Being a doula....

Doula is a Greek word meaning 'servant'. It dates back to the day when servants helped their employers give birth when doctors weren't available. Today, in America, it means more than that. A doula is an advocate for parents during their months of pregnancy, birth and postpartum adjustments. A doula helps inform parents and assist them in making decisions about their many choices for labor and delivery, nursing and bottle feeding and they are trained to be birthing coaches. It is one of the services I will be providing young families this summer. The advantage I have over other doulas is my training in hypnosis and my life long experience in massage. Hypno-birthing, pre and post natal massage and infant massage are an added service. I've been a birthing coach and loved the experience. It seems like a natural addition to my many services. This was my daughters idea. She's going to be having a baby in December. I guess I'll be spending a lot more time in Phoenix.