A doula perinatal mentor is like your best friend.  Remember that love you had growing up with a friend that would listen to all your stories, ideas, and imaginary worlds you snail-mailed to each other?  Remember when you were sad, and she gave you a hug?  Remember when you had a question, and she'd help you find the answer?  A doula is your best friend through the childbearing years with an inside scoop about the modern birth industry and your amazing body.  Not every doula practices the same way, but an Esali Birth Perinatal Mentor strives to encompass all of the needs of the childbearing years through knowledge, skill, and networking.

What does a doula do?  What DOESN'T a doula do?

What a Doula Does

1. Tells you her personal abilities to support YOU through whatever stage of birth you're experiencing
2. Doesn't pretend to be superwoman, but offers you love and guidance through your personal birth experience
3. Massages your feet, hands, face, and whatever will make you feel better
4. Walks with you prenatally providing informational and emotional guidance
5. Provides education and support that encourages you to make informed decisions
6. Seeks to build your confidence so you can become aware of your personal power, knowledge of yourself, and capabilities as a mother or father
7. Understands the birth industry and hurdles you may have to cross, and helps you navigate these paths
8. Offers physical guidance to improve your overall health for a happy healthy birth
9. Offers nutritional guidance to improve your overall health for a happy healthy birth
10. Helps you find area professionals that can support you through happy healthy birth
11. Helps you find area professionals that can support you through postpartum and parenting
12. On call 24/7 (not just after 37 weeks and not just for active labor)
13. Helps you find answers to questions and may perform many hours of research for clients
14. Looks over your food journal to help see where you could improve from timing of eating to what you're ingesting
15. Finds time for you and your family's needs
16. Goes with you to the grocery store to help select healthy balanced food items
17. Help you prep for postpartum by blending herbal baths, stocking your pantry, and packing your labor bag
18. Reviews your birth guide (birth plan) for language, efficiency, and necessities to help you communicate with your birth team
19. Networks with area professionals to help maintain a positive image in the community that will reflect on your birth experience
20. Leads birth comprehensive birth classes that help you become aware of ALL your options for ALL births
21. Leads perinatal comprehensive classes that help you become aware of ALL your options from pre-conception through postpartum and early parenting
22. Can drive with you to long distance prenatal appointments to chat about what you want to talk about, and help you reflect on your prenatal appointment after it has occurred
23. Provides consistent support prenatally, even when you are choosing to birth without a doula or with another doula
24. Provides consistent support prenatally for mothers includes those experiencing PTSD from Previous Sexual Trauma while working with your therapist to ensure you have the best support team available no matter when you have your baby
25. Supports #ALLthebirths because a doula is supporting YOU
26. Supports the birth team's interaction with the laboring mother to improve her experience and memory of the birth
27. Guides you and your birth partner on positive communication skills to improve your labor experience
28. Provides physical support during labor for comfort
29. Provides physical guidance during labor to help a baby move into a more comfortable position
30. Provides emotional support during labor for comfort and birth progression
31. Communicates with the staff about your needs for quiet and privacy during labor
32. Doesn't flinch when your water breaks all over their shoes and the doula is in the middle of counter pressure for your comfort
33. Helps you roll from side to side during a medicated birth and you have little feeling from an epidural
34. Holds your baby on your breast during the first hours after a cesarean when you're a little in and out from the medication
35. Cares for older siblings whether at a home birth, during the hospital, or when you need childcare during a scheduled cesarean
36. Meets you at your home, in the woods for a walk, and at your labor facility to support you whenever you need support
37. Watch your labor signs to help provide information that helps you decide when to transfer to your birth facility
38. Encourages you to listen to your amazing body and all the signals it is providing you to move, breathe, and dance with your baby
39. Helps comfort you through transferring to a birth facility
40. Can drive you to your birth facility while your birth partner supports you during transfer to a birth facility
41. Help setup a birthing tub for hydrotherapy
42. Help tear down and cleanup a birthing tub after a water birth
43. Get in the birthing tub with you to provide back pressure and position support
44. Is comfortable with birth fluids near and on them
45. Helps you find the labor noises that opens your cervix and brings baby down
46. Reassures your birth partner that all these noises are expected and opening the cervix, bringing the baby down
47. Help cleanup the house after a home birth
48. Rotates and wiggles your hips to help baby move through the pelvis
49. Dances with you during birth for emotional and physical support
50. Offers birth ball use guidance
51. Offers peanut ball use guidance
52. Tells you how amazing you are to build your confidence, and oxytocin, in pregnancy and birth
53. Tells your birth partner how amazing they are to build their confidence, and oxytocin, in supporting you through birth
54. Takes the lead on supporting you as you desire
55. Guides the direction of your birth partner so they can support you in a leading role
56. Works alongside your birth partner
57. Holds your hair back and a bag for vomit
58. Provides support even when there are shift changes at your birth facility
59. Turns down the lights to help oxytocin build to its fullest potential
60. Encourages privacy to build oxytocin for labor progression and an enjoyable birth
61. Encourages intimacy to build oxytocin for labor progression and an enjoyable birth
62. Reminds you to listen to your body for positions and movement
63. Reminds you to listen to your body for needs of rest and relaxation
64. Reminds you to listen to your body for pushing birthing
65. Reminds the facility of your birth guide
66. Reminds you to speak up for your desires
67. Reminds you of your human rights during labor and birth
68. Reminds you that you CAN birth vaginally when others are telling you that you don't have a choice
69. Reminds you that you CAN choose a cesarean when others are telling you that you don't have a choice
70. Fills up your water bottle, adds a little cucumber and fruit for electrolyte balance
71. Reminds you to take sips of water for hydration
72. Reminds you to eat light balanced foods, broths, and fruit as desired during labor
73. Reminds you to communicate with your provider and staff for your wishes
74. Reminds you that, "No Thank You" and "Not Right Now" are powerful words in the labor space
75. Gets cooling wash cloths for your face and neck
76. Gets warm towels for perineal support
77. Provide hip squeezes to allow comfort and room for the baby
78. Uses a rebozo for comfort and encouraging baby to rotate through the pelvis
79. Works with the rest of the birth team and the staff to ensure you have all the perspectives when needed
80. Answers the phone at 3 am to help you find calm in the early hours of labor, and breastfeeding
81. Shares area contacts for perinatal services such as breastfeeding or osteopathic therapy
82. Makes you a cup of tea and a sandwich while you're nursing your baby
83. Brings your family dinner so you all can rest during postpartum
84. Listens to your birth story and encourages you to feel all the feels
85. Helps you wrap your baby for a more hands-free and connected postpartum
86. Guides you on breastfeeding latch and positions for more comfort
87. Guides you on when to seek more support for any issues that may arise during postpartum or parenting
88. Go-to for perinatal-related information and support
89. Connects the dots between birth choices and birth experience to help you process and understand your birth experience
90. Checks in on you in the days after birth to ensure you are holistically supported
91. Offers LOVE - hugs, tears, laughter and love

I can't say that a doula is right for everyone.  I can say that when you have a relationship built with your doula, the ability for better support during labor grows.  A doula is that best friend willing to be by your side through every experience, day or night, weekday or weekend, holidays and spur of the moment.  If you're looking for labor options, a doula perinatal mentor can be a beacon of light through the childbearing years.

Let's chat about how you can be supported through pregnancy, labor, and postpartum.