Doula Support
As a doula, I propose different ways to support you in your journey from pregnancy to postpartum, including both private and group events in Luxembourg.
Our journeys into parenthood are among the most vulnerable times of our lives, and when the most support we need. Unfortunately, in the reality those needs are almost never met, and women feel alone and isolated. This is specially true here in Luxembourg, where most of us do not have family around. As a doula, I support families during their pregnancies and parenthood journeys in any way they need. As a scientist, I like to bring evidence based information and the latest research to the hand of my clients, so that they can make informed decisions along their journeys.
Science has shown that having a doula supporting you during your pregnancy and birth has countless benefits, as for instance: a 39% decrease in risk of having a C-section, 15% increase in rates of spontaneous labor,31% decrease in risk of being dissatisfied with the experience, 10% decrease in the use of pain medications, shorter labors by an average of 41 min, 38% decrease in risk of baby having a low Apgar score. [Source: EvidenceBasedBirth]
The general support provided by a doula can be as diverse and individual as every woman is unique. I can support you even before conception, during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. How exactly this support will look like will vary from woman to woman, so feel free to contact me to book a call in which we can discuss different options.
Please be aware that doulas are not medical professionals. They do not perform medical acts of any kind, nor do they give medical advice. A doula supports you as a complement to your chosen healthcare providers (doctors, midwives, physiotherapists, etc.).
Here I would like to share with you some specific ways in which I can support you during your journey:
Doula support during pregnancy
The support you get from a doula during pregnancy will be adapted to your specific situation, wishes and needs. If you decide to hire me as your doula, during this period we will as well get to know each other and built a trustful relationship.
Prenatal consultations
During these consultations I provide support and evidence based information tailored to your needs and desires. I can support you towards the birth you envision (a physiological birth, a VBAC (vaginal birth after Cesarean), etc), help you write a birth plan, support you while you chose a provider that is right for you, etc., all while making available for you the latest research, to help you understand and know your options at every step.
During these consultations we can discuss any topic you decide, and we can also use rebozo and movement techniques to help with prengancy-related discomforts. I could guide you through exercises to help make space for you and your baby so you enjoy your time together, as well as prepare your body for birth.
Couples or other birth partners are also welcome to join the sessions if they want to learn how to better support their partner during pregnancy and particularly labor and birth.
If you hire me as your doula, a number of these sessions will be included.
Location: Bettembourg, LU or online. Home visits available with a 25% surcharge .
Duration: approx 1.5h
Price: 130 eur
Language: English, French or Spanish
Shorter, more specific 1h sessions are available upon demand.
Doula support during Labor and Birth
In Luxembourg, it is sometimes not at all easy to have a doula supporting you during your labor and birth, since for the moment hospital policies allow only one accompanying person in the laboring room. However, I can still support you while you labor at home (if you live within my region of coverage), and go with you to the hospital if for some reason you decide not to have another birthing partner. Normally, depending on the decision of the hospital and healthcare providers, your partner and I could also switch in and out to support you in the labor room. I can also support you and your chosen birth-partner “virtually” when you go to the hospital.
Even though the system does not seem to be the most doula-friendly of the region, I can guarantee that hiring a doula will have countless benefits nonetheless. Even if she’s not with you in the hospital, your birth experience will doubtless be improved by having had her support during the previous months when planning and preparing for your birth.
If you would like to hire me as your doula, please contact me so we can talk about it, and I can share more details on the different options I can propose. I am not on call all the time, but I’d be happy to refer you to other amazing doulas in Luxembourg if the schedule does not seem to work.
Doula support during the postpartum period
Postpartum can be one of the most lonely moments in motherhood. The days and nights seem endless and as get to know our newborn and we adapt to their slower rhythms. Postpartum is a period that falls outside the regular time and dynamic of our society, and new mothers are usually left aside while all the attention is centered on the newborn baby.
Several of the services I offer might come useful for you during your postpartum journey. Babywearing will allow you bond with your newborn and respond to their needs while still retaining some of your freedom, and I am sure it will prove an invaluable tool of connection and regulation (for both of you!). You are invited also to come to our birth circles to share your birth story and meet other moms. And as the first steps to reconnect with your body after birth and connect with your baby, you can join me for Mom & Baby Yoga!
If you are interested in postpartum rituals inspired in the cerrada de caderas (closing of the bones ceremony, sometimes referred to as soins rebozo) offered by traditional latin american parteras, feel free to contact me so I can tell you more about it and we can arrange a ceremony that adapts to your own wishes and situation.
If you want to find out more or you would like to book any of these services, you can contact me.