Choosing a doula is a very personal decision. I recommend interviewing at least 2 doulas to find one that is a match for you and your partner. To help you in making this decision, I offer a free, no obligation initial meeting. Call 713-253-5959, or email jessica@villagebirthandbabies.com for more information and availability.

BIRTH DOULA SERVICES

Studies have shown that when doulas attend a birth, labors are shorter with fewer complications, and babies are healthier and they breastfeed more easily.

BASIC BIRTH DOULA PACKAGE INCLUDES:

• 2 Prenatal Visits – During prenatal visits, we have the opportunity to get to know each other better in the space where you are most comfortable, your home. Childbirth is a deeply intimate experience and these visits are a great way for us to build a relationship before the big day. They also allow me to learn about your history, go over diet and exercise recommendations and begin establishing a postpartum plan for you and your new family. Later, we will design your birth plan together and review baby positioning.
• Creation of Birth Plan – Drafting your birth plan will help you visualize your ideal birth experience and help your team do everything they can to help you realize it. It’s not a list of demands but rather a way to let your birth team know what is important to you.
• Instructions on Optimal Fetal Positioning – Did you know that it’s not just about you baby being head up or head down, but also which way your baby is facing? It’s true; a baby that is facing up can cause unusually painful or prolonged labors. You and your partner will learn exercises and techniques that can help your baby shift into the best position BEFORE labor begins.
• 24-7 Phone, Text, and Email Availability – I am here to help you and give you peace of mind, and I will answer your questions or address any concerns.
• Advocacy in the Hospital and Birth Center Setting – During labor, you can focus on you and your baby knowing that I am there to advocate for you, make sure your birth plan is taken into account, and ensure that you know all of your options, and the risks and benefits of each one, so you can make fully informed decisions about your care.
• Emotional and Physical Support during Labor – During your labor, whether it’s 2 hours or 40 hours, my focus will be to make your birth experience as easy as possible by providing you with instructions for useful labor positions, various forms of comfort measures and ensuring a calm labor environment.
• Partner/Family Support During Labor – Making sure that your partner and/or family’s needs are also met, so they can focus on supporting you.
• Follow Up Hospital Visit or Closure Meeting in Your Home – Once you and your baby have had a few days to get to know each other, I will follow up with 1-2 home visits. We can process your birth experience and address any breastfeeding or postpartum questions you might have . . . but the support doesn’t end there.
• Weekly New Moms and Breastfeeding Support Group – I highly recommend attending our weekly support group meetings because having a community of women who are going through the same new experience can be incredibly fulfilling and comforting. During our weekly meeting we discuss a variety of topics pertaining to the adventures of parenting. We will tackle hard topics in a safe and non-judgmental space and explore what parenting means to you. This is a safe space for all families and their parenting choices. You will not receive criticism in this group, only encouragement and unconditional support. Occasionally we will have expert speakers on things like infant massage, baby wearing and early childhood development.
• Quarterly Dad’s/Spouse’s Nights – Because life changed for them, too, and they should share and receive support from this amazing community.
• Quarterly Sunday Afternoon Family Potlucks and Other Group Activities – Potlucks are a great opportunity to socialize with other families and to enjoy good food and even better company. Throughout the year we organize other events like visits to the Zoo, Halloween and Valentine parties, playgroups all around town, swimming lessons and sewing groups.
• Private Online Support Group – Even if you can’t make it out to all our events or support group meetings, support from your Village is only a click away. Our private facebook group is an excellent way to communicate and organize with other members. Unlike other online forums, this is a safe space for all types of families with all types of parenting choices. Our motto is, “If it works for your family, do it!” Whether you chose medicated or unmedicated birth, breast or bottle, co-sleep or sleep train, this awesome Village of people will cheer you on and lift you up.

I will be your strongest supporter, an empathetic team member. My goal is to help you have the best birth experience possible.

BASIC BIRTH DOULA PACKAGE: $1,600  This include all the services described above.

I provide low cost and free births for young mothers, single mothers and families with special circumstances on a case by case basis. I also give discounts and work out payment plans to clients attending specific childbirth education courses.

I am now accepting HSA and FSA debit cards and will be happy to provide you with the necessary documentation to file with your insurance company.

Specialized training or previous experience:

• Teens
• Over 40
• Families conceiving with ART and IVF
• VBAC
• Home Birth
• Multiples
• Clients on bed rest
• LGBTQ Families
• Spanish Speaking
• Prematurity
• Twins
• Postpartum mood disorders
• High risk
• Expected stillbirth
• Single parents
• Cesarean birth
• Waterbirth
• Survivors of childhood sexual abuse
• Survivors of Previous Life Trauma
• Plus size mothers
• Induced and high medical technology labor & birth

PRIVATE CHILDBIRTH EDUCATION : A DOULA’S GUIDE TO PREGNANCY AND BIRTH –

Fee: from $375 /couple Email to Register 

In the comfort of your home, explore the world of pregnancy, birth and newborn care. Ask questions, discuss ideas, learn comfort techniques, write your birth plan and plan postpartum support systems. Choose topics for one 6-8 hour class tailored to your specific needs. Learn the secrets to a happy and healthy pregnancy and labor from a doula’s perspective. Topics include: Your Pregnant Body, Good Nutrition and Exercises in Pregnancy; Your Birth Team, Labor Preparation and Optimal Fetal Positioning; Stages of Labor and Comfort Measures at Each Stage; Hospital Procedures and Evidence Based Information on Interventions; The Birth of your Baby- Newborn Procedures; Postpartum Care and Dress Rehearsal for the Big day!

• Paid tuition will include access to bi-weekly New Mother’s Support Group and all Village Birth and Babies Events and Support groups.

 

NEWBORN CARE CLASSES

fee: $50/couple for group classes and $150/private in home

Newborn care classes are 2 hours and include:

• Preparing for a newborn
• Getting to know your newborn
• Recognizing newborn cues
• Soothing and your baby
• Growth and development, the first 3 months
• Feeding your newborn
• Postpartum family care
• Baby Basics
• Car Seat and other safety measures
• Babywearing and cloth diapering basics
• Community building

“Throughout the world generations have passed down knowledge of how ingesting placenta helps a mother’s postpartum recovery. Women using placenta remedies after birth feel stronger, are happier and can breastfeed more easily.” – Cornelia Enning, Placenta: The Gift of Life

BENEFITS OF PLACENTA CAPSULES

The placenta has amazing abilities during the postpartum period; it can heal, sustain, and strengthen.

Traditionally Placenta Capsules are used to help:

• Balance your hormones
• Enhance milk supply
• Increase your energy

Placenta Capsules may also help:

• You to recover more quickly from birth
• To bring the body back into balance
• Prevent the “baby blues”
• Shorten postpartum bleeding
• Assist the uterus to return to size
• Increase postpartum iron levels
• The Placenta’s Healing Chemicals

The placenta is full of feel-good hormones and healing chemicals, so it makes sense to safely welcome them back into your system during your postpartum period!

The known ingