Doula Services

Answer  A labor doula is a person trained in supporting women throughout their pregnancy, labor and birth. She provides both physical and emotional support, and helps facilitate communication between the laboring woman and her caregiver. She does not perform any medical procedures (such as taking blood pressure or doing vaginal exams).

Answer  Prenatally, a doula can give you advice on ways to ease pregnancy discomforts, prepare your body for the process of giving birth, and develop a birth plan.

During labor, a doula stays by your side the entire time. She provides emotional support, massage and other physical comfort measures, suggests positions for laboring and birthing, explains medical procedures, and does her best to ensure that caregivers follow your birth plan if possible.

In the postpartum period, a doula can help you get started with breastfeeding, answer questions about newborn care, and direct you to any additional resources you may need. She also provides you with a written record of the birth.

In short, a doula can give you information on numerous topics related to pregnancy, birth and newborn care, help you develop a birth plan, and then work with you to help you achieve the birth you desire. A doula does not try to push her own views on the expectant mother, but gives her the information necessary to make her own choices and supports her in those choices.

Answer  Numerous studies have shown that having a doula during labor benefits both mother and baby. The most commonly cited statistics are:

- 50% reduction in cesarean rate
- 25% shorter labor
- 60% reduction in epidural requests
- 30% reduction in analgesia use
- 40% reduction in forceps delivery

(From Mothering the Mother: How a Doula Can Help You Have a Shorter, Easier, and Healthier Birth by Marshall H. Klaus, Perseus Press, 1993)

Answer  No. Doulas are not there to replace the father, but rather to help the couple. Different couples have different expectations about the dad's role. If mom desires dad to be very active in the birth process, the labor doula can make suggestions to him for things to try to make mom more comfortable, and can give him a break from time to time if he needs to eat, go to the bathroom, or just rest. If dad is not interested in taking such an active role, the labor doula can take on more of the responsibility for physical comfort measures and dad can sit with mom and provide love and emotional support. Either way, the labor doula can also help the couple understand what is going on, interpret information given to them by their caregiver, and ensure that the couple's wishes are respected throughout the process.

Answer  While many women wait until their third trimester to begin looking for a doula, the sooner you hire a doula, the more benefit you will get from her. A doula can help you throughout your pregnancy by assisting you in finding a care provider and birth place, suggesting ways to deal with common discomforts, explaining common tests and procedures, and providing emotional support. Also, since doulas generally limit the number of clients they will take each month, hiring a doula earlier in your pregnancy makes it more likely that the doula you prefer will be available for your due date.

Answer  Generally no more than two; I want to minimize the chance that two clients will be in labor at the same time. If you hire me, I want you to be able to get me, not my back-ups.

Answer  I currently work with two other lovely Christian women in a coalition we are calling Servant Heart Doulas. Usually one of them will be chosen as primary back-up, based on availability and birth location. I do occasionally work with other doulas in the metroplex, and if you have a particular person that you would prefer as a back-up, that can be arranged as well. You will have the opportunity to talk with the back-up doula by phone or email before your birth, and she will be given a copy of your birth plan.

Answer  I am available for doula services in a large part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex; basically anywhere within an hour's drive of Denton.