What a doula does so you feel like “I am capable of anything” 

As mentioned in the previous blog, part of preparing you for birth is education of your options. This ranges from your choices in birth provider: midwife or obstetricians; where you plan to birth: home, birth center, or hospital; and the many ways that describe “how” you give birth. 

Each pregnancy and birth is unique, and with that so are the variations that can occur. Maybe you are considered “high risk” whether it be because of a preexisting health condition or the development of hypertension during the pregnancy. 

Your current situation impacts your options, but does not necessarily exclude you from your original birth vision. For example, just because you are pregnant with twins does not mean you cannot safely and confidently birth at home with a midwife. 

Twins?

Twins can be safely born at home. More information is needed before ruling out the possibility of a homebirth.

So understanding what your current health situation is can provide a foundation for your options (such as encouraging you to get second opinions and greater education on how x,y, or z impacts your choices in birth). 

There is also the very real aspect of financial or social factors. Maybe you want to have a home birth, but there simply isn’t a midwife nearby or you don’t feel totally comfortable with that option but still want that midwifery model of care. From there you can look into local midwife centers or hospitals that provide midwifery care. 

Your insurance might not be accepted at the hospital you would prefer to go to. While insurance itself can be finicky especially in regards to reimbursement for doulas or midwifery care at home, often even paying out of pocket for these services would still be cheaper than a hospital birth with poor coverage.

A doula helps sort through the feasible options with you, helping to refer you when possible if your current provider isn’t a good fit or you had no idea there were midwives accepting clients near you.

Have your best ideas in the bath? You might enjoy laboring in water!

Part of deciding on your birth provider or location is considering how you imagine your birth to be. 

Do you want pain medication? Are you afraid of needles? 

Do you want to be able to get up and move around? Does a shower or bath sound like the perfect way to cope with the surges during labor?

Do you want privacy or do you not mind medical students/residents/interns being present for exams and the birth? 

How about being able to eat what you want or go for walks outside? 

Do you feel more comfortable at home or in a hospital?

Exploring these preferences can help narrow down what sort of provider and birth location is best for you. From there we can dive deeper into those specific options with that provider and location. 

Such as, if you want an epidural you will need to be in a hospital rather than a birth center or at home.

When would you want that epidural?

How soon or late will a hospital administer it?

Do you want to try other coping techniques first such as a shower, bouncing on a birth ball, or hands on comfort like massage to where you are feeling the most tension?

Does your birth location allow a lower dose of the epidural so you can still move your legs and potentially get up at a certain point?

If you’re going to be bed confined throughout, what positions can you try to help move the baby down or relieve any lingering pain you may have? 

It’s ok to feel overwhelmed

There are a lot of potential options to consider and choices to make. Talking it through with your doula can help the process be more manageable.

While we cannot plan everything that will happen in a birth, we can prepare and educate as best we can so you feel comfortable with the process. By knowing your choices, and options within those choices, you will be able to feel like a participant in your health care. 

You aren’t just being swept from one intervention to the next with little time to ask questions as to the reasoning behind the provider’s choice and if there are other options. 

This way you have done some research ahead of time, you’re aware of your options pending emergency complications. And even then, you will have been prepared with your options as well, such as if you need an unexpected cesarean will your partner or doula be allowed in?

Will someone be with you while they administer the epidural or spinal?

Will the doctor talk you through the procedure so you still feel a part of the birth? 

Feel Capable

A little preparation can go a long way to feeling capable of rolling with the unexpected

Unexpected surprises can happen, it does not mean you have to be blindsided. 

Often a birthing person can feel overwhelmed and like they have no control when their provider starts suggesting interventions like Pitocin or a cesarean birth. Especially if there had been little warning before being prepared for these procedures. 

Next time, I will explore the doula’s role in giving you time and space to decide so you feel “capable of anything,” during your birth. 

Until then, I wish you all the best and happy birthing! 

JB