Labor Support
Description of Services:
- 1 Complimentary Consultation (to assure a good match)
- 1 Prenatal Visit
- Birth Plan Assistance (if needed)
- 24 Hour On-call Availability (2 weeks prior to and 2 weeks after your due date)
- Photographs/Videos (if desired)
- A Written Birth Story
- Initial Assistance and Support with Breastfeeding (difficulties may require support of a lactation consultant—I can help w/ basics)
- 2 Postpartum visits (around the 1st and 4th week after birth)
- Continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to mother and husband/helper during labor and birth which includes:
- Guidance with positions, relaxation, staying focused, and other ways of keeping labor moving efficiently and effectively
- Knowledge of medical interventions and alternatives
- Massage and hot/cold application
- Helping the mother realize her own capabilities; how to work with her body, natural ways to avoid pain and ways to handle normal discomforts
- If desired, prayer during labor (Christian)
- Help with errands, phone calls to family or friends during labor, getting food or drink for mother/father, fixing lights, temperature, music, and any number of other help requiring extra hands
What is a Labor Support Professional?
A labor support professional (LSP) is a person whom couples can hire to provide wide-ranging support as they labor and give birth. They are often very experienced and/or specially trained and certified and are also known as Labor Assistants, Doulas, Trained Labor Coaches, and Labor Companions. I am considered a Labor Support Professional and my training and certification are through the Bradley Method® of Natural Childbirth, AAHCC. I plan to begin my certification through ALACE in September 2009.
Why Have a Labor Support Professional or Doula?
A recent Cochrane Review, Continuous Support for Women During Childbirth, showed a very high number of positive birth outcomes when a doula was present. Women were less likely to have pain relief medications administered, less likely to have a cesarean birth, and reported having a more positive childbirth experience*.
Another study has shown the presence of a “doula” or LSP to be associated with**:
- 50% reduction in cesarean rates
- 25% shorter labors
- 60% reduction in epidural requests
- 40% reduction in oxytocin (pitocin) use
- 30% reduction in analgesia use
- 40% reduction in forceps delivery
*Support for Women During Childbirth by Hodnett, Gates S Hofmeyr, and Sakala. Continuous Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (3) CD003766 (2003)
**Mothering the Mother, How a Doula Can Help You Have a Shorter, Easier and Healthier Birth by Kennell, Klaus, and Kennell (1993)
