula, conducting organized and detail-oriented prenatal visits, providing an empathetic shoulder to lean on, and referring me to evidence-based resources as I made final decisions regarding my birth plan... She was a dependable and steadfast presence throughout my labor and delivery, and when things did not go entirely as planned, she was composed and communicative, making it easier for me to take the ensuing events in stride... Her generosity with her time, prioritization of my needs and commitment to me as a client touched me deeply.”Erika, second time mom
Learn more
Not sure how a birth doula can help you?
“One of the most effective tools to improve labor and delivery outcomes is the continuous presence of support personnel, such as a doula.”The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in their joint Obstetric Care Consensus: Safe Prevention of the Primary Cesarean Delivery
Birth doulas have been shown to make birth safer by providing physical, emotional, and informational support. There is an excellent article by Evidence Based Birth on the benefits of working with a doula.
It covers many topics, including:
- What is a doula?
- What do doulas do?
- What is NOT included in doula support?
- What is the evidence on doulas?
- How did doulas compare to other types of continuous support?
- Why are doulas so effective?
- How is a doula different from a labor and delivery nurse?
- How is a doula different from having your partner/spouse there?
Click here to read the Evidence Based Birth article on doulas!
"Evidence suggests that, in addition to regular nursing care, continuous one-to-one emotional support provided by support personnel, such as a doula, is associated with improved outcomes for women in labor. Benefits found in randomized trials include shortened labor, decreased need for analgesia, fewer operative deliveries, and fewer reports of dissatisfaction with the experience of labor. As summarized in a Cochrane evidence review, a woman who received continuous support was less likely to have a cesarean delivery or a newborn with a low 5-minute Apgar score. Continuous support for a laboring woman that is provided by a non-medical person also has a modest positive effect on shortening the duration of labor and improving the rate of spontaneous vaginal birth.”The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in their Committee Opinion: Approached to Limit Intervention During Labor and Birth
Schedule your free consultation!
Starry Night Birth & Baby proudly offers three distinct packages so that you can customize your services to your needs and your budget.
The Basic Package
- Decide if I’m the right birth doula for you with a one hour no-obligation interview
- Become more comfortable with me and discuss your ideal birth with three hours of pre-birth planning meetings (split up into one to three sessions)
- Practice positions, movement, and comfort measures with a two hour pre-birth positions, movement, techniques, and comfort measures meeting (split up into one to two sessions)
- One hour of advocacy practice to learn your rights and how to advocate for yourself and your partner during pregnancy, labor, and birth
- Prenatal peace of mind with unlimited e-mail support
- On call support from the time you decide to work with me until your baby is born
- Unlimited continuous comfort and reassurance during labor and birth in your home and/or your birth place
- Discuss your birth & newborn parenting journey with a one hour post-birth meeting
(This package is recommended for families who have already given birth similarly to their birth vision this time.)
The investment for The Confident Package is $2,000
The Confident Package
- Everything in The Basic Package
- Two hours of pre-birth planning meetings to discuss your birth planning options and clarify your written birth plans (split up into one to two sessions)
- A two hour Spinning Babies parent workshop to learn & practice techniques for comfort in pregnancy and smoother progress in labor & birth
- Learn what to expect with newborn parenting with a three hour Settling in with Baby workshop
- Immediate reassurance with unlimited phone/text support
(This package is recommended for families who have chosen to attend a separate childbirth education class that aligns with their birth vision.)
The investment for The Confident Package is $2,300
The Empowered Package
- Everything in The Confident Package
- All the information you need to make informed choices and the comfort measures you’ll need to cope with the intensity of labor with a full Lamaze workshop that includes fifteen additional hours of Lamaze education (generally split up into six sessions 2.5-hour sessions but can be offered as a two day express option)
- All the confidence you can handle with unlimited access to the Knowledge is Power lending library
(This is one of the two packages recommended for first time parents.)
The investment for The Empowered Package is $2,600
The Ultimate Package
- Everything in The Empowered Package
- Get breastfeeding off to the best start with three hours of my prenatal Breastfeeding with Confidence workshop
- Get comfortable with your entire birth team all together when I accompany you to one of your prenatal appointments with your care provider OR get support asking the right questions when I accompany you on your hospital tour
(This is one of the two packages recommended for first time parents.)
The investment for The Ultimate Package is $2,800
"I was faced with a sort of complicated pregnancy. I had high blood pressure and gestational diabetes. I needed a doula who would support me and my choices, no matter what. That is what Mandi did. Even though it was not what I had originally wanted, I was induced and had an epidural and she supported me throughout it all. She helped me push through the labor pain. She held my hair while a threw up. She held my legs while I pushed. I couldn't have asked for better support from her. What stands out most about our experience with her is how much she cares about her clients and their wishes. She would have literally done anything in her power to help us with whatever we needed. That was amazing. As a result of hiring Mandi as my birth doula, I was able to vaginally birth my healthy son. I truly believe that if it wasn't for Mandi, I might have ended up with an emergency cesarean.”Lela, first time mom
My Promise to You...
- I promise I’ll support you. Sometimes families worry that working with a birth doula means that they’ll be pushed to birth a certain way or judged if they decide not to. Not at Starry Night Birth & Baby! No matter what you want, I’ll support your decisions. From a home birth to an elective cesarean, it’s your body, your baby, your decision.
- I promise I’ll help you meet your goals. I’ll help you figure out what you need to know, we’ll make a plan together, I’ll answer all your questions, and occasionally I’ll even challenge you to think of something from a different angle. It’s like having a personal trainer for birth.
- If the plan changes, I still promise I’ll support you. If you decide that your original plans aren’t right for you or your family anymore, I'll help you make the change. There are no right or wrong choices - only the choices that are best for you and your growing family.