Current Availability:n
1 spot for end April/early May 2023
1 spot for June
1 spot for September
1 spot for June
1 spot for September
With me by your side, you can feel assured in knowing that you have an experienced doula who is focused on giving you the best support in your birth. During your pregnancy, I walk you step by step to help you prepare for your birth and get a clear understanding of what is important to you and your family. At the birth, you receive continuous support so that you can feel confident and comfortable from start to finish. As a home birth focused doula, we will work together to lay the groundwork towards a positive, powerful birth at home.
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Two in home postpartum visits within the first month after - up to 3 hours each.
This visit looks different for every family. The first postpartum visit is usually focused on reviewing the birth, getting baby feeding support (I am a certified breastfeeding educator), and making sure the family is getting the support they require. The second postpartum visit is more flexible and tends to be more focused on plans for moving forward as well as any baby and parent needs that come up depending on the family.
I will also be available to connect via phone or e-mail at anytime during the first 6 weeks.
This visit looks different for every family. The first postpartum visit is usually focused on reviewing the birth, getting baby feeding support (I am a certified breastfeeding educator), and making sure the family is getting the support they require. The second postpartum visit is more flexible and tends to be more focused on plans for moving forward as well as any baby and parent needs that come up depending on the family.
I will also be available to connect via phone or e-mail at anytime during the first 6 weeks.
Your investment in working with me in creating a
supported and powerful birth is $1985+ gst.
Payment plans are available and I offer special rates for repeat clients.
supported and powerful birth is $1985+ gst.
Payment plans are available and I offer special rates for repeat clients.
WHY SHOULD I HIRE A DOULA TO SUPPORT ME IN MY BIRTH?
I like to compare birth to climbing the Himalayas. Okay, that sounds intense I know, but birth is pretty intense. When climbing the Himalayas, it is a pretty good idea to have a Sherpa support your climb. Just like a Sherpa is to climbing a mountain, as a doula I am very knowledgable in the journey of birth as I have walked that path with many families before you and also taken the journey myself. Before your birth, we figure out what you want and what you need to make this a positive, powerful and safe experience. We go over the different routes that you can take and I give you a heads up on some of the bumps along the way that you may face. I make sure you are nourished and that you are taken care of physically, while also making sure that your emotional and spiritual needs are also met. We need to remember that birth is more than just a physical process that your body goes through - it is a transformative experience and wanting it to be a positive one is not selfish, but essential. Now, I can't birth for you. I can't take away the pain. I can't stop the birth from happening how it needs to happen. I can guarantee any outcomes except for one - that when you look back at your birth, you will know that there was someone there who fully supported and believed in your ability to make the best choices for you and your family. That support doesn't waiver. And just like the Sherpa, when you reach the top of your mountain and enjoy the view, aka your brand new baby, I will be there to celebrate what YOU just did. And as you travel down the mountain into your new life as a parent to this baby, I will continue to follow behind you, giving love and support every step of the way.
WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE BEHIND DOULA SUPPORT?
The support that doula provide birthing families isn't just for happy feelies. There is real evidence backing the importance of doulas for your birth. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists even stated that one of the ways to lessen your chance of having high intervention births and to lower c-section rates if from the use of doulas. Evidence Based Birth has a great write up of all the ways doulas are awesome.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A DOULA AND A MIDWIFE?
This is one of the most common questions I get. Doulas are not medical care providers. We do not give you advice on medical procedures (though we are able to present you with the evidence and options that are available for you to discuss with your care provider). We also do not perform any medical procedures (so no vaginal exams, listening to HB, palpating your stomach etc.). We are there for educational, physical and emotional support for you and your birth partner. We do not work for the health authority - we only work for YOU. We are not covered by MSP and have to be paid for out of pocket. Midwives on the other hand are your medical care provider, work for the health authority and are covered under MSP. They handle the medical care of low risk pregnant people. Their scope is similar to that of a General Practitioner, however are not able to care for high risk people and these clients are referred to Obstetricians who specialize in high risk, medicalized birth. For families wanting as little intervention as possible, midwives are their best option available within the health care system.
