Hospital-Based Support
Research shows that continuous one-on-one labor and delivery support significantly decreases cesareans and improves birth outcomes. Everyone can benefit from this support, not just those having an out of hospital birth. For those who are planning a hospital birth, I offer doula and monitrice services to provide this same level of one-on-one care.
What is a doula?
According to DONA International, a birth doula is “a trained professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to a mother before, during and shortly after childbirth to help her achieve the healthiest, most satisfying experience possible.”
As a doula, I work not only with you, but with your whole support team to help you as you birth your baby. I do not replace you partner, but seek to make your birth experience more meaningful for everyone. I work with low and high risk clients, vaginal and cesarean births, and medicated and unmedicated labors. No matter your situation, I am honored to stand by your side as you meet your baby!
What is a monitrice?
A monitrice is a birthing professional who blends doula support with additional training in clinical labor support. A monitrice will monitor you and your baby while you are laboring outside of the hospital to ensure labor is progressing normally. Once you arrive at the hospital, the monitrice will continue to support you as a doula while you birth under the care of your doctor or midwife.
Monitrice support is valuable for anyone who desires to labor at home before heading to the hospital. In particular, first time parents and those planning a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) benefit from the extra time and training a monitrice can provide.
What does prenatal support include?
My goal is to help you feel confident and prepared for your birth. From the time you hire me, you are able to contact me by phone, email, or text for any questions or issues that may arise during your pregnancy. I am happy to be a source of information, knowledge, and support for you as you journey through your pregnancy! I also have extensive resources available to you, from my lending library to my list of providers and classes you may find useful.
Two prenatal visits are included in the Doula and Monitrice Labor Support packages. At these visits, we will discuss your worries and fears, fill in holes in your education, and create a flexible birth plan that allows room for the unexpected while still communicating your goals and desires for your baby’s birth. We will discuss tips and tricks to encourage a smoother, more comfortable labor, review hospital policies and procedures, learn the risks and benefits of common interventions, and practice comfort measures specific to your needs. I am happy to discuss any other questions you might have!
In addition, with the Monitrice Labor Support package, I will check your vital signs and listen to your baby’s heart rate at each visit so I know what is normal for you prior to labor. This is also a great opportunity to find out your baby’s position!
What does labor support include?
Once labor begins, I will stay in contact with you until you are ready for me to join you. When you are ready for in-person support, I will join you at your home or at the hospital, depending on the package you have selected.
Monitrice Labor Support
As your monitrice, I will join you at home when you are ready for support. Once I arrive, I will monitor your vital signs such as blood pressure, pulse, and temperature, listen to your baby’s heart rate with a handheld Doppler, and perform vaginal exams if requested to determine progress. This allows you to feel safe and comfortable laboring at home without worrying that you will get to the hospital too early or too late in labor. As a midwife, I am trained in normal and abnormal signs in labor; if complications develop, we can immediately head to the hospital.
Throughout your labor, I will also help you with comfort measures, including hands-on support such as help with position changes; massage; use of my TENS unit, birth ball, and rebozo; hot and cold therapy; water therapy; and more. I am also skilled with hands-off techniques such as HypnoBabies; general meditation and visualization; and even just being a quiet, supportive presence in the room. You may draw on my midwifery education for insight on the process of labor, unbiased information on various medications and procedures, or simply for reassurance that you are doing a great job!
Once we arrive at the hospital, I will continue to support you as a doula until after your baby has been born and you are settled in and breastfeeding well.
Doula Support
In labor, I will join you at the hospital whenever you are ready for my support. I will provide you with experienced, non-clinical care, including help with comfort measures and fetal positioning, emotional support, and unbiased information on the labor process. There are many ways to make labor more comfortable, such as massage; position changes; hot and cold therapy; use of my TENS unit, birth ball, and rebozo; water therapy; and much more. For those who prefer hands-off support, I am skilled with HypnoBabies; general visualization and meditation; and even just being a quiet, supportive presence in the room. I will offer suggestions as appropriate, and work with your body to birth your baby!
After your baby is born, I will stay with you for an hour or two until you are comfortable and ready for me to leave. During this time, I’ll help you with breastfeeding and any other needs you may have.
