Give the Gift of Birth or Postpartum Doula SupportDoula services are a thoughtful, practical and unique gift. I mean, really, you know that the parents are already going to receive one million onesies, burp cloths, and bottles.... Birth and Postpartum Doulas provide information, resources, and support. Not only do doulas provide peace of mind, but postpartum doulas provide hours of opportunities for... sleep! Sleep is something that all new parents and their loved ones can get behind!
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Choosing a Supportive Care Provider in Cincinnati or N. Kentucky Choosing a supportive care provider is one of the most important choices you will make in your pregnancy. In my 6 years of doula experience, choosing a supportive care provider has made much bigger an impact on experience than where a family gives birth. Your care provider can and will make a huge impact on your pregnancy and birth experience. Early in your pregnancy is the best time to choose your maternity care provider and birth setting, but you can switch all the way up until 32-34 weeks and I've even seen families switch as late as 41 weeks, but it wasn't easy and was very stressful. Choosing a care provider will impact:
I want you to ask yourself these questions:
If you are thinking about switching care providers for a better experience the next time you have a baby, I encourage you to switch now. Click the link below to download ''10 Questions to Ask Your Care Provider'' from the Lamaze website. 
 Care Provider RECOMMENDATIONSThe care providers I've listed here have a reputation of being incredibly respectful of birth and a patient’s right to informed consent. These providers also either work solo or with a very small group. I won't list or recommend a care provider that is within a huge practice where Dr. x may be great, but Dr. Y is always condescending and rude. If you don't see your care provider on this list, don't be alarmed. I'm only one doula and I've only attended 250ish births. There are soo many more care providers than I've had the opportunity to work with. It is important to choose someone you are comfortable with. Atrium Birth Center - Middletown Premier Physicians - CNMs and OBGYNs Bethesda North Dr. Daniel Bowen, OBGYN Tina Pearson, CNM Christ Hospital Tina Pearson, CNM Michelle Zamudio, CNM Family Beginnings - Dayton Dr. Stephen Guy OBGYN and CNMs Good Samaritan Seven Hills Midwives - West Fork Homebirth Care Providers Women's Wisdom Cincinnati Homebirth Circle Cincinnati Homebirth Collaborative Mercy Anderson Seven Hills CNMs - State Rd. Dr. Varnau and Patridge Mercy West Seven Hills Midwives - West Fork St. Elizabeth Dr. Vormbrock, OBGYN Should you have any questions about my experience with certain care providers, feel free to ask!
How to Become a Professional Doula in Cincinnati, OH  If you are dreaming about becoming a Professional Doula in the Cincinnati area, you're in the right place! Maybe you've always loved all things pregnancy, birth and babies, or maybe you were inspired by your own experience that you fell in love with all things related to this stage of life or maybe your pregnancy, birth, or postpartum was so hard, lonely, or even traumatic that you want to do everything you can to make a difference for another person walking this path. Maybe you're an OBGYN, nurse, midwife, yoga instructor, or other provider hoping to gain more knowledge around doulas to better support your current clients or patients. No matter what, it sounds like you've heard the call and I commend you for seeking out the next steps! Becoming a doula certainly isn't for everyone, but for many, it leads to an exciting and ever-fulfilling career. There is such joy in supporting families through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum...and getting paid for it too! Here, I'm going to answer some common questions I get from people thinking about becoming a doula. At the bottom of this article, you will find 3 upcoming doula training opportunities. I encourage you to take the leap and sign up today. What is a doula? Birth and Postpartum doulas are non-medical professionals who help and support families, physically and emotionally through the huge life transition of welcoming a new baby to their family. Read more about the role of a doula in this blog post. Who can become a doula? Anyone can become a doula. Aside from reading material, there are generally no prerequisites to taking a doula training. I've seen people who identify as male and female, young and old, with and without kids at doula training events. You can become a doula. How long does it take to train to be a doula? It's normally a full weekend, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at a training before one can consider themselves a trained and professional birth and/or postpartum doula. How expensive is it to become a doula? Your initial training cost will vary, from $400-$600. There may