Tiny Toes
Doula Services
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.
What is a Birth Doula?
Studies have shown that when doulas attend birth, labors are shorter with fewer complications, babies are healthier and they breastfeed more easily.
A Birth Doula recognizes birth as a key experience the mother will remember all her life. She understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor. Assisting the woman in preparing for and carrying out her plans for birth. She stays with the woman continuously throughout the entire 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. She facilitates communication between the laboring woman, her partner and her clinical care providers. Perceiving her role as nurturing and protecting the woman’s memory of the birth experience. She allows the woman’s partner to participate at his/her comfort level.
What is a Postpartum Doula?
When a Postpartum Doula assists families it brings a sense of calm, reassurance, and confidence to the home as they journey through the fourth trimester.
“A Postpartum Doula brings her experience, companionship, and emotional support to parents and their newborns while providing physical, educational, and non-judgemental support. Her primary focus is on the mother’s recovery from birth and the baby’s adjustment to life on the outside of the womb. The doula is well versed in breast and bottle feeding, emotional and physical recovery from birth, sleep guidance, infant soothing, and general coping skills. additionally, she assists with meal preparation, light housework, and the general needs of the family during the postpartum period and beyond.”
~ Randy Patterson, ProDoula