Recently I had a conversation with a fellow birth doula discussing the most wacky situations we have found ourselves in while at a birth with a client. So many things were mentioned that the mind could never even bring you to think of without a little help along the way. The main take away from this conversation was that we found none of the situations awkward. Scenarios ranged from a clients water breaking all over our shoes to witnessing a woman in transition accidentally kick her physician.
This is birth! There is no script that it will follow and women may find themselves completely out of character and that is more than okay. We will be there for you in the way you want us to be and it will come from a non-judgmental place. We have complete love and adoration for all things that surround bringing our little loves into the world.
Many studies support the belief that having a continuous support person during labor improves birth outcomes. In 2012, Hodnett et al. conducted 22 trials with 15,000 women in which a fraction of the participants received continuous personalized support and the remainder didn't. The researchers found that women who received continuous support were more likely to have spontaneous vaginal births and less likely to interventions. In addition, their babies tended to score higher on the APGAR scale and their laborers, on average, were shorter duration.
At Your Journey Doula Services, our doulas are familiar with all of the local birthing options and can assist you in so many ways. We provide emotional and physical support that is tailored to YOUR needs. We will support all of your choices and provide relevant unbiased information when requested. We can help facilitate conversation between you and your care provider. Sometimes partners don't know the best way to get involved and we can help with that as well.