Birth Doula Services
Birth Doula Services
Certified Birth Doula
Bobby is a certified Birth Doula CD(DONA) and member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Doula Collective. As a birth doula Bobby commits to being on-call for your birth for two weeks before and after your due date. She will meet with you at least once prior to birth to discuss birth plans, provide information or work out other details for your upcoming birth. When your baby is ready to arrive she will meet you at your home or the hospital and stay with you throughout your labour, birth and immediately postpartum until mom, dad and baby are settled and happy. As a Birth Doula she will then check in the next day at the hospital to see how things are going and follow up with a home visit a few days later to see how breastfeeding and transitioning at home with your baby is going. The specific roles of a birth doula varies with each birth. Some common roles include, providing information, massage, positive encouragement, breath support, taking photos, supporting the birth partner, and more. In general, a birth doula aims to enhance the birth process for the whole family, based on the client’s vision of their ideal birth experience and environment.
Contact Bobby at Bobby@ShaktiYoga.ca for availability
What is a Doula?
A doula is a trained professional that provides continual labour support for birthing mothers and their partners. A doula can help to:
- Shorten the length of labour
- Reduce the need for a caesarean section
- Decrease the need for medication
- Enhance bonding
There are two types of doulas: Birth doulas and postpartum doulas.
A birth doula is a trained professional that provides continual labour support for birthing mothers and their partners. A doula can help to shorten the length of labour, reduce the need for a caesarean section, decrease the need for medication and enhance bonding. Over the past 5 years as a birth doula Bobby has been honored to have helped many moms and dads welcome their babies into the world with joy and calm.
A birth doula will…
- Give physical and emotional support during birth
- Support the mother’s birth choices
- Work with the father/partner to support the mother
- Stay with the labouring mother throughout her entire labour
- Meet with the mother before the birth to discuss birth plans and fears
- Provide information, not advice
- Respect privacy of clients
- Respect the sexual orientations and identifications of all clients
- Respect each clients’s background and life experience
A doula does not…
- Play a medical role
- Make decisions for the mother
- Replace a father/partner
Testimonials
Involving Bobby in our birth was a great decision and we are grateful to her for her meaningful assistance and the knowledge she imparted to us throughout the labour period and beyond. If we have another child we will definitely ask Bobby for her assistance again.Heather Macdonald & Lorne Sulsky, 1st BabySt. John’s, August 2013
If it were not for my doula, Bobby, I think my husband would have had a heart attack. He raves about doulas now and our experience with her!
Bobby was great and made my labour and my child’s birth exceptional. I honestly would have had an entirely different experience without her and one that I don’t think I would have 100% raved about. Furthermore, as I noted above, my husband really loved having a doula as he felt much more comfortable knowing that there was someone outside of the nurses and doctors supporting me through labour and him for that matter. We tell all of our friends they need a doula as our experience was pretty stellar.Cara Cameron, 1st BabySt. John’s, June 2013
The most valuable part of having Bobby as my Doula was the overwhelming sense of support and positive energy she provided during my labour, she was the constant amongst all the different staff at the hospital and the numerous procedures, she was there for me – just me – it was wonderful!
Giving birth is such a personal journey. I feel it is unnatural to be surrounded by complete strangers and this had really distracted me during my previous births. Bobby kept me calm through the entire process from pre- labour discussions and meetings right up to post labour.
My husband was very grateful for her presence and encouragement during our labour, he said he would never of thought of doing/ saying some of the things she did/said during my labour. She was truly a trusted partner. We recognize the huge benefit of having a doula and the experience she brought to make it a very special event. If we have another child, we will definitely have a Doula again (and hopefully it can be Bobby!)Jennifer Dove, 3rd BabySt. John’s, July 2013
I would recommend Bobby to everybody I know who is pregnant. I think she was integral in my getting the birthing experience I wanted!!!Wendy Reid Fairhurst, 2nd BabyJune 2013