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Why Hire A Doula?
Whether or not to hire a doula is a big decision...research suggests that the people who make up your birth team greatly impact overall satisfaction and outcomes of pregnancy and birthing journeys. Additionally, receiving consistent, non-judgmental, informed support during the postpartum period has a dramatic positive effect on the physical recovery and mental/emotional well-being of new mothers and their partners. But why hire a doula for all that? How can you be sure you'll be happy with the decision? What does a doula even do?
"Rachel was exactly who I needed during my second pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. She helped us prepare for life with a new baby in a way that felt doable—without unnecessary overwhelm, or pressure, just solid support.
My birth experience was rough. She was there through all of it—steady, present, and completely tuned into what I needed in the moment. She also understood how I take in information and made sure I never felt overloaded, which was huge since I was already running on fumes.
Rachel knows that support doesn't stop at birth. My older child had a tough time adjusting to a sibling, and she helped me navigate that too. Her advice was real, the kind that actually helps in the day-to-day, not just in theory. Rachel brings knowledge, care, and a deep understanding of what each family needs. I’d recommend her in a heartbeat."
-Rebecca D.
Doula FAQS:
I thought doulas were only for home births...do you support hospital births as well?
Short answer: YES! While doulas are often associated with home births, we are invaluable in hospitals. In collaboration with your medical team, I can help you advocate for your birth preferences, navigate the medical setting, and provide comfort techniques like breathing exercises, positioning, and massage. If interventions arise, I will support informed consent and make sure you understand all your options. Research shows doulas reduce unwanted interventions, increase birth satisfaction, improve maternal and neonatal outcomes, and more—offering continuous support no matter where you choose to give birth! I provide in-person support for births at UVMMC, Northwestern Medical Center, Gifford, Copley, Porter, Central Vermont Medical Center, and home births with a licensed midwife in attendance.
If I know I want an induction/an epidural/a belly birth, etc., is it helpful to hire a doula?
Short answer again: YES! Piggybacking on the above answer, doulas are for everyone...home, birth center, hospital, vaginal birth, belly birth, surrogate birth, zero interventions, all the interventions, crunchy / scrunchy / silky mamas and birthing parents, single parents, couples...you get the idea :) A doula's support can make a significant difference in your experience regardless of the type of birth. When a birth story involves induction, medical pain management, a belly birth, or other interventions, there can be added uncertainty/discomfort/risks/side effects/recovery needs. Your doula’s presence can help reduce stress, increase your sense of empowerment, and help you feel more confident in your choices, ensuring that your birth experience is as positive as possible (even if things don't go 100% according to your initial plan).
I'm not sure if I want interventions, but I do know I'm feeling overwhelmed and scared of labor...help!
You are not alone! For most people, the first birth they witness is their own (and TV/movies don’t count, trust me). It’s normal to feel uncertain about the unknown. One of the best parts about working with a doula is having someone there 100% of the time who knows the drill and is there purely to support and serve you and your partner. I offer expertise, reassurance, and a steady presence throughout your pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum, and am there to help you understand everything that’s happening in each moment. I always recommend an out-of-hospital childbirth course to explore the myriad choices surrounding labor and birth, but with a doula you don’t need to remember every detail—that’s my job :)
I have a doctor, a midwife, a bunch of nurses...I'm not sure I want to add yet another person in the room with me.
The role of a doula is different from your medical team, so it’s important to consider what kind of support you’re looking for. Generally speaking, medical staff focus on clinical care, whereas my primary role is continuous emotional/physical/informational support (read: in between all your doc appts and throughout your entire labor/birth) that is entirely focused on you and your partner. I don’t replace your medical pros but I DO complement their care and can help you communicate effectively with them. When you need to make a decision or discuss options, I help clarify things for you and ensure you feel comfortable and informed, and I’ll be there the entire time to assist with comfort measures, optimal positioning, a calming birth space, and more!
My partner and I took childbirth ed; we feel pretty informed. What benefit would adding a doula have?
First of all, way to go! Feeling confident in your knowledge and understanding of childbirth is a great foundation for a positive experience. Even with that prep, there are many ways a doula can still provide value, particularly when it comes to hands-on, personalized care during labor. By this point you’ve probably heard me say we offer evidence-based emotional, physical, and informational support a bazillion times :) but it’s still true! Labor is a live, unpredictable experience and I can help you understand and adapt to the unfolding situation. We can navigate real-time adjustments to your birth plan, be an extra set of experienced hands, help you communicate with your medical team, offer a judgment-free risks/benefits explanation of potential procedures, guide your partner in how best to support you in individual moments, and generally take the pressure off of both of you to feel like you have to know/remember it all. My job is to keep the experience as positive, calm, and empowering as possible for you, allowing you both to focus on what you need to…birthing your beautiful baby!
I don't want to know or think about childbirth! I just want a healthy baby at the end of it. Why bother with a doula?
