A doula is a non-medical birth professional. This means that although Susie has lots of education about birth, she is not licensed to perform medical tasks such as making a diagnosis, listening to your baby’s heart, or delivering your baby.

The most important thing to remember about doula care in contrast to obstetrical care is the lens through which pregnancy and childbirth is viewed. A typical obstetrical lens views pregnancy and childbirth through the lens of pathology. A pregnant woman is similar to a ticking timebomb, and it’s her doctor’s job to manage her to prevent the proverbial bomb from going off. Hence the cascade of interventions as soon as you walk through the door of a hospital: Let’s induce. Let’s monitor the baby’s heart rate. Let’s restrict your food and water in case you need more interventions. Let’s hook you up to an IV to replace hydration that we are restricting. Let’s keep you on your back so that we can continue to monitor. Let’s break your water to speed things up. Let’s increase Pitocin to speed things up. Let’s give you an epidural since now the pain is too great. Let’s clamp that cord. Oops, baby’s blood sugar dropped and temps are elevated. Let’s admit him to NICU for observation. Oops, now he’s not eating well; let’s give him formula. Hmmm, mom’s milk is slow to come in; let’s continue formula. Oops, now baby doesn’t want to latch…

You get the picture. Pathology.

A doula views pregnancy and childbirth as the most natural and wonderful season of a woman’s life. A doula has extensively studied normal birth and physiology and is trained to support a woman as she goes through this natural process, including natural pain relief, breastfeeding, and more. And in the event of unexpected outcomes, she will emotionally support you, and help you to self-advocate, and work toward the best and healthiest outcomes.

A doula does not believe that pregnancy is pathology or that pregnancy and childbirth require a woman to be managed. She believes in and supports the beautiful God-designed physiology of a woman in this season.

Most hospitals allow doulas to support women in labor. Keep in mind that most hospitals limit the number of support people allowed. It’s important check with the hospital and ask, “How many support people am a I allowed to have attend me when I go into labor?” Two is a common number.

You can also ask, “Does a doula count as one of my support people?” Some hospitals don’t count the doula in the total number, so you might be allowed one or two support people PLUS a doula.

Keep in mind, that if you want to advocate for it (and it will be hard), it is your right as a woman to be supported by as many people as you want. The law is on your side. So if you want your husband, your mom, and your doula with you, you can fight for it. I can help you with that, providing legal documents.

Most hospitals allow doulas to support women during a cesarean. Keep in mind that most hospitals limit the number of support people allowed. It’s important check with the hospital and ask, “How many support people am a I allowed to have attend me when I have my cesarean?” You can also ask, “Does a doula count as one of my support people?” Some hospitals don’t count the doula in the total number, so you might be allowed one or two support people PLUS a doula. If you want both your husband and your doula with you, you can advocate for that. The law is on your side and I have legal documents I can provide for you if you would like to advocate for more than hospital policy allows.

Medicaid and some Christian Health Share programs cover doula support. Sometimes you can use HSA accounts to cover doula support.

Contact your insurance company to see if they cover doula support.

Another idea is to add “doula support” to your gift registry. Dandelion Hill offers gift certificates that can be used to defray the cost of doula support.

Yes, Susie has extensive education and is certified through Cardinal Birth Midwifery as well as the Biblical Birth School. She is a certified doula, a certified childbirth educator, is certified in neonatal resuscitation and CPR/BLS. She also has all her child clearances.

Susie has lots of personal experience as well, having given birth nine times herself. She gave birth five times in a hospital, three times in a birth center, and 1 time at home.

My service area depends on the situation. I live in Harleysville, PA, and am willing to travel a good distance to support you - but that’s not always wise, especially if you have a history of precipitous birth.

Absolutely not! One of the important foundations in Doula CARE is the “C” = Compassion. Compassion recognizes the importance of being surrounded and supported by loved ones. This is essential to healthy birth.

A doula will train, coach, and guide your support people either in advance or on the spot (when you are in labor) with comfort measures, pain relief, and ideas to support, sustain, and move labor along.

In the end, you should barely remember your doula. She is not a part of your birth story. You, your baby, and your loved ones are the center of your story.

