A doula is a trained professional who provides emotional, physical, and informational support to new and expectant parents before, during, and after birth and early postpartum.

Your doula will be a voice of encouragement and a source of relief, providing tools for pain management by providing relaxation and comfort techniques, reflexology, affirmations, and so much more to have a less stressed and more satisfying birth. And so much more to have.

Learn more at https://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/hiring-doula#definition

A labor doula is defined as a trained support person that assists a birthing person before, during and immediately after pregnancy and birth. Labor doulas provide emotional, physical and informational support to families with the goal of the pregnant person having a satisfying and healthy birth with minimum interventions.

Labor support includes the following services:

• 1-2 prenatal visits in your home Your doula will discuss your desires and expectations for your birth, comfort measures, exercises to prepare you for birth, and other ways to prepare for birth.
• Assistance with creating your birth vision/plan. We help you figure out important decisions about your birth so that you know all of the options available.
• Phone and email support during pregnancy
• Other resources and referrals are provided as needed to help provide full support
• 24-hour on-call assistance beginning at 38 weeks and continuing until your birth (including phone support during early labor).
• Continuous labor support starts in active labor and continues until 1-2 hours after your birth.
• Breastfeeding support immediately after your birth.
• One postpartum visit (usually a week or two after your birth) where you & your doula will talk through your birth, and provide additional resources and any questions you may have.

Generally, labor support can cost between $800 and $2000 with some doulas charging even higher rates. Sunnyside Up Youth does its best to keep our fees affordable by providing services at a discounted rate of $250.00 for labor support. As a non-profit organization, We rely heavily upon donations and the goodwill of our friends and community. To make a donation, click here.

Our team of trained and certified labor doulas are ready to support you in any location. We will meet you wherever you’d like to birth your baby. We have team members that are experienced in home births, hospital births and local birthing centers. Just let us know your preference and we will be ready to support you.

Sunnyside Up Youth is staffed with doulas, lactation counselors and mental health therapists. We understand the importance of having midwifery care and have partnered with local midwives if you would like a midwife to assist with your birth. Contact us if you would like assistance in getting midwifery support.

Depending on how far along you are in your pregnancy, our goal is to have 2 parental meetings to discuss your needs and expectations during labor, address any concerns you may have about your pregnancy, provide resources and create a birth plan allowing you to share your birth preferences with your medical team.

Your doula will stay with you for up to two hours after birth to assist with breastfeeding and assisting you with getting as comfortable as possible after birth. We offer a comprehensive 16- week postpartum program called Be Well at Home that will give you access to a postpartum doula, lactation specialist if you choose to breastfeed, and a mental health therapist to help navigate postpartum emotions.