Category: Lamaze International


Apr
2020

Birth Coaching in the Age of Coronavirus

categories: Breastfeeding, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Doulas, Lamaze International, Telehealth, Video Chat
Keep Families Together

COVID-19 has changed the world around us; from shelter-in-place and physical distancing measures to one-support person policies in labor and delivery. One thing that has not changed is that I am still here for you and your family.

As we navigate through this uncertain time together, I now offer you and your partner virtual childbirth education and doula services via telehealth video chat platforms like Zoom and Skype.

I am diligently keeping current on public health recommendations and research to understand how to best protect your health, your family’s health, my health and the community’s health and look forward to when we have strategies to reduce or end these shelter-in-place and distance mandates altogether. In the meantime, let’s stay home, wash our hands, avoid touching the face and practice respiratory hygiene, including wearing masks and gloves.

Be safe: Masking on Bernal Hill

Virtual Doula Care includes:

  • 6 hours of prenatal coaching for you and your partner, offered in 3 or 4 sessions via video chat
  • Unlimited phone and/or email consultations to address any of your concerns or questions in pregnancy and birth
  • Help to develop your customized written birth and newborn care plan
  • Postpartum Audit Worksheet to identify community resources for yourself and your baby during the Fourth Trimester
  • Lending library of books and video resources, including delivery to your door
  • On-call service 24 hours a day beginning at your 37th week and up to 2 weeks past your due date or the birth of your baby, whichever comes first
  • Doula toolkit filled with inflatable solar lights, essential oils, massage tools and oil, honey sticks, fan, handouts and snacks
  • Virtual support during labor and birth whether at home and/or hospital or birth center
  • Back-up doula if necessary
  • Facilitating parent/baby skin-to-skin contact and support with breastfeeding initiation
  • Postpartum appointment upon your return home to check on you and baby and offer postnatal resources

Interested in working together? Connect with me here.  Meanwhile, I invite you to experience this Ecotherapeutic Meditation, courtesy of the New York Times. It features scenes and sounds from nature to help your body release the stress of constantly bracing for a disaster.


Dec
2014

Doula Care and World AIDS Day

categories: Doulas, health disparities, HIV/AIDS, Lamaze International, Pregnancy and HIV

To mark World AIDS Day I want to spotlight the innovative role that doulas can play in patient care and prevention. Doulas function as community health workers who can join with families, doctors, nurses, advocacy groups, researchers and policymakers to help achieve an AIDS-free generation.

Today, HIV/AIDS is no longer a death sentence because of improved medical treatments.

Presenting my research at the 2013 Lamaze International Conference in New Orleans
Presenting my research at the 2013 Lamaze International Conference in New Orleans

People living with the virus can have children without transmitting it to their infants. According to the CDC, the number of women with HIV giving birth in the United States has increased by 30%. Women who take antiretroviral medication during pregnancy can reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to their babies to less than 1%.

For my public health graduate school culminating experience, I researched evidence-based HIV education methods used by allied health professionals to inform the development of an HIV training curriculum for doulas.

Doulas who receive training in HIV care would be well placed to enhance service delivery to expectant women living with HIV. The continual skilled social, emotional and informational support provided by doulas could greatly optimize the health and well being of expectant women with HIV and their newborns over their life course and help contribute to the elimination of health disparities across generations. Most doula training organizations, however, do not incorporate HIV education into their standard or continuing education curricula.

As professional caregivers, doulas can help increase the mother’s knowledge and understanding of the illness, provide social support, foster trust, and improve retention in care and adherence to treatment.

To learn more, see my project abstract, poster and Power Point presentation.