Doula

Every birth is unique. I strongly believe that it is important to surround yourself with the most loving and supporting birth team whom you completely trust and feel safe with. This way you will be able to let birth unfold itself within its own uniqueness.

– If a woman doesn’t look like a Goddess during labor, then someone isn’t treating her right – Ina May Gaskin

My goal is to give you support, increase your knowledge about birth and help you discover all your options, enabling you to have your own unique, memorable and positive birthing experience.

During pregnancy I will provide you with all (evidence based) knowledge and options in order for you to be able to make your own informed decisions on your pregnancy, your birth and your baby. I will teach you all about the birthing process, give you tools and techniques to use during labor and I’ll give you emotional support; I’m there for you when feeling insecure or anxious and I’ll encourage you to follow your own path. It’s up to you of course, but you don’t need any additional pregnancy course.

During labor everything revolves around you, your baby and, if present, your partner. I’ll give continuous support during the whole process. I’ll do this in every setting; at home, a birth center or the hospital, wherever you feel most comfortable.

Unlike doctors, midwifes and nurses, I will not be bound by working shifts and I do not have other tasks to perform. This allows me to focus on you and my sole goal is to provide you with the best possible continuous support. This includes physical, emotional and practical support, but I also give information, guard wishes and make pictures. You’ll have somebody whom you trust by your side during the whole birthing experience; I’ll arrive when the first contractions start and will not leave until you and your newborn are settled.

I’ll also be there for you after birth. Finding a new balance with a newborn can be quite overwhelming. I’ll answer any questions you might have and provide you with good postpartum tips.

Besides supporting the person in labor, another important part of my job is to support the partner of the person in labor. Birthing Day is a major life event of this person too and one they will always remember. For partners it can be very reassuring to have somebody that will not leave, who knows and guards all birth wishes and who can guide them to support their partner in the best way they can. Partners know the birthing person better than anyone, Doula’s know birth: together they make an amazing birth team.

– Don’t just wish for a great birth. Prepare for one –

Method

Everyone of us is unique; we all have our own desires and wishes. I will adjust the service I give to match what you need.

As the success of my work depends solely on your trust, it is important for us to explore whether we have a connection.

Therefore, we will always start with an introductory meeting.

Pre-birth

– Knowledge is power –

If there is a match, we will start planning our pre-birth appointments. These meetings will approximately take 8-10 hours in total. Some examples of topics we will cover during these appointments are:

  • the physiological birth:
    • the different stages of birth
    • which processes are happening physically, mentally and emotionally? And how do these processes impact each other?
    • which processes are happening inside the body of your baby?
    • how can we best support al these processes?
  • comfort measures during labor
  • common complications and interventions
  • what do you want?
  • your birth plan (‘a dream without a plan is just a wish’)
  • pain management
  • the needs of your partner
  • previous experiences, fears and/or insecurities
  • birth positions
  • breast feeding / bottle feeding
  • postpartum (the period after birth)
  • … etc.

Birth

As of 37weeks pregnancy I will be on call for you 24/7. During labor everything revolves around you, your baby and, if present, your partner. I will be with you during labor from the moment you want me there and I will not leave until you are comfortable and confident with your newborn. You’ll have somebody whom you trust by your side during the whole birthing experience, and I will provide you with physical, emotional and information support.

Post-birth

I’ll also be there for you after birth. I’ll answer any questions you might have and provide you with good postpartum tips.

During the first week I will pay you a short visit just to see how you are doing and answer any questions you might have. Usually, it’s very nice to see each other again after such an intense experience as birth.

After 4-6 weeks we will plan a post-birth appointment during which we will talk about the birth and how you experienced it. Often, I can help to fill in some memory gaps. This will be our last official meeting; after this my Doula service is completed.

I offer several doula packages, all with different price categories. You can find an overview here.