I take a limited number of clients each month to ensure I can provide the level of support you deserve in labor. Backup doulas and monitrices are always available in the event that I am sick or if any other emergency prevents me from attending your birth.
What does care after birth look like?
I will remain on call for you after your baby has been born to answer any questions you might have. Once you are settled in at home, I will check in with you to make sure you are doing well, assist you with any breastfeeding difficulties, and provide referrals to other resources as needed. We will chat about your birth and work through any questions you may have.
With the Monitrice package, you will receive a full midwifery postpartum visit. After hospital discharge, it is typical for you to not see your care provider again for roughly six weeks, and for your baby to not see their pediatrician for roughly two weeks. Unfortunately, this can sometimes lead to a gap in care. It is my hope with this postpartum visit to address this gap in care so that we can catch any issues emerging before they become true problems. At this visit, I will check you and your baby’s vital signs; discuss common postpartum concerns like bleeding, diaper counts, weight issues, and sleep; evaluate for postpartum depression if warranted; and make a plan for any areas of concern. We will additionally troubleshoot any breastfeeding difficulties, chat about your birth, and discuss referrals to any resources you may need.
As a doula and a monitrice, my goal is to help you smoothly transition to life with a new baby — whether your first or your fifteenth!
Packages
Hospital Birth Support Only
Looking for day of support only? In labor now? I will join you at the hospital for non-clinical, hands on doula support. Whether a natural birth or a planned cesarean — or anything in between! — birth with compassionate, experienced support by your side.
In labor now? Please call Rachel 24/7 at (805) 587-1957.
Doula Support
Benefit from support leading up to your baby’s birthday! With the Doula Support package, you will receive:
- Access to Rachel by phone, email, or text throughout your pregnancy.
- Use of lending library and lists of classes, providers, and resources.
- Two prenatal sessions in your own home or my office reviewing hospital policies, common procedures, comfort measures for labor, and fetal positioning, among other topics.
- A custom birth plan based on your individual needs and desires.
- On-call phone support in labor.
- In-person hospital support from whenever you request my presence until after your baby is born.
- Use of my birth ball, TENS unit, and rebozo in labor.
- A wide variety of comfort measures and other forms of non-clinical support, depending on your needs in labor.
- Help with breastfeeding immediately after birth.
- One home postpartum visit to assist with breastfeeding, discuss your birth, and help you access any resources you may need.
Looking for more? Check out my most popular hospital support package, the Monitrice Labor Support package!
Monitrice Labor Support
One of the best ways to avoid unnecessary interventions is to labor at home as long as possible. The Monitrice Package helps you do this, while ensuring that you and your baby are handling labor well. With this package, my goal is to combine the best of homebirth midwifery, doula support, and hospital birth so that you can labor in the setting most appropriate to your level of risk while birthing where you feel safest. The Monitrice Package includes:
- Access to Rachel by phone, email, or text throughout your pregnancy.
- Use of lending library and lists of classes, providers, and resources.
- Two prenatal sessions in your own home or my office reviewing hospital policies, common procedures, comfort measures for labor, and fetal positioning, among other topics.
- Clinical checkups at your two prenatal visits to establish your level of risk and become familiar with you and your baby’s normal vital signs.
- A custom birth plan based on your individual needs and desires.
- On-call phone support in labor.
- In-person support at home from whenever you request my presence until you go to the hospital, and at the hospital until after your baby is born.
- Clinical monitoring of you and your baby while at home, including: monitoring of your blood pressure, pulse, and temperature; monitoring of your baby’s heart rate via handheld Doppler; and cervical exams as requested.
- Use of my birth ball, TENS unit, and rebozo in labor.
- A wide variety of comfort measures and other forms of non-clinical support, depending on your needs in labor.
- Help with breastfeeding immediately after birth.
- One home midwifery postpartum visit to assess for any risk factors, discuss common areas of concern, assist with breastfeeding, discuss your birth, and help you access any resources you may need.
Looking for more prenatal or postpartum visits? I am happy to create a co-care package with you. Please contact me to discuss your needs!
