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If you aren't quite sure what exactly a doula does, that's okay! The word "doula" came into use in the 1970's, but the concept of doula support is ancient. ​ The word "doula" is derived from Greek and translates to "woman's servant". A doula is a trained professional who provides support to birthing women and their partners. Doulas provide informational, emotional, and physical support throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. Doulas help their clients advocate for their wishes in a medical setting, and provide continuous, unbiased support in order to ensure that their clients have the best birth possible, whatever that may mean for them. ​ We like to compare our job to that of a mountain climbing guide. You can summit a mountain on your own, but it certainly goes more smoothly with some guidance!

Our philosophy is "Your Body, Your Birth, Your Choice". Our mission is to bridge the gaps in the standard American medical system by providing quality, holistic prenatal, labor, and postpartum support and education for mothers and families. We focus on natural care and aim to ensure that no woman feels alone, frustrated, or pushed into making decisions they don't feel comfortable with during labor or the postpartum period. Your body, your choice! We love women and babies, and our goal is to provide nurturing, unbiased, and compassionate support to every family that we work with.

A common misconception is that postpartum doulas are hired to care for newborns. In fact, the focus of a postpartum doula is the well-being of the newborn family. Providing loving care for newborns, is, of course, part of the job description, but our goal as postpartum doulas is to ensure that the entire family is well, physically and mentally, and prepared to start their journey into parenthood with the best foot forward. ​ The support that postpartum doulas provide is customized to the families that they work with. Postpartum doulas provide both daytime and nighttime support, and during this time complete many tasks within the home, such as meal preparation and light housekeeping, lactation and infant feeding support, assistance with postpartum healing, and newborn care education. ​ As postpartum doulas, we aim to "mother the mother". Once again, the term "postpartum doula" may be new, but the concept of this type of support is as old as motherhood itself.

The key difference between doulas and midwives is that doulas are not trained medical professionals. There is certainly overlap in some aspects of both careers: both midwives and doulas provide holistic support to pregnant women and families. However, doulas do not engage in any medical tasks. Midwives are classified as healthcare providers, while doulas are not associated with any medical system.

If you choose to work with a doula, you should know that the doula does not just support the mother and baby! Doulas support partners by offering encouragement and reassurance, and by providing continuous support throughout the birth so that partners can eat and get some rest. Doulas help partners support their loved one through the birth process. Partners are usually eager to provide support, but often aren't sure how. Doulas help partners effectively provide support to their loved one, and, in turn, partners help doulas support the birthing person. It is never our intention to push partners to the sidelines! We love working with dads and partners. Doulas are experts in all things birth: the stages of labor, positioning, how to push effectively, etc. However, partners bring an equally valuable expertise to the table: they are experts in the birthing person. Together, partners and doulas are the dream team.

Absolutely! We frequently work with clients who let us know from the beginning that they are planning on getting an epidural. We view an epidural as one of the many tools that can be utilized to manage labor pain. Some people think that if they choose an epidural, there isn't anything left for a doula to do, but this is far from the truth! There are numerous positions that a doula can assist with t0 help your baby descend with more quickly and with ease.

We provide support to clients in all birthing locations: in homes, hospitals, and birth centers. We have attended births at the majority of hospitals in the DMV. Additionally, we have supported clients at births at numerous local birth centers, and in their own homes.