So, what does a prenatal meeting consist of, anyway??
The process of finding the right birth doula can be a daunting task. You may meet with many doulas in initial consultations until you feel you have found a match with your personalities and the manner of support offered. You may vibe with the first doula you interview. No matter how you end up finding the doula for you, this is only the first step. You and your doula will work together during your pregnancy to develop a birth plan and answer any questions, allay fears, and provide emotional comfort during a time that you are likely unfamiliar with. Some doulas meet with their clients once or twice before the birth, some meet with them three to five times. It really depends on the doula how many meetings or how much time before your birth you will spend together. It may also depend on situations specific to you. If you're having a planned c-section, there may be less for you to go over in the vein of pain relief options, but there may be more to go over in terms of feelings about having a c-section or wondering what that will entail. If you know your child is breech currently, you may want to spend a meeting going over Spinning Babies® exercises. This is all to say, your meetings will be tailored, as they should, to YOU and your specific desires, fears, questions, and preferences.
So, what do you talk about with your birth doula during your prenatal meetings? Well, a degree of that is up to you! What you want to learn and your specific questions are a priority to your doula. You may not even know where to begin...there are so many unknowns! Your doula will come into your meetings with ideas of topics she/he/they want to cover. While your doula will likely not help you write a complete birth plan, the bulk of your time spent with your doula will consist of going over your preferences for your labor and learning about your options. It will also consist of getting to know each other.
There are three types of support a doula usually offers: physical, emotional, and educational. These three components of support will be covered in your prenatals: exercises, comfort measures, worries and hopes, and information on topics you want to learn more about in order to feel more prepared for your impending birth experience.
This is a layout of the topics I go over with my clients during our first prenatal meeting. Usually in subsequent meetings, I will tailor the content of those meetings to the specific person or couple's situation. I always plan for more time than I think it will be...it always goes longer!
How are you feeling in pregnancy?
What are your desires/feelings/hopes/fears about the birth?
What are your partner's desires/feelings/hopes/fears about the birth?
What am I here for?
And what do you want me here for the most?
Hormones in labor ----birth setting---what you want your birth setting to look like
Sign agreed upon contract
Preliminary Birth plan (subject to change as we talk more)
Laboring at home (for as long as possible, techniques for pain management)
Arrival at hospital (monitoring, IV fluids)
Laboring at hospital (pain management and comfort measures, movement, materials wanted)
Pushing preferences (pushing positions, directed pushing versus laboring down)
Immediate postpartum period (placenta, newborn procedures, skin-to-skin, breastfeeding)
Create list of questions to ask provider, if needed.
For you to do before next meeting:
Fill out "Labor Pain and Options for Pain Relief. Understanding your Coping Style."
Look over birth plan we've created and add anything/change anything you need to. Text me with questions about specifics of certain interventions, newborn care practices, etc.
What to expect for our next meeting?
Check in
Comfort measures practice, more details on pain management options
Change birth plan if needed
Anything you'd like to talk about next time:____________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Comfort measures (rebozo→ "shaking apples," hip squeeze with rebozo)
Swaying, using birth ball
Talking about hormones in birth (oxytocin's role)
What can I do in the meantime for you?