What Does a Birth Doula Do With You During Pregnancy?
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Kaely Harrod 0:01
Hello and welcome back. Today's question is, what does a birth doula do with you during pregnancy? This is Kaely Daily, the bi weekly podcast about all things doula Tips and Tips where we answer one question about pregnancy, labor, postpartum, or lactation, in order to have your journey in this parenting world be just a little bit more informed and filled with consent. Hello, and welcome back. I'm Kaely Harrod, the host of this beautiful podcast, the Kaely Daily doula Tips and Tits podcast. And I'm also a birth and postpartum doula, a mom of three kiddos, myself, childbirth educator, etc, etc. I need to just maybe make a list of like, what are what are my qualifications that I'm going to list out? Because I feel like I do it differently every time I hope you all appreciate that there is some casual nature of that. And also don't feel like I'm just flaky because that's not the case truly. But I realize how that could sound so I'm going down a rabbit trail. So let's circle back.
Kaely Harrod 1:14
So we're in this doula series. Today's question is kind of piggybacking off of the last question. So the last question was, when is the best time to hire a birth doula? Today's question is, what does a birth doula do with you during pregnancy? Because I think, of course, if you're hiring a birth doula, and you're hiring them sooner, rather than later in your pregnancy, then you want to know what exactly is going to be included. Now, this like so many of my answers, varies depending on the person that you hire, right? Because we we are not one genre that are all operating exactly the same. So one lovely thing about doula work is that we are very individual and how we come to this work, how we do this work, what our kind of like, packages include what our expectations are with client interactions. And that means that you can find a doula in most cases, that is a good fit for what your desires and expectations are as well. But you kind of have to know what those are to know what to look for. Right. So my thought in this episode is to give you a sense of what is kind of the range of what doulas do, so that you can see where do you fall on that range? What do you like about that range? And what do you want to be included during your pregnancy time with a doula and then actually have that factor into your search? As you're looking for a doula? Okay. So, in general, doulas typically give you some kind of electronic access to them. That means like if you hire a doula today, you should be able to call or text or email with questions, for instance, how quickly respond to that varies person to person. I'm like, I respond pretty quickly, usually, because I forget that it's there. Not that I forget, I shouldn't say that. It gets like bumped down my inbox, right. And so I respond fast, so that I respond when a question is asked. However, I also make sure to tell all of my clients, that text messages do not wake me up at all. And so I sleep at weird times being a birth doula, right? And so if you urgently need me, you've got to call me because if you text me something urgent, and I'm asleep, I'm not going to see it until I wake up. Okay. So there's kind of a variety of what that looks like. Right? Some people might say, I want you to mainly email me questions, and expect for me to get back to you within 24 hours, right? Some people might say, please just text me and I wake up from texts. I know doulas who prefer that you text them when you're in labor, where I'm like, please call me Do not text me because I will not wake up. So we operate all a little bit differently in that sense, but some form of ability to ask questions and be in contact with your doula is typically included. Then we have something called prenatal visits. Now, how many you have and what's included in those varies a lot? Do left to doula, okay. Some people do one prenatal visit. And it's primarily like writing a birth plan and that kind of stuff. Some people do, too. And one is a birth plan sort of writing session, and the other is a comfort measure session. That's how I do my packages. Some people do two longer sessions, and they both include a little bit of those two things.
Kaely Harrod 4:44
And there's like, every variation, right, so some people do probably three or four, I don't know, because I don't do that. And I don't know do those who do that, but I'm sure there are people who do that. So um, so typically one or two is the most common. Some people do three III, the length of time varies person to person. So I do two, two hour prenatals. Some people do a two hour and a one hour some people do to one hour prenatal depending on the person, right? And what you've kind of signed up for, because some people have various options. Another thing that is sometimes included is childbirth education. Now, oftentimes, a doula has this as like an extra add on, or an optional thing that you can do, right? So if you have a package where childbirth education is included, then if that's taught by your, your doula, you're having those interactions during that time, or if it's a class, like my class that's pre recorded, you're hearing my teaching and my tone of voice and my temperament and my jokes and all of that, which gives us some continuity in terms of how we communicate with each other. And so that's often included, or sometimes an option at least. And then some people add on other services, right. So like, some people will allow you to do like massage or strength training or if someone's a PT, like I know, a couple of doulas who are also PTS, so there's a lot of variation. But generally, if you're hiring a birth, doula, for birth support, primarily, then that's what your prenatal interactions will be is around preparing for birth, both physically, mentally and emotionally, and then kind of navigating anything that comes up during pregnancy. Now, one thing that differs a lot doula to doula is how much information they just voluntarily send you during the prenatal time. So one of the things that I have I have gotten to over the years is, is having a client portal that has some information that's just like, I love this information, this is good information about this, I also have a couple different, like, I send you this email about natural induction techniques. And I send it to everybody, you know, like that's, like, this is an email of information that I've curated over the years that I'm like, This is good information