Doula Services

I took my doula training in Misgav Ladach Hospital in 1997, back in the days when nobody had even heard of the term doula.  “Doula” comes from Greek and means “woman helping woman”.  What does a doula actually do is a very common question.  And the answer is: it depends on what's needed.  

I want to give a woman the feeling she is not alone.  I want her to feel loved and accepted for who she is, as she is.  I want her to feel supported and honored. I want the couple to have a calm presence next to her, someone to look into her eyes and feel safe and held. This is the foundation.  I add to that my knowledge of birth and what can help in different situations, experience working with the hospital staff, experience as a bodyworker and yoga teacher and a belief that every woman deserves to be supported in whatever way she chooses to give birth.    

My agenda as a doula is to come with no agenda about birth.  My desire is to help the parents to navigate the unknown journey of birth in such a way that they come out feeling good about the experience.  A positive birth experience is not dependent on what exactly happened in the birth.  People often come with a birth plan, and assume that a doula can help them achieve the plan and the ideal birth. They assume that a birth that went according to plan will be a positive birth. It may or may not be.  It's actually more intricate than that. I believe my job as a doula is to help the couple cope with whatever the birth brings, because nobody actually has control of birth.  

Birth is a deeply emotional, physical and spiritual event. It will take you places you may have never experienced before.  It incorporates all the usual elements of life - joy, pain, fear, excitement, elation, anxiety, duress, surprise, stamina, strength … but in a concentrated form and in a concentrated amount of time.  That is one reason it is such an intense experience.  I hope that with good preparation and support, a woman can come through it feeling it was a positive and empowering experience.  It is only one step in the journey into motherhood, but it's one that stays with us and makes a mark. So what do I actually do as a doula?  I bring to a birth my hands and heart, and a desire to help.

My doula package includes a meeting before birth, an Equilibrio bodywork session before birth, my help at the birth itself, a meeting after the birth. You may set up a short meeting, free of charge, to help you decide if you would like us to continue to the birth together.