Frequently asked questions
While clients usually hire a doula towards the end of their second trimester, it’s not uncommon for some to hire their doula as soon as they find out they’re pregnant, or to wait until the last minute. Leaving this process until later in your pregnancy (after 32 weeks) could mean that your chosen doula is unavailable for your due date. If you want to make the best use of the resources your doula has to offer, it is better to hire them sooner rather than later.
Won’t my partner/family/friends feel left out/isn’t my partner my doula?
Birth is a life-changing experience for everyone involved- the birthing person, and their partner and support people, too. Our job is never to replace your family members, but rather to provide gentle guidance for your loved ones so they can each be involved in a way that is truly comfortable and helpful for everyone. Doulas are experts in birth, but your partner and family members are the experts in you!
A doula has training and experience above and beyond the information presented in a prenatal class. No matter how much experience your spouse has with childbirth, the birth experience can be stressful and confusing, and the presence of a doula frees your partner from the responsibility of being your only support person. This allows your partner to be loving, supportive, responsive and emotionally involved in the birth of your child.
As doulas, we provide much more than support for an unmedicated birth. If you are planning a caesarean, induction, or to have an epidural, a doula can still assist you by providing information (or helping to make sense of the information given to you), support your partner, provide reassurance in early labour before your epidural, as well as help with standard postpartum adjustments. Your birth is your birth, and we support your choices, no matter what.
What is the difference between a midwife and a doula?
Your midwife provides primary care during your pregnancy and for the first six weeks postpartum. Their role at your birth is to monitor both you and your baby for potential health problems, to catch the baby, and provide immediate postpartum care. A midwife can perform clinical tasks such as exams, suturing, blood pressure, heart rate, and overall evaluations of the health of you and your baby. A midwife is trained and certified to attend births as a medical professional. A doula does not perform any medical tasks.
Doulas are trained to provide a high level of informational, emotional, and physical support. A midwife’s, doctor’s, or nurse’s priority is the physical health of the parents and baby, while a doula’s priority is the emotional health of the parents and their baby. While your care provider of course makes every effort to be emotionally supportive, care providers don’t always have the time and training to support you through every step of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.
Doulas do not perform medical tasks such as vaginal exams, fetal heartrate checks, or blood pressure monitoring. Doulas do not speak to the medical staff on your behalf, or make decisions for you.
Are there any contraindications for encapsulation?
There are very few contraindications for encapsulations. Most often, the reason a placenta can’t be encapsulated has to do with proper storage or preservation after birth. The following situations would render a placenta unfit for consumption:
- Uterine infection/chorioamnionitis If you have a confirmed uterine infection, your placenta should not be encapsulated. If an infection is suspected (a fever during labour does not automatically mean you have one), you can ask your provider to send only a portion of your placenta for testing and freeze the rest of it until an infection is confirmed.
- Improper storage Your placenta needs to be refrigerated within 3 hours of birth, and should be frozen after three days of refrigeration.
- Pathology If your placenta has been sent to pathology, it is no longer safe for consumption as it is impossible to tell what chemicals have been used on it.
- Smoking and drug use If you have used tobacco or recreational drugs during your pregnancy, your placenta is likely unsafe for consumption.
Your placenta pills will be delivered to you with detailed instructions for taking them. Normally, it is recommended to start by taking two pills, three times a day, slowly reducing the dosage to two pills, three times a day, and then eventually one pill, once or twice a day. Should you experience negative effects, or experience an infection or illness such as a cold, flu, or mastitis, it is recommended to discontinue your placenta capsules and contact your placenta specialist for recommendations.