Doula scope and disclaimer

If you need help right now

• In an emergency. For any medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. Call 911
• Medical questions. Call your OB, midwife, or care provider. I can help you think through what to ask, but I don’t give medical advice.
• National Maternal Mental Health Hotline. Free, confidential support before, during, and after pregnancy, 24/7, in English and Spanish. Call 1-833-TLC-MAMA · Send a text
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If you’re struggling or thinking about harming yourself, you can reach someone any time. Call 988 · Text 988

Doula care is non-medical

A doula gives emotional, physical, and informational support. I am not a doctor, nurse, or midwife, and doula care never replaces the care you get from them. I don’t:

• Perform clinical tasks like cervical exams, fetal heart rate checks, or blood pressure monitoring
• Diagnose, give medical advice, or recommend medications
• Make decisions on your behalf, or speak for you to your care team
• Replace your OB, midwife, pediatrician, or lactation care

What I do instead

• Stay with you through labor, with comfort measures like position changes, breathing, massage, and counterpressure
• Help you use a TENS unit for labor comfort, when your care provider agrees it’s right for you
• Help you understand your options and get ready to ask your care team about them
• Support your partner or support person so neither of you is doing this alone
• Help at home after birth with rest, recovery, newborn care, and getting feeding started

Every decision about your care is yours to make with your care team. I’ll help you find your questions and ask them. I won’t tell you what to choose.

Feeding support has a limit too

I can help with the everyday parts of getting feeding started. If feeding is painful, your baby seems too sleepy to feed, or you’re worried about diapers or weight, that’s the time for skilled help from a lactation professional or your baby’s care team.

Coaching sessions

Prenatal and postnatal coaching sessions are non-medical as well. They are not therapy, and they don’t replace care from your provider or a licensed mental health professional. If you’re struggling, the hotlines above are free, confidential, and open any time.

Guides, the course, and the blog

Everything you can read or download here is general education, not medical advice for you or your baby. Health information on the blog links to its sources, and each post shows its date. Talk with your care provider before acting on anything that affects your health or your baby’s.

No promised outcome

Births don’t follow plans. Having a doula can make you feel more prepared and better supported, but no one can promise a particular birth experience or outcome, and I don’t.

Questions

If you’re not sure whether something is part of doula support, ask me. For anything medical, call your care provider.