virtual support
What can a doula do for you, if she can’t come to hospital with you in labour? You will have heard by now that you can only bring one support person with you in labour. And chances are, you want your partner or loved one to be that person.
What a doula does comes from the depth of her experience of birth, through her patient, reassuring voice. Her touch is valuable (in non-pandemic times) but so much of what she does can be transmitted virtually. Here is a (long) list – and there are probably other things we just have not discovered yet!
BEFORE LABOUR STARTS
Your doula can:
- Listen to you as you reflect on the experience of being pregnant, especially during this
quarantine - Practice with you – using different places and furniture in your house to try out positions.
- Practice with your partner to give massage, and find acupressure point.
- Practice breathing techniques with both of you
- Plan you birth bag – the hospital asks that you NOT bring pillows or blankets from home.
- Plan your labour snacks and drinks – the hospital is not providing juice or Gingerale in
labour right now – and your partner is encouraged NOT to leave your labour room to get
food. - Lend you a TENS machine, massage tools, and her other favourite doula tools (sanitized
and dropped off at your door) - Help you formulate questions for your care provider
- Help you find good books and trusted, authoritative online resources
- Guide you to good, pre-viewed videos of birth to help you get used to what birth looks
like and what other birthing people do to help themselves cope during this quarantine
DURING EARLY LABOUR
Your doula can:
- Help you determine if labour has actually started!
- Help you under-react to early labour, so that you don’t waste energy on the relatively
easy part - Provide guidance for relaxation and breathing
- Remind you of comfortable, restful positions (side-lying with a pillow between your legs,
getting into a nice warm bath…) - Remind you to eat, hydrate and rest, and distract yourself through early labour.
AS LABOUR INTENSIFIES
Your doula can:
- Help you find a rhythm which will keep you going through the contractions
- Remind you to keep breathing, and find a breathing pattern that works for you at
whatever stage you are in - Guide you into positions to optimize contractions and help the baby move down into your
pelvis - Guide your partner in helping you move around, and get comfortable.
- Guide your partner in providing massage on your lower back, your hands or your feet
- Stay with you – online – when your partner has to go to the washroom or take a break
- Answer questions about what to do next, and how to conserve your energy
- Help you talk through your options when it comes time to make decisions about going to
hospital, or asking for pain medication. - Help you formulate questions for you caregiver about interventions that are proposed
AT BIRTH & AFTERWARDS
Your doula can:
- Take notes of the events as they unfold
- Write down the first words you and your partner say to your baby
- Rejoice with you!
- Support you in decisions you make about your baby’s care
- Answer questions about feeding your baby
- Provide information about baby care
- Help you understand your baby’s behaviour
- Guide you through changing a diaper or giving a baby bath
- Demonstrate swaddling techniques
- Debrief with you about your experience of birth
- Listen to you as you process the experience of being a new parent
THROUGHOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE
Before and during labour and postpartum your doula can:
Be available night and day
Be a trusted source of information
Provide support
Listen to your concerns
Validate your feelings and your experience
There is so much a doula can do, whether she can be there in person or not!