Doulas dole out advice to expectant, new mothers
When the world was a different place and families lived close to one another, pregnant women could count on their mothers, grandmothers, sisters and friends to be with them through the entire experience, holding their hands, offering advice, helping them understand what was happening to them and then after the baby was born, helping them learn how to care for a newborn.
Today, families are spread out across the country and even the world and often there is no one for an expectant or new mother to turn to with her fears and questions. Their doctors are busy and seldom have time for prolonged visits and while talking to a family member over the phone can be helpful, it is not the same as having someone in the same room who can offer a hug or a helping hand when one is needed.
So more and more couples are hiring “doulas” (Greek for “to serve woman”) to assist and advise during pregnancy, labor and the first weeks or months after delivery.
“A doula is a female person whose role it is to support a pregnant woman during the entire process,” explained Samantha Trebilcock of Schaumburg, owner of Natural Beginnings Doula and Pregnancy Services.
“It isn't normal to have a baby without a mother, sister or friend there with you. We started all of that when people started having babies in hospitals, so doulas are bringing that old tradition back,” Trebilcock said.
“The doula is hired by the pregnant woman and her partner to provide emotional, physical and psychological support,” she said. “They usually meet with the couple two or three times before the birth to discuss everything from early labor to baby care. We talk about birth choices; come up with a birth plan about whether or not they want an epidural or an IV or whatever; and we also discuss the different possible birth positions. There are also discussions about whether or not they want to circumcise a boy.”
They are also available on the phone for an expectant mother whose doctor, for instance, has chastised her for gaining too much weight.
“I would talk to them about what they have been eating and help them determine if they are eating poorly and that is why they are gaining extra weight or if they have been eating healthfully and this is simply how their body handles pregnancy,” Trebilcock said.
“We are not there to push any particular agenda. We just educate them about their options and then support them in whatever decision they make. The idea is to build a bond with the mother before they go into labor and allow them to feel as if their voice is being heard. Sometimes doctors aren't too tactful,” she said.
Named Doula of the Year in May at the Chicago Birth Professionals Conference, Trebilcock is the area's youngest certified doula at only 21 and by October she will also be a nurse. Her eventual goal is to become a nurse midwife attending home births.
“When I was 17, I was nannying and the grandmother in that house was a doula,” she recalled. “I heard the mother and some of her friends discussing their various birth experiences. Some were great and others were not at all good. When I asked them what they thought made the difference, they said that it was understanding what was happening to them and having a doula there to help and advocate for them. That was when I started looking into the training. I thought it would be a great steppingstone on the way to becoming a midwife.”
Since then she has gone through many hours of training from DONA International, the Colorado-based doula certification organization founded during the early 1990s. Since Trebilcock was certified in 2009, she has attended 54 deliveries from Naperville and Chicago, north to the Wisconsin border.
“Lots of people assume that you have to have a home birth to hire a doula but that is not true. I have attended most of my deliveries in hospitals,” she said.
“I am there so that when a woman is laboring and having trouble, I can suggest that she take a walk to get a massage or sit in the tub or even try the birth ball,” Trebilcock said. “And I interact with the couple in a variety of ways. If the partner just wants to sit on the sidelines and cheerlead, I work with the mother alone. If the partner wants to team up with me, we can take turns massaging the mother or whatever, allowing both of us to rest. And when the partner is super-into the birth, I can just sit on the sidelines and coach him or her on what to try next.”
After the birth, she generally stays for a few hours until mother and baby are settled and she helps the mother initiate breast-feeding. Then she meets with the couple once to review their “birth story” and is available as a phone resource for about six weeks.
In some cases, Trebilcock has helped longer, acting as a postpartum doula. These women, who have slightly different training, help the new mother build up confidence in caring for a baby. They set up a breast-feeding station for the mother and help them when they are exhausted or overwhelmed by the unknown.
“But we are not a baby nurse,” Trebilcock emphasized. “The mother is doing the actual parenting.
“We are there to reassure the mom that they are doing things correctly and to alleviate some of their worry. Sometimes this can head off postpartum depression when it is looming,” she said.
While you can hire a doula-in-training for up to $300, the average cost of a birth doula is $600 to $800. Trebilcock charges $650 to $1,200 for pregnancy and birth services, depending on what the couple wants and she charges $20 per hour for postpartum services at home.
#376;Trebilcock can be reached at naturalbeginningsdoula@yahoo.com or online at naturalbeginningsdoula.vpweb.com.