Absolutely not! One of the important foundations in Doula CARE is the “C” = Compassion. Compassion recognizes the importance of being surrounded and supported by loved ones. This is essential to healthy birth.

A doula will train, coach, and guide your support people either in advance or on the spot (when you are in labor) with comfort measures, pain relief, and ideas to support, sustain, and move labor along.

In the end, you should barely remember your doula. She is not a part of your birth story. You, your baby, and your loved ones are the center of your story.

A doula will help you to sort through the why’s of your birth trauma, and to heal from it. Many times the trauma we experience is directly related to the cascade of interventions that are standard procedure in an institutional birth. Your next birth can be different, even IN the institution.

She doesn’t stop there, though. She will help you to have confidence and to be equipped to have different outcomes the next time around.

She will pray over you and strengthen, equip, and encourage you. Have hope! You can experience a redemptive, faith-informed, beautiful birth. Take time to read through some of the testimonies on her home page.

She can help you a lot! You can discuss with her the next cesarean (if needed) or explore with her the possibility of a VBAC. She can help you prepare for both possibilities.

If another cesarean is needed, she can help you achieve the most gentle, as-close-to-natural cesarean possible which is shown to improve health outcomes for you and your baby.

If a VBAC is your goal, she can help you prepare physically, emotionally, and spiritually for it.

And either way, she can guide you toward confident self-advocacy, and help you to sort through what is essential and what is just ‘standard procedure,’ and to stand on your right to informed consent every step of the way.

A cesarean is still a sacred birth. A VBAC is redemptive. In both cases, God is with you and you can have confidence that you are made for this!

A doula can help a lot!

Choosing an epidural significantly raises risks of negative outcomes, but a doula is trained to help overcome those risks.

Ask her how you can lessen the risks that an epidural imposes yet still enjoy the pain relief an epidural offers.

And just maybe you might find yourself intrigued by the idea of other kinds of less-risky pain relief. If you are interested, a doula can help you decide what is best for YOU. You alone know what you can or cannot handle!

Inevitably induction triggers a cascade of interventions that dramatically increase your and your baby’s risk of short- and long-term negative outcomes.

A doula however is trained to help reduce those risks every step of the way by providing CARE (Compassion, Advocacy, Reinforcement, Education) - proven essentials to improve outcomes for you and your baby.

Induction is not a foregone conclusion. Talk to your doula to find out why.

A doula will come to you as soon as you call and make it known to her that you need support. If that is at the first contraction, she will come. She won’t leave you alone. Though a doula is a non-medical professional and technically is not legally allowed to deliver your baby, she is well-trained in natural physiology and can lead you through the necessary steps if the baby comes too quickly. She can on-the-spot coach your support people. She will encourage your heart, pray over you, and give you confidence.

Remember the Four Foundations of CARE: Compassion, Advocacy, Reinforcement, Education. All of these come into play during a precipitous birth. Susie will support you emotionally, giving you courage and confidence. She will reinforce your birth plan for the best possible outcomes. She will stay with you until help arrives or until your transport arrives at the hospital. And she can educate you and your support people as to normal birth physiology.

Susie is also BLS and CPR certified in the unlikely event of a severe outcome.

And if needed, as a fellow human being who happens to know a lot about birth, Susie can catch a baby. She has done it before. It is not in her scope as a doula. But it is legally allowed under laws of compassion if she is the only person there to help.

The Four Foundations of CARE for any woman, regardless of risk factors, are essential to your well-being. Having doula support has shown to improve health outcomes for mother and baby.

In a high-risk pregnancy, having CARE becomes especially important. Compassion, Advocacy, Reinforcement, and Education can mean the difference between a traumatic high-risk scenario and a hope-filled, best-possible-outcomes scenario.

A doula can help you understand your risk factors, find alternative options, and support your natural physiology, as well as help you to emotionally reframe your situation and to recognize the hand of God in your miraculous birth story and give you hope and peace in the midst of difficulty.

A doula can point you to the latest research, and help you find options that will strengthen and equip you for what can look like a daunting task. A doula will not leave your side as you face the hard things. A doula will help you to implement BEST practices (not ‘best for the doctor’ or ‘standard procedure,’ but ‘best practices for best outcomes’).

Feel free to reach out to Susie for more specific information on how she can support you in your specific risk factor.