My Role as a Birth Support
I accompany Birthers in labor to help ensure a satisfying birth experience. I draw on my knowledge and experience to provide physical, emotional, and informational support to birthers and partners. I offer my supports free of charge. As one of your chosen birth support person(s), I am working with YOU to create your best birth and post partum experience, not for your caregiver or the hospital.

Note: I am not a medical professional and do not preform clinical tasks or give medical advice.

 
My availibility. 
I consider myself on-call for phone call and text/email support after you have chosen me to support your pregnancy and upcoming birth. I will reply to urgent texts within 2hrs and non-urgrent texts within 3 days. Due to my 2 other jobs that support my family- My availibilty for births vary. My general availibility for support is between the hours of 6am-11pm. Once I arrive for support- I may need up to a 2hrs break to eat and re-coup energy after 4hrs of continious support. And after 1am- I may or may not leave to sleep at my own home depending on where the birth stage is at. I will do my best within my ability to offer safe, present, helpful support- I will always communicate with you about when I may need a break and help to make sure you have support if I am not present. 

Prenatal Meetings
We can discuss together what fears and concerns you have regarding the birth.

My role is to help you have a satisfying birth as you define it. The more we explore this in advance, the better I will be able to fulfill this role.

 
Pregnancy
I am available via phone, text or email during your pregnancy, and encourage clients to call or text after prenatal appointments and anytime they have questions or updates. Once we enter the on-call period, I encourage clients to check in with me every few days to let me know how they’re doing. If you don't remember to check in, I'll reach out to you.

When Labor Begins
We will discuss in prenatal meetings what you expect to want during labor, and will also evaluate by phone once your labor has begun, and you know more what your needs are.

When you think labor has begun, call me and let me know as soon as possible, and I can begin making arrangements for attending the birth.

I will then plan to check in every few hours by phone, so I can provide information, ideas for comfort techniques, and reassurance through early labor. It is up to you to decide at what point in your labor you want me to come and be with you. Once you make that choice, I will generally be there within an hour, and will remain with you for the duration, until after the birth to the best of my abilities.

When you are in Labor
Comfort techniques: I can offer help and advice with comfort measures such as guiding your breathing, enhancing relaxation, encouraging movement, suggesting effective positions for labor, and gentle massage with your consent.

Advocacy: I can assist with gathering information about the progress of labor to make sure you have the information you need to make informed decisions about your birth. I can also serve as an advocate for your needs with medical staff.

Emotional support: My most critical role is providing continuous emotional reassurance and comfort.

After Birth
I expect to remain with a client for 1-2 hours after birth, until you are comfortable, and the family is ready for quiet time together. I can also help with initial breastfeeding.

I am available by phone, text or email to answer questions about the birth of your baby.

If you desire additional postpartum support, we can arrange postpartum hours to be added to your support plan.