MY PARTNER IS WORRIED YOU WILL TAKE THEIR PLACE. IS THIS TRUE?
This is the farthest thing from the truth. The truth is, a birthing partner could never be replaced by a doula. Why? Because their biggest job is to love and care for the birthing person. By giving you their love and attention, you receive more oxytocin, aka the love hormone, which helps those contractions build so you can birth your baby. That is a HUGE job and no matter how much I fall in love with my clients, my love can never be matched by the love that a partner can give. This is what the birthing partner needs to focus on. Everything else (home birth and hospital birth protocols, knowing all the different options in birth and the corresponding evidence, hands on physical support that birthing folks love (don't worry we will share this), keeping tracking of your nourishment, knowing when to call the midwife, setting up the birth pool, cleaning it all up, getting breastfeeding established and more) you can leave to me to help you out with. Really, birth partners and doulas make the perfect team and I am just as much there for them as I am for the birthing person.
WHY DO YOU ONLY ATTEND HOME BIRTHS?
Over my years working as a busy doula in the Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland, I have attended almost every kind of birth there is, both home and hospital. There are three things that have led me to focus on home birth support.
1. I am really good at supporting families who are looking for as little interventions as possible and typically, these are families wanting to birth at home. If your ideal birth is to have as little interventions as possible, planning a home birth raises the likelihood of this happening. Supporting physiologic birth is one of my strongest skills and what I want to focus on, for both my benefit and the benefit of my clients.
2. The system that we currently birth in is broken. The over medicalization of a physiologic process has led the Fraser Valley towards a 40% c-section rate, while the World Health Organization says the ideal number is 13-15%. 94% of pregnancies are considered low risk - so how come only 60% of births happen vaginally? Hospital policies are not always based on health, safety, best practice or evidence. We need to look at the system in which families are birthing. While home birth with registered midwives is a part of this system, the research reflects that even just planning a home birth lowers your chance of needing obstetric interventions including electronic fetal monitoring, augmentation of labour, assisted vaginal delivery, cesarean delivery and episiotomy. Because I specialize in working with families who are wanting as little interventions as possible, I know that they are more likely to achieve this at home, therefore I have chosen to focus on home birth.
3. When looking at physiologic birth, we know that birthing where your body feels most comfortable is of utmost importance. Being at home, in your own surrounding, eating your own food, wearing your own clothes, laying in your own bed and being surrounded by people you know (as oppose to the hospital where there are many strangers you meet on the day), leads to smoother births.
Please note, while I am only attending home births, I do support every family choosing the type of birth that is best of them. For some families that is at home with a midwife and for others that is in the hospital with a midwife, GP or OB. Every birthing person has the right to informed choice and I celebrate every kind of birthing person. If you are planning a hospital birth, please feel free to reach out for referrals to other doulas who actively attend hospital births. Our community is filled with many talented birth workers and I am happy to refer you to them.
1. I am really good at supporting families who are looking for as little interventions as possible and typically, these are families wanting to birth at home. If your ideal birth is to have as little interventions as possible, planning a home birth raises the likelihood of this happening. Supporting physiologic birth is one of my strongest skills and what I want to focus on, for both my benefit and the benefit of my clients.
2. The system that we currently birth in is broken. The over medicalization of a physiologic process has led the Fraser Valley towards a 40% c-section rate, while the World Health Organization says the ideal number is 13-15%. 94% of pregnancies are considered low risk - so how come only 60% of births happen vaginally? Hospital policies are not always based on health, safety, best practice or evidence. We need to look at the system in which families are birthing. While home birth with registered midwives is a part of this system, the research reflects that even just planning a home birth lowers your chance of needing obstetric interventions including electronic fetal monitoring, augmentation of labour, assisted vaginal delivery, cesarean delivery and episiotomy. Because I specialize in working with families who are wanting as little interventions as possible, I know that they are more likely to achieve this at home, therefore I have chosen to focus on home birth.