about this. And I want you to read it and see what you think and discuss it with your provider and then decide what you want to do in terms of helping your body be encouraged to go into labor. Okay. So, again, everyone's different, right? Not everybody does that. But certainly, I'm not the only doula who does and so if that's something you're looking for, then that's something you can ask about as well. Okay. Um, one big thing for me, and, and I just kind of want to get into this like philosophy part of this really quick, so that you understand where I'm coming from, from this whole series. A big thing for me is to normalize the range of ability and the range of normal, and pregnancy and birth, always, but also in doula care, partially because I think when you're coming to this kind of season of life for the very first time, it's really easy to feel like everybody, but you knows what they're doing. And to feel like, this is how it's done. Right? So like, I've had a couple clients over the years that hire me and never interview anybody else. And I'm like, on the one hand, I get it, I love you dearly. I think actually, all the clients that have done that have been lovely fits. So maybe it was just that like, obviously, we're a good fit for each other. But I also think you run the risk of thinking every doula functions like this. Right, like doulas are Kaley, which is not true. And communication and personality and ethnicity and language like all of those things differ so much, but also just how we operate differs. So I don't like to come to this work thinking like I do it right, you know what I mean? Because there's a wide range of ways to do this. And that means if what you hear in my packages, what I do is not what you're looking for, there's a wide range of other folks, what I want to normalize is that there's a range so that you can look for what feels like a good fit for you and not feel like you have to settle for something that doesn't feel like a good fit. When there is a range, therefore probably somebody else who fits the thing that doesn't feel like a good fit with the person you're hiring. So that's kind of a little like, this is my philosophy in life in general, but also
Kaely Harrod 9:42
some context for where I'm coming from from even having some of these questions on the series, because I want you to understand that we're not all the same. And so there's not just one answer, also, because I think if you Google some of these questions, you're gonna get one answer, right? Like you're gonna get like a doula should Do you two times in pregnancy, and they should both be this many hours long. And it's just not that straightforward. It's just not that cut and dry. And so it's important for you to know that right? So that you can say like, I actually want to see my Doula three times or only once or whatever, and be able to find someone who fits that desire me. Okay. So that is all for today for this lovely question. And we do still have a handful of questions more, I would love to hear from you. I'm going to get into postpartum questions and a few new guest speakers and stuff in the next series. So if you have some postpartum questions that you've been dying to ask, I would love to have you send them to me. The easiest way to connect with me is on Instagram. So hop over to Herat doula, and send me a message over there and give me your question that you're wanting to ask. I would love love, love to hear from you. And also if you're kind of digging through, like how to hire a doula, I'm happy to have a chat with you. So booking a consultation is the easiest way to do that. I will put the link for that in the show notes so that you have it and until then, I wish you well informed consent filberts these episodes are edited and produced by Kaely Herat as I'm sure you can probably tell, and our amazing music is credited in the shownotes as well. So we look forward to seeing you on the next episode. And in the meantime, have a wonderful and consent build
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Each Birth Doula works slightly differently, that’s part of the beauty of our work! Some doulas have a variety of options in terms of what is included in a doula package and others have a set standard of what they do with clients. While I can’t guarantee that this episode covers all the variety of how individual doulas work, however it does cover the types that I most often see!
Many birth doula packages include some form of prenatal education and interaction with a pregnant client and their support person/partner. Oftentimes you have virtual access via text, email and calls, as well as one or more prenatal visits. One of the things you can ask doulas when you’re doula interviews is what kind of prenatal interactions you will have with them.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Many doulas include the following prenatal interactions in their packages
Text/Email support during pregnancy and sometimes a short time during postpartum
One prenatal to plan for birth and sometimes write a birth plan
One prenatal for planning comfort measures or practicing things together
An on-call period that either starts from date of hire or from 36 weeks (that’s a good thing to ask!)
Not all doula packages are the same, so ask what is included when you’re interviewing doulas!
RESOURCES
FREE OXYTOCIN GUIDE:
6 Ways to Increase Oxytocin for Labor Progression
https://www.harroddoulaservices.com/free-guide-6-oxytocin-tips
CONNECT with Kaely on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/Harroddoula/
This podcast is hosted by the Birth Prep Blueprint - comprehensive Childbirth Education for expectant parents to feel calm, prepared and confident about labor and birth. Podcast listeners (that’s YOU!) get 10% off! Use the link below to get that great deal!
https://thebirthprepblueprint.com/offers/884d5a56-9089-4482-a944-6bb7c26c9b04
** The Birth Prep Blueprint is offered for only $20 to anyone who qualifies for any kind of social services (meaning that a family has a lower income to the point that they would qualify for WIC or SNAP or Medicaid, etc.). No need to disclose your income, just which service you qualify for and the link can be sent right over. Just email kaely@harroddoulaservices.com to learn more.
If you like this episode, don't forget to share it to your Instagram stories and tag me @harroddoula
Kaely Daily is produced by Kaely Harrod of Harrod Doula Services
It is sponsored by The Birth Prep Blueprint Childbirth Class
Music by Madirfan: Hidden Place on Pixabay
