HI! I'm Ginger, a DONA International trained birth doula serving Genesee county.  I want to attend your birth!

What is a doula?

The word "doula" comes from ancient Greek meaning woman servant and is now used to refer to someone experienced in childbirth who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the mother before, during, and just after childbirth; or who provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period. 

Studies have shown that when doulas attend births, labors are shorter with fewer complications, babies are healthier and they breastfeed more easily. 

A birth doula

~ Recognizes childbirth as a key experience the mother will remember all her life

~Understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor

~Assists the woman in preparing for and carrying out her plans for the birth

~Stays with the woman throughout the labor

~Provides emotional support, physical comfort measures, and an objective viewpoint, as well as helping the woman get the information she needs to make informed decisions

~Facililtates communication between the laboring woman, her partner, and clinical care providers

~Perceives her role as nuturing and protecting the woman's memory of the birth experience

~Allows the woman's partner to participate at comfort level

Information above provided by DONA International

 

*for those delivering at Genesys, Hulrey, or McLaren Hospitals