3. When looking at physiologic birth, we know that birthing where your body feels most comfortable is of utmost importance. Being at home, in your own surrounding, eating your own food, wearing your own clothes, laying in your own bed and being surrounded by people you know (as oppose to the hospital where there are many strangers you meet on the day), leads to smoother births.
Please note, while I am only attending home births, I do support every family choosing the type of birth that is best of them. For some families that is at home with a midwife and for others that is in the hospital with a midwife, GP or OB. Every birthing person has the right to informed choice and I celebrate every kind of birthing person. If you are planning a hospital birth, please feel free to reach out for referrals to other doulas who actively attend hospital births. Our community is filled with many talented birth workers and I am happy to refer you to them.
IS HOME BIRTH SAFE?
Living in British Columbia has us really well supported in home birth. Home birth is integrated into our health care system. Midwives are regulated and able to offer home care as a safe option for most birthing families. Your midwives will bring with them all the medical essentials needed to handle emergencies plus they are very careful about being proactive the moment anything is outside the "ideal" parameters. During our discovery call, I am happy to go deeper into the set up of home birth in BC so you can get a full picture of the safety procedures in place. In Canada, the research reflects that giving birth at home is as safe as giving birth in the hospital, plus lessens your chance of needing obstetric interventions. Check out the links below for more information:
CWHN
UBC Study
Cochrane Review
BC Midwives Planned Place of Birth Handbook
AOM Choice of Birth Place
Thrive Midwifery - What to expect at a home birth
CWHN
UBC Study
Cochrane Review
BC Midwives Planned Place of Birth Handbook
AOM Choice of Birth Place
Thrive Midwifery - What to expect at a home birth
WHAT HAPPENS IF I RISK OUT OF HOME BIRTH OR HAVE TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL?
If during your pregnancy you risk out of home birth, change your mind or if you need to transfer to the hospital for any reason during your birth (including need for pain medication), my support for you will continue. I will go with you to the hospital and stay until the birth of your baby. While my preference at hire is to work with families wanting a physiologic home birth, I also know that things happen and sometimes plans need to change and that is 100% okay. My support for you will never waiver no matter what happens.
HOW MANY CLIENTS DO YOU TAKE A MONTH?
At this time, I only take a handful of clients per year. I take great care in making sure the clients that I decide to take on board are an ideal match so that I know I can give them the type of support they want and our chemistry flows. I will never have more than one client during your on call period. This means, I am able to give you more support through out your pregnancy and postpartum. This also lessens the chance of me missing your birth. The only reason I would miss a birth is because I am sick or have an important matter that cannot be rescheduled. In the event that I cannot attend your birth, I will provide a back up doula of similar skill set and labour support style.
IF I HIRE YOU AS MY DOULA, DO I ALSO NEED TO TAKE A PRENATAL CLASS?
Included in the package is access to the 6 week My Powerful Birth Prenatal Classes that I teach alongside Michelle Tyliakos. This is a requirement to work together as we do not have enough time during our prenatal appointments to go over everything that you need to know and can learn from our prenatal class.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I END UP NEEDING A CESAREAN BIRTH?
If you need a cesarean birth, whether scheduled or emergent, my support continues. If the csection birth is scheduled, then I will be present at the hospital at check in and depending on the hospital policies, if permitted, I will join you in the OR and postpartum. If Covid protocols does not let this to be possible, then I will add more hours of postpartum support. More details are included in my working agreement which you can review before our consultation.
If the csection birth happens during the labour, then I will stay for as long as Covid protocols allow me to be.
If the csection birth happens during the labour, then I will stay for as long as Covid protocols allow me to be.
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Proudly supporting home birthing families in Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam. Port Moody, Langley,
Surrey and New Westminster. Filled with gratitude to be living and working in the unceded and ancestral home of the Katzie, Kwikwetlem, Matsqui, Kwantlen, and Semiahmoo First Nations. |
© SAMANTHA GAGNON BIRTH WORKER 2021. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.