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Birth

Birth Doula Service

What is a Doula?

DONA International says: The word "doula" comes from the ancient Greek meaning "a woman who serves" and is now used to refer to a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth; or who provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period.

Research has shown that when doulas attend births,
  • labors tend to be shorter with fewer complications,
  • mothers and babies are healthier,
  • babies breastfeed more easily,
  • and the likelihood of interventions such as medication, extraction, and c-section is reduced.
A Birth Doula
  • Recognizes birth as a key experience the mother will remember all her life
  • Understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor
  • Assists the woman in preparing for and carrying out her plans for birth
  • Stays with the woman throughout the labor
  • Provides emotional support, physical comfort measures, and an objective viewpoint, as well as helping the woman get the information she needs to make informed decisions
  • Facilitates communication between the laboring woman, her partner, and her clinical care providers
  • Perceives her role as nurturing and protecting the woman's memory of the birth experience
  • Allows the woman's partner to participate at his/her comfort level


My initial consultation is free of charge! We meet at a location that is comfortable for both of us to get to know each other and chat about what you want for your birth experience. This is where we both decide if we are a good fit.

Birth Doula Service includes:
  • Initial consultation
  • At least two prenatal visits (about 2 hours each): to discuss your wishes for your labor and birth, address concerns and worries, and basic childbirth education to help you understand the process and your choices regarding birth so you can make informed decisions.
  • On-text/call service for questions and concerns during pregnancy and especially approaching labor, 24/7 from 38 to 42 weeks gestation
  • Continuous labor support from the moment you need me until about 2 hours after baby is born. This includes
    ✓ emotional support for you and your birth partner
    ✓ social support to ensure that only the desired birth team is present and being supportive
    ✓ physical support through comfort measures and pain relief in any way that feels good and is productive, such as compresses, positioning, mobility, rebozo, counterpressure, etc.
    ✓ partner support to make sure that the birth partner is engaged in a way that feels comfortable and supportive
  • Lactation advice to kickstart a successful breastfeeding relationship if desired
  • 1 Postpartum visit (1-2 hours): to see how you are doing, address postpartum, newborn care, and breastfeeding questions, and re-evaluate your birth story.

Birth Photography Service

Birth Photography can be added on to my Birth Doula Service as a package or purchased separately if you are not interested in doula support. I aim to get beautiful and emotional shots of all birth aspects and stages to tell the whole birth story! Check out my FAQs for reasons why you should hire a birth photographer!

Birth Photography Service includes:
  • Prenatal consult to discuss your specific needs (preferably) in-person or over Skype/Facetime.
  • On-call service from 38-42 weeks gestation
  • Labor, birth, and immediate postpartum coverage up to a maximum of approximately 24 hours.
  • 75+ hand-edited digital images delivered online within 4 weeks post birth, including color and black & white images.

Doula-Photography Package

This package is ideal if you are interested in both of the Birth Doula and Birth Photography services. As a doula I know how to navigate the birth space to get great shots of your birth without disturbing the birth process. However, my role as your doula will always come first unless otherwise decided upon.

Virtual Doula Service

If you are interested in birth support but

  • are not in my local service area or
  • do not want another person in the room during birth or
  • for whatever reason do not want or need in-person doula support

please do consider booking me for virtual birth doula support!

This includes:
  • my usual two prenatal sessions (up to 2 hours each) over Skype, Facetime, or in person
  • on-call support over the phone from 38 to 42 weeks gestation for any questions or support that come up in preparation for birth
  • labor and birth support in whatever way you need in the moment, from encouraging and affirming you on the phone, Skype, Facetime, to providing education such as benefits and risks of offered interventions, to reminding you and your partner of labor and pain relief techniques. Just call me whenever you need my input or support and I will be virtually there for you!
  • one virtual postpartum contact (up to two hours) to discuss the birth, breastfeeding, and any other relevant newborn care and postpartum care issues.

Please feel free to ask any questions about this service to see if it's right for you!

Off-Call Birth Doula Service

This service is a great, budget-friendly option for anyone who would love the in-person support of a doula but is not dead-set on actually having a doula there for the birth. It includes everything in the Birth Doula service but I would NOT be on-call for you which means there is no guarantee that I will be there for you in-person during labor and birth.

However, if I AM available, I will be there for you the same as I would for an on-call birth client, including all of the attributes outlined above. In the event that I am not there for you during labor and birth, I will offer a complimentary 30-minute lifestyle newborn session with 3 included images that would be taken during our postpartum visit 2-5 days postpartum.

Birth All-Inclusive Package

With this package you're good to go! All-in-one, you will get my Birth Doula Service, Birth Photography coverage, and two additional 2-hour sessions of Childbirth Education, detailed and individualized to your needs.

My service area is about 50 miles or up to 1.5 hours of driving time from Claremont, CA, but we can talk about it.

Birth Doula

$1,500

Includes prenatal support, on-call service from 38-42 weeks gestation, continuous labor and birth support, and one postpartum visit

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Birth Photography

$1,500

Includes prenatal consult, on-call service from 38-42 weeks gestation, labor, birth, and postpartum coverage, and 75+ hand-edited digital images

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Doula-Photography
Package

$2,000

Includes both Birth Doula and Birth Photography Services

Learn More