Doula Services

In Ancient Greece, a doula was the head female servant in the household and the one who primarily waited upon the lady of the house. Today, we have adopted the word to refer to a woman who provides physical, emotional, and information support to a woman during labor and birth.

As a professional birth doula since 2002, I have had the privilege of serving many mothers and their families during the transformative experience of birth, and I would love the opportunity to talk with you about how I might help you in the same way.

As a doula, I typically will meet with a mother and her birth support partner(s) at least once and preferably twice before the birth time so that we can get to know each other and she can share with me the kind of birth experience she is hoping to have and how she expects me to help her achieve that goal. I will also work with the family to form a birth plan if desired and find out a little about how the mother normally copes with stress and pain, since these may be some of the same techniques which will help her in labor.

After these meetings, I will be on-call for the mother from 2 weeks before until 2 weeks after her estimated due date (unless we have made other arrangements). Once mom is in labor and calls me to come to her, I will meet her at either her home or the hospital within about an hour and will stay with her throughout the remainder of her labor and birth. After baby arrives, I will usually stay for another 1-2 hours to make sure the new family is settled and assisted with breastfeeding.

These are really just the bare details – what a doula does for a family in labor is truly much more intimate and nurturing, and you always want to be sure you have the right person with you. For this reason, I generally recommend talking with more than one doula to make sure you find the “right fit.” It’s not about hiring the doula with the most experience or the lowest (or highest!) fees. Your birth is going to be one of the most special experiences of your life. You want to be sure the people you choose to support you are going to make you feel safe, secure, and relaxed!

Please call (615-969-9328) or email (goodbirths@bellsouth.net) me so we can schedule a “get-to-know-you” consultation to see if you would like for me to be your doula. We can also discuss fees at this time. I do offer payment plans and a sliding scale, and I am very open to barter if you or your partner(s) have and/or do something that might be of value to me or my family! I also offer package rates for those who take my Lamaze classes and hire me as their doula, as well. I will never turn away a mother for financial reasons!