What is a doula?
The word doula comes from the Greek word meaning "woman caregiver." The word is now used to describe a trained labor companion who provides the woman and her partner continuous emotional support, physical comfort and assistance in obtaining information before, during and just after childbirth.
Labor suppport consists of helping a woman develop her own rhythms and rituals, providing distractions with breathing patterns, comforting touch, varying positions, use of a birth ball, warm or cold compresses, vocalization, visualization, relaxation, or whatever is needed to provide comfort.
Every birth is a unique experience and I will work with you to modify and vary comfort measures as desired and needed.
"Labor is obviously hard and intense work (hence, it's English name). It demands all of the mother's attention and may require hours of work, sweat and heavy breathing. Still, it remains a normal physiological process that humans and all other mammalian females have experienced for as long as we have existed." Ina May Gaskin
"Johanna was amazing. I was in labor for 29 hours, and she was there the entire time, supporting me along with my husband. Both of us agreed, there's no way we would have lasted that long without her! Even when emergencies arose and things didn't go according to my birth plan, Johanna was calm and assuring, reminding me that a healthy baby was the most important thing."