B'earth Angel Doula Service and Birth Arts

Brandi Monson, CD(DONA)

Independence, Kansas

I received my doula certification from DONA International, www.dona.org in November of 2007. I have been involved with doula work since Autumn 2005 when I took my training.

I attend home or hospital births with the care provider of your choice.

I have given birth three times, all of which were  attended by a doula. She was my inspiration in becoming a doula. I was so grateful for the assistance she gave me that I wanted to offer the same to other women. I truly believe in the value of labor assistance, as demonstrated by having my own births with a doula. I also feel honored and blessed to be able to act as servant to my laboring clients. It’s an awesome experience to witness birth, and I am humbled by it.

I am a firm believer in a woman’s ability to give birth. I believe that birth can empower a woman, giving her the esteem and courage to mother and nurture her child[ren] and be successful at it. Unfortunately, the flip side of the coin is that fear, stress and inadequate support can harm a woman’s labor and birth progression. Oftentimes, a negative birth experience can overshadow a woman’s trust in her own abilities to mother and her trust in her body to give birth again.

The birthing experience is something a woman will remember forever. She may forget the sensations, but she’ll never forget the experience. Her memories of birth should be beautiful, something that she enjoys recalling, not something that she hides in her soul’s innermost recesses.

How I can help you: At home, I can be your labor companion arriving at your convenience, helping to facilitate labor progression by helping keep you moving, hydrated, nourished, encouraged, helping you and your partner with comfort measures, etc. I can then travel w/you to your birth location or remain at your home if you are having a midwife assisted homebirth.

Doulas and midwifes have separate roles. Where the midwife mainly focuses herself on the safety and health of mother, baby and delivery, the doula is able to be more free in assisting the laboring woman with her other needs. If you have an out of area midwife, it can be very comforting to have a doula arrive and remain with you, so you are not laboring w/out assistance while you wait for the midwife to arrive.*

At the hospital, I do much the same as at your home. One of my tasks is to ensure that you are never left alone [unless you desire it] while you labor. Nurses can be in and out and are very busy, as we all know and respect. Often, physicians check in briefly for assessments and then arrive for the birth and postpartum care. This can leave the laboring woman alone for long stretches of time. Doulas play a key roll in successful birth outcomes simply by their presence, although we tend to do so much more. Women birthing with epidurals [even cesareans] benefit by having doulas, much the same as women going ‘au natural’ do. The benefits of having a doula are for every style of labor, not simply natural birthing moms.

Doulas also help spouses participate at their own comfort level. I feel that we place far to much responsibility of fathers in the birthing environment without offering them much assistance. Dads need labor support too.

You can contact me by phone:  620-331-1706  or e-mail me at: bearthangel-doula@yahoo.com

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*Doulas are not medical professionals and their services should not be confused with the services a midwife provides.

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