Doula Sarah

The BRAIN Decision-Making Model Have you heard about using your BRAIN? It's a very important tool to use! This awesome acronym can help doulas, parents, care providers, and anyone when making any decision - even those not related to labor or pregnancy! You may find yourself using the BRAIN model throughout your life, not just during your pregnancy and birth. I personally have found this decision making model to be invaluable when it comes to putting decisions into perspective. B- Benefits -- What are the benefits of the proposed option? How may making this decision benefit you or your baby? R- Risks -- What are the risks of the proposed option? How may this decision negatively impact you or your baby? A- Alternatives -- What are your other options? Are there any alternatives available that may be more desirable? I- Intuition -- What is your intuition telling you? Do you have a gut feeling about the decision either way? N- Nothin...

What is a Doula and Why Should I Want One? You may or may not have heard of a doula before. Maybe this is the first time you’ve heard the word “doula”. If so, you probably are wondering “What is a doula?” And secondly, you are probably wondering “Why should I want one?” If you’re curious to learn more, read on! What is a doula? A doula is an additional support person for the mother-to-be. The word doula actually means “woman’s servant”, and that is just what they do – serve women. There are two types of doulas: birth doulas, and postpartum doulas. They act like guides throughout a mother’s pregnancy, labor, and postpartum experience, helping the mother to find resources and get answers to all of her questions regarding her birth experience. Birth doulas are trained and experienced in providing emotional support, physical comfort measures, and unbiased information to the laboring mother and her partner or other support persons. They also provide informational and emotional supp...

There are many ways in which a birth doula be beneficial to your birth experience. Here are my top ten!! 1. A birth doula can help reduce negative feelings and reinforce positive feeling’s surrounding a mother’s birth experience – her birth experience will be something she will remember for the rest of her life, and you want her to have a positive experience! 2. A birth doula can reduce the need for labor-induction drugs, forceps-assisted delivery, vacuum-assisted delivery, and cesarean sections. 3. A birth doula can reduce the mother’s request for pain medications such as epidurals, if this is something she would like to avoid. 4. A birth doula can be a vital source of informational, physical, and emotional support to a woman before, during, and after her birthing process. 5. A birth doula can help the mother experience a shorter labor with fewer complications. 6. A birth doula can bring a sense of calm and control in an otherwise chaotic situation. 7....