Childbirth can be overwhelming to think about, and hearing “horror stories” from well-meaning friends or social media doesn’t help. Here’s my take: knowledge is power. You get to decide how much info you want, but having a trusted, non-judgmental source at your disposal can make things WAY less scary. That’s where a doula comes in…I provide expert evidence-based support, helping you feel safe, supported, and empowered—without having to manage it all yourself. My support is tailored to your needs: simplifying decision-making, advocating for your preferences, and offering clear, unbiased guidance if choices arise. Even if you prefer not to focus on every detail, I can manage logistics, guide and support you and your partner, and create a steady, peaceful presence. Research shows that having a doula reduces stress, improves birth experiences, and leads to better maternal and neonatal outcomes. Less stress means less fear, leading to a smoother birth both physically and emotionally. And my support doesn’t end at birth—I’m there in those early moments when you may feel tired or unsure, ensuring you and your baby start off with confidence.
My mother/sister/best friend are going to help me during birth and postpartum, so why would I hire someone else?
It’s great that you have a strong support system! Think of a doula as a foundational layer of professional expertise, hands-on support, and unbiased guidance that complements—not replaces—your loved ones, making the experience smoother for everyone. First and foremost, my job is to offer evidence-based guidance focused on your needs rather than my personal opinions. I’m trained to be unbiased and non-judgmental, providing information that helps you make your own decisions and always respecting your choices. Labor can be long, intense, and unpredictable, and family members may feel uncertain or overwhelmed. I’m there to provide calm, continuous support, assisting with the physical aspects of labor—like position changes, guiding breathing techniques, and comfort measures—all from a trained eye and tailored to your specific needs as labor progresses. I also help navigate unexpected changes, keeping both you and your support team calm and informed and helping your loved ones support you effectively. After birth, I assist with feeding, baby care, nutrition, and emotional well-being—especially helpful when loved ones have other responsibilities or differing opinions. Ultimately, I can “head up” your village, ensuring you feel supported, empowered, and cared for every step of the way!
I mean, birth goes how birth goes, right? My provider team will tell me what I have to do; I don't feel like I have much to choose from in the moment.
Birth is absolutely unpredictable…which is exactly why having a doula is so valuable! I’m trained to reduce stress, create an environment of support and trust, and ensure you feel empowered and in control. While your provider focuses on medical care, I facilitate communication, make sure you understand your options, and advocate for informed consent. Even in cases of complications or unexpected interventions, I help you weigh choices and feel confident in your decisions. Beyond advocacy and a calming presence, I provide non-medical pain management, tips and tricks for a smoother progression of labor, and continuous emotional and physical support…not just in the delivery room, but from the moment I’m hired. Doulas are statistically proven to improve a birthing person’s feelings of empowerment and satisfaction with their overall experience—even when things don’t go to plan. Pregnancy and birth are some of the most momentous times of your life; you deserve to feel supported, held, and confident the entire time!
Between birth classes, all my books, Instagram accounts, Facebook groups, and all the TikToks I've watched, I feel like I'm already on information overload. I don't know if I can handle yet another person talking at me!
My sassy side wants to tell you to immediately stop the social media scroll/Dr. Google deep-dive, but I also recognize that we live in a digital age and there can be great information out there if you’re looking at reputable sources! For real, though, between the books, social media, classes, and online groups, it’s easy to feel like you’re drowning in advice and opinions. Here’s the thing: a doula is different from all that noise, and here’s why: First and foremost, my main job as a doula is to listen, not lecture (I’ve definitely done childbirth ed for clients before on request, but it’s not my primary function). I want to understand your preferences and goals so I can offer calm, unbiased, and evidence-based support that’s personalized to you and your partner. I can also help you organize and clarify alllllll that info you’ve already been gathering through your classes, books, and Insta accounts (and perhaps a well-meaning friend or relative with lots of anecdotal advice…?) and help you translate it into something practical and applicable (or know when to toss aside information that is unhelpful or downright incorrect). I’ll never tell you what you “should” do but I will help you make sure you’re heard and supported in the way you need. When you hire a doula, there’s also no pressure to know it all! Even the most prepared pregnant person cannot be expected to remember everything from birth class when in the thick of labor or the heightened emotions of pregnancy and postpartum. A doula isn’t there to quiz you or expect you to be an expert; we’re there as trained professionals with our own arsenal of knowledge to help you feel supported, safe, and stress-free as you navigate each moment. If specific information is needed, we’ll discuss it together in bite sizes, not one big feast :) Finally, one of my favorite things to tell my clients is that I’m incredibly invested in THEM but not in their compliance. What I mean by that is if they don’t want certain kinds of advice or techniques that I may offer, they don’t have to use them. I’m there to work with your preferences and adapt my support to your needs, and my only skin in the game is you feeling heard, seen, informed, empowered, and confident in your unique birth story and parenthood journey. Sometimes sources of information come with a hefty dose of judgment, opinion, or shaming (yes, I’m looking at you, social media comments sections)…a doula’s literal paid job is to NOT be that way. Rather than adding more unwanted information, they’re there to help you filter out the noise, clear the clutter, and focus on what matters most to YOU.
What if I hire a doula and it turns out I didn't end up using them for much during labor?
