What Is A Virtual Doula Consultation?

 
 

Virtual Doula Consults are individual sessions that I do with new parents, loved ones of a pregnant or postpartum person, and medical staff /Birth workers. Each session lasts for around an hour and i work with people all over the world and will accommodate you schedule and time zone (I am on eastern time).

In parents sessions we discuss fertility, things for planning, prep, and healing in pregnancy and postpartum. We discuss postpartum wellness at any stage ( Postpartum is forever).

In sessions for loved ones we discuss how to give care, details about the intricacies of this experience, and how restore birth and postpartum to a community event as it was meant to be. Love ones include everyone - partners, friends, extended family, coworkers, etc. Mostly in these sessions I’ve worked with partners, soon to be grandparents, close friends, and siblings of the pregnant or postpartum person.

In sessions with medical staff/birth workers we discuss how to better listen, advocate for, and guide clients/patients. How they as workers can address their own biases, and understand the interconnectedness of birth/postpartum with race, ethnicity, culture, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, disability, etc. We discuss goals they can make as providers to leverage their privilege in birth spaces, how to better prepare patients/clients for postpartum and better monitor all clients but especially those with marginalized backgrounds that face higher complication risks in postpartum. And we discuss how they as providers can center and uplift the parents and their communities in this experience and de-center the mentality, language, and lens of the white supremacist created medical industrial complex.

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Some topics that are typically discussed on virtual consults:

  • TTC support

  • VBAC, HBAC, and recurring C-Section support

  • Abortion/Miscarriage support

  • Stillbirth/pregnancy loss/and death in the family support

  • Nutrition guidance

  • Choosing and interviewing care providers including in person Doulas

  • Lactation education/resources

  • Birth and postpartum prep/planning/resources

  • Community engagement- planning can (and should) include the entire community of extended family and friends

  • Partner education and resources

  • Support for couples

  • Newborn care

  • Babywearing guidance/resources

  • Mental health support/resources

  • Assisting folks in writing, speaking about, and processing their birth stories (current or previous)

  • Free Birth support/resources

  • For Black folks specifically- ways to center joy in this process as you navigate the world on this journey while constantly having stats being thrown at you about disparities

  • Self advocacy

  • Pelvic floor healing

  • Hysterectomy prep

  • Menopause support

  • Education for Doulas, Midwives, nurses and all hospital OB

  • Support for Surrogates

  • Support for parents that will be seeking adoptions for their babies after birth

  • Support for adoptive parents

  • And much more

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*This virtual Doula work I provide does not replace actual in person Doula support.

The hands on work that I and many other Doulas do in person with families is invaluable. However, in person support is not always available for every family, for many reasons like- financial obligation, pandemic safety, education level of some Doula’s, hospital standards, etc. Regardless of what decisions you make for your birth team, I am here to be a guide for you as you navigate it.