additional expenses associated with additional classes, reading materials, organization membership, and certification fees if you choose to certify. How much money can a professional doula make? It really depends on your availability and client load (how many clients you take at one time.) and how quickly you are able to connect with as many clients as you need to reach your goals. Birth doulas in the Cincinnati area charge between $400-$3000 per birth. Postpartum doulas charge between $20-$45 per hour. Honestly, there are so many variables but the sky is the limit, depending on your drive to connect with clients, how much you charge, and how much you work. Are there any certification or licensure requirements? At this time, doulas are not required to obtain licenses to practice. After a person completes their training, doulas can begin to see clients. Many doulas begin the path to certification through a certifying organization or agency of their choice as a way to continually learn and grow, have accountability, and to have an organization backing them up. My Experience and Mentorship Opportunity:
Upcoming Birth Doula Traning Opportunities in Cincinnati, OH: I personally know and love all of these trainers and the organizations that they are bringing to the area. I have seen doulas train with CAPPA and DONA and come out of their training well-equipped with information and support as they begin their doula pactice. Upcoming Postpartum Doula Tranings: CAPPA Postpartum Doula Training: March 9th - March 10th  The Forgotten Mother
The amount of times strangers have asked me what the gender of the baby was and would proceed with comparing my symptoms to theirs are endless. As an individual, and the fact that I was experiencing symptoms my own mother didn’t while pregnant with both my brother and myself, I took each suggestion with a large grain of salt. Yes, babies are an exciting part of life, but the thing is, people find it in themselves to lose their home training and boundaries. If you don’t know the pregnant woman’s name, don’t touch her! Don’t even ask to touch her. It doesn’t get any better once the due date comes. I faced a lot of anxiety when it was supposedly time for Baby to be born. People called and texted and wrote asking, where’s the baby? and when will the baby be here? Good question. The due date is an approximation. Merely a guess. The suspense was gradually increasing with each passing hour, so, I stopped looking on social media and basically ignored my incoming text messages. One week after my due date passed my anxiety had gotten to the point Kevin and I agreed no one, including family, would be invited into the house. This was very important to me. Planning a home birth and moving to a new city and state, I smudged our new home and did not want to taint the clean energy with the concerns of others. I was often asked which hospital we planned to deliver at, even a lady who works at our local ice cream shop asked. Our simple answer was, we weren’t disclosing that information to anyone, we just wanted it to be us when Baby arrived. There are, however, many young moms who took the time to ask me how I was doing or simply tell me that I was on their mind. Thank you for making sure I was mentally, physically, spiritually, and psychologically okay. You are the little pieces of heaven every soon-to-be mom can appreciate. People became even more strange once the baby was born. It’s almost as if you have entered the VIP section of life. At least having one baby, from my experience. People freely offer to open doors and even load your groceries into your car while carrying their own. It can be wonderful! And very much so appreciated. But equally with these interactions are those where no one thinks, or seems to care about the mother anymore. It seems as though all communication now pertains to Baby. Phone calls and text messages inquiring on how Baby is sleeping, eating, and how he or she entered into the world. But what about Mommy and her needs? And no, offering to watching the baby hours, days, and even weeks after birth are not always seen as helpful. Our bodies are physically able to take care of Baby right after birth in most cases. What many of us need are an extra set of hands. A prepared meal. Groceries brought to the house and put away. The bathroom cleaned. Our world has literally been flipped upside down and back again into a cluster of emotions and physical clutter. We need assistance, at least I know I did, and telling us that we are no longer of importance, especially right after birth, is definitely not helpful. So, to all the mothers who have felt as though they were forgotten at one point in their postpartum stage, you are not alone. Yes. You were important while you carried your child. Your existence and presence is even more vital than ever now. Others may feel as though they know what Baby needs, but no one can truly fill that need like the mother.
