I have made the intentional decision to no longer offer doula or monitrice services.
I am blessed to have a full home birth midwifery practice, but moreso than that, I have made this decision due to the environment of birth in our region.
With the extreme coercive abuse that happens regularly in the Mid-Ohio Valley hospitals and the manipulative and fear-based care in the hospitals and birth center, I cannot continue to place my health within these spaces when it is unnecessary and watch women lose their confidence to speak up for what they strongly desire, to watch husbands have to be aggressive or encourage their wives to just stop asking for what they want, as they are bullied and manipulated into procedures (both necessary and unnecessary) by obstetricians, nurses, pediatricians, and other hospital staff alike.
I can offer you an alternative to this broken system in our region, but I will no longer play this game of balancing support in a completely non-physiological environment with how far I can push it before they kick me out. If you want to avoid these unnecessary procedures and coercion, optimize your health and plan a home birth. I can only handle the small amount of transports to the hospital that my personal midwifery clients need. It takes me a lot of physical and emotional processing after these transports alone and I can’t continue to choose to place myself in that type of medical environment without actually needing to be there.
Although I will assist other midwives as part of your midwifery birth team, I no longer offer doula services at other home births. Every midwifery team has their own style of care and usually work as a two-person team in order to meet your psychophysiological support needs and clinical needs. Thought I do assist other midwives at times, I encourage you to seek my care as a primary midwife if you would like my energy in your space as all of our styles differ just as our personalities differ. I believe each midwife and their team are fully capable of providing all the emotional, physical, and informational support a mother needs at home. The exception to this may be if a husband/dad/partner is not available to you where having someone where another person available for solely support can be valuable.
There are new doulas in the area that offer both home and hospital support and if you are looking for additional support. Whie I don’t make specific recommendations for doulas, there are multiple options you can choose from.
Regardless of your choice for support, I highly recommend you and your birth team take a complete Perinatal Education Series (such as EsaliBirth.com) or schedule in person or virtual live prenatal education with me so that you know your options both at home and in the hospital and can make informed decisions. If you plan to birth in a hospital or birth center, you should go in with a full understanding of your human rights, protective language and communication as your approach, and a recording device.
Many blessings and prayers for you on this journey.
I found Danielle after a frantic search for a doula. I was already 37 weeks when I first contacted her. I know that without the support of Danielle as my doula I wouldn't have made it through and would have ended up with many interventions. She went above and beyond and I'm so so grateful our paths crossed.
- Madison, Doula Support (Birth Center)