Hot-ish take: I firmly believe that hiring a doula is not an all-or-nothing investment. I’ve attended births that have lasted 40+ hours and births where the baby came before my 2 hours of free parking expired, births that were heavy on the hands-on comfort measures and births where I barely touched the mom, and all kinds of births in between. Doula support is much more nuanced than simply how much you give us to do during labor. One of the biggest things a doula brings to the table is their presence. Sometimes, I'm a "do-ula" in a birth (actively providing comfort measures, fetching water, answering questions, etc.) and sometimes I'm a "be-la"...which means I'm just BEING. I'm literally doing nothing except sitting there holding space, and often the birthing couple is so in the zone they forget I'm there. Here's the kicker: studies show that even just having a doula existing in your birth space improves birth outcomes (insert mind blown emoji here). I often compare it to the best insurance policy ever: just the peace of mind of knowing that informative, encouraging, valuable, and CONSTANT support is right there if and when you need it can transform the physical and mental state of mama and partner. Plus, even if you're rockin' it without assistance, doulas can provide a lot of hands-off help in the form of water/snacks, maintenance of a calming environment, communication with other members of birth team, and post-birth events like first latch, the golden hour, skin-to-skin, etc. You don’t have to use your doula in any particular way, or the entire time, for their support to be effective. It’s all about having someone there who understands what you might need at every stage, even if that just means being calm and steady in the background. From a financial standpoint, it may seem daunting to invest in a doula when you’re not sure how much you’ll use them, but consider the fact that doulas statistically can lower rates of unwanted (and expensive) interventions and statistically improve maternal and neonatal outcomes which may help avoid associated costs as well. Obviously no one can guarantee birth outcomes, but as “insurance policies” go, a doula hire is a pretty sound one based on that data alone! Remember, too, that a birth doula is also there for you during pregnancy; personally I offer my clients 3 one-hour prenatal appointments as well as unlimited email/phone/text support from the moment I’m hired, during which I answer questions, process fears/concerns, offer emotional support, help with birth plans, etc. So even if labor itself doesn’t require much from me, I’ll invariably have been more “active” at other points during my time working with a client. Bottom line: If you hire a doula and end up not using them much during labor, that's totally okay! Our job is not to force you into a specific experience but to be there for you in whatever way you need, and sometimes that means stepping back because you’re doing great on your own. If you decide you need more active support, we’ll be right there ready to jump in. And even if your labor goes smoothly and you don’t need much assistance, the emotional and physical support we provide before and after can still be incredibly valuable.
OK, OK, I get the benefits of birth doulas. But how is a postpartum doula different from just hiring a nanny / housekeeper / baby nurse / lactation consultant / having friends and relatives come visit me after the birth?
If you’ve read through this entire FAQ (and honestly, good for you if you did; I’m very wordy), you’ve probably cobbled together this answer, but I’ll tell you anyway :) All those jobs are great jobs, and if you want to add them to your village of support then by all means do it! I always advocate for the deepest bench you can build when planning for your parenting journey. But here’s the breakdown: a nanny babysits, a housekeeper cleans, a baby nurse cares for the baby’s physical well-being, a lactation consultant helps with feeding, and family/friends (while well-meaning) mostly want to cuddle the baby and may not have the professional knowledge to be of deeper assistance. But none of those people are there to “mother the mother.” A postpartum doula is a trained professional who does just that (plus at least some of those other jobs as well). As I do for birth, I provide physical, emotional, mental, and informational support from an evidence-based and unbiased lens, to the birthing parent and the new family unit. This can take the form of a listening ear and safe space to help process your experiences, practical guidance on newborn care/needs and sleep routines, lactation and feeding assistance, light household tasks, meal preparation with an eye towards postpartum-specific nutritional needs, help with the physical recovery from birth, facilitating maternal self-care and rest, and guiding the non-birthing parent in how best to support their partner while also caring for themselves during what can be an overwhelming and exhausting time. Working with a postpartum doula has been shown to reduce the rates of perinatal mood disorders, increase breastfeeding success if desired, speed the physical healing process, improve parental confidence in newborn care, and provide better overall family adjustment...all of which also contribute to a more settled and content baby! My ultimate goal as your doula is to leave you feeling reassured, calm, supported, empowered, and confident in your new role as parents. I also come armed with an extensive resource list of vetted local providers, businesses, and services that may be valuable to a family during the fourth trimester, whether that be lactation consultants, pelvic floor PTs, meal preparation and delivery, pediatric providers, herbalists, massage therapists, parenting groups, or more. I only recommend people who I have either worked with personally or know peers who have, so I’m confident that they offer high-value and expert services. After working with me, one of my postpartum clients said “this was the service we didn’t know we needed and it was honestly the most valuable for us.” While there’s often so much societal and medical emphasis on preparing for pregnancy and birth, there’s very little on getting ready to actually have your tiny human living in your house while you’re simultaneously experiencing a massive physical and emotional event. The value of a postpartum doula lies in our ability to expertly assist with SO many aspects of the challenging and tender days of early parenthood and to give mom the care and attention she needs and deserves.