Disclaimers: As a community resource, Cincinnati Birth and Parenting welcomes submissions from guest bloggers. The views, opinions and positions expressed within these guest posts are those of the author alone and do not represent those of Cincinnati Birth and Parenting, LLC. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them. Blog posts may include affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won't cost you any extra money, they will help us keep our blog up and running! How I Achieved a Low Intervention BirthWritten By: Leah Zemany I have always been interested in pregnancy and birth. I distinctly remember sitting in church with my parents and there being a pregnant woman near us and I wanted nothing more than to touch her swollen belly. I was probably 6 or 7 at the time. Growing up I wanted to become a Neonatologist (a doctor specializing in newborn infants) but as I grew older my life goals changed. I didn’t want to spend so much time in school and put off having a family, another female conundrum that I could get on a soapbox about at another time. However, I knew I belonged in healthcare so I decided I would become a nurse. I was fascinated by my women’s health rotations and I absorbed as much information as I could. I did my role transition (a 9 week length of time where you follow around a working nurse and work their schedule) in labor and delivery. By that point in time I had read a fair amount on my own about birth and labor and the “less is more” notion. I was completely disenchanted with how the hospital approached birth and delivery. Ultimately, this pushed me away from going into that field. But I never stopped being amazed by the female body and what it inherently knew how to do. Flash forward roughly 10 years and my partner and I find out that I am pregnant! We were both beyond elated. And from the very beginning I knew what kind of birth experience I wanted. And honestly, if I didn’t have a medical background I probably would’ve opted for a homebirth but sometimes knowing too much can be a bad thing. My first step in reaching my goal was finding a care provider. I knew I wanted a midwife from the get-go. I felt like a midwife would be more supportive of fewer interventions and work with me to reach my goal. For me, it was important to have someone who was compassionate and listened to me and what I did and didn’t want and then discussed options with me. Then it was time for me to put in the work! I read, A LOT! I read books about natural childbirth, pregnancy books, and midwives. I pulled a lot from Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin as well as her book A Midwife’s Manifesto. For me, hearing about how so many other mothers succeeded in birthing without or with very little intervention, gave me strength in believing that I could do it too! She also relays so much information about pregnancy and the birth process itself, which I feel is important because knowledge can counter that fear of the unknown. I also started following birth friendly Instagram pages. Seeing images of mothers in the throws of labor and the birth process was helpful for me to imagine what my own experience might be. I was especially afraid of birthing a large baby. My mother had three children and at 8 lbs., I was her smallest. Then one day I came across an image on Instagram of a mother who birthed her 10 lbs. baby naturally and she had the most shocked and elated look on her face! I saved that image and would look at it whenever I was doubtful of my abilities. I also saved other birth affirmations on a Pinterest board, looking them over from time to time. I continued to exercise throughout my pregnancy. I knew that being physically healthy would allow me a better chance of achieving my goal. So I went to the gym like I normally would but informed my instructors of my pregnancy so that exercises could be modified if needed. Another fear I had was that my baby would be breech. As I went to OB appointments he was becoming quite comfortable in that position. I knew there were ways to get baby to turn so I did some searching and I found Spinning Babies. The exercises focus on position the baby and preparing the body for birth. I did that video religiously throughout my second and third trimester. My partner would make fun of the lady as she said “Breathe in love for your baby, breathe out love for your life”. It’s still stuck in my head over a year later!! But I do feel the video truly helped me prepare for the birth, physically and mentally. Probably the most important thing I did to have a successful low intervention birth, was hiring a doula. I went back and forth on the idea because I was doing a lot to prepare myself and I questioned whether or not I could do it on my own. But I am so glad I did! She was so supportive of me and my partner and all our wishes. She was a voice for me when I finally did go to the hospital and she knew the right nurses who would be supportive of my choices. Working in healthcare, I know the negative attitudes nurses can have towards birth plans and I didn’t want that to overshadow my birth experience. Having her there gave me piece of mind so I could focus on birthing my baby. No matter how we choose to bring our babies into this world, whether it’s a homebirth, a hospital birth with an epidural, or a belly birth, the point is that we as women have CHOICES in how we birth. Not only should they be choices but they should be educated and informed choices. Knowing we have choices and the strength to execute them is half the battle. The other half is making your choices known and having a support team that is fully on board with what you want and who can advocate for you when you can’t.
Disclaimers: As a community resource, Cincinnati Birth and Parenting welcomes submissions from guest bloggers. The views, opinions and positions expressed within these guest posts are those of the author alone and do not represent those of Cincinnati Birth and Parenting, LLC. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them. Blog posts may include affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won't cost you any extra money, they will help us keep our blog up and running! |
Who are we?Cincinnati Birth and Parenting, LLC was founded by Molly Murray, a birth and postpartum doula and childbirth educator. Through this growing company, Molly connects parents with information, resources, and support while also staying committed to building up fellow professionals and connecting them with the people who need their services most. Archives
April 2020
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