Pregnancy, birth, & postpartum supPort
BIRTH PREP & CHIldbirth EDUCATION
Unsure what birth looks like or how exactly to prepare? I will walk you through a typical labor and birth and answer common questions like “how do I know it’s time to go to the hospital?”.
I’ll teach you and your partner useful coping techniques and help you create a birth plan that you can share with your medical provider.
We’ll discuss common medical interventions and questions and create a plan for how you’ll handle them if they arise.
You will walk away feeling informed and ready to meet your little one!
LABOR & BIRTH SUPPORT
As your doula, I work with you to prepare for your birth and labor. We create a birth plan during our prenatal visits. I’m available via phone and text to answer your questions as your due date nears.
Starting at 38 weeks of your estimated due date, I go on-call and am ready to support you whenever labor begins.
As your doula, I provide continuous physical, emotional, and informational support during labor. My goal is helping you feel safe, empowered, and comfortable. This can include providing comfort measures like massage, position changes, counter pressure, affirmations, and breathing techniques. Additionally, I advocate for your birth plan and facilitate communication between you and medical staff. If questions or challenges arise, I help you navigate those decisions, making sure you feel informed, heard, and supported. I support the birthing person as well as your partner/spouse/significant other.
After birth, I stay to ensure you, your partner, and your baby are safe and healthy and that feeding has begun. I also visit you at home once you have been discharged (if birthing at a hospital).
I support labor and birth at hospitals near Portland, Maine and I support home births with a certified nurse midwife or trained medical provider.
POSTPARTUM SUPPORT
Bringing a baby home is a big transition! As a postpartum doula, I help support your family during those tender early weeks and months.
Postpartum doula support varies depending on the needs of every family. It can include: caring for baby so parents can eat, shower, and nap; light housework and cleaning; meal prep and dishes; laundry; organizing nursery or baby items; feeding or playing with baby; spending time with older siblings so parents can focus on baby or rest.
Most postpartum shifts are 3-4 hours. I do not currently offer overnight postpartum doula support, but can connect you with other doulas that do.
“Expectant mothers matched with a doula had better birth outcomes, were 4x less likely to have a low birth weight baby, 2x less likely to experience a birth complication, and significantly more likely to initiate breastfeeding.”
-Impact of Doulas on Healthy Birth Outcomes, The Journal of Perinatal Education
MEET YOUR DOULA Rachel
Hello! Pregnancy, labor, birth, postpartum. These are exciting transitions. They can also be overwhelming or scary.
As a mom of two and certified birth and postpartum doula, I’d love to support your family and help you navigate these transitions as your family grows.
Rachel- Mom of Two & Full-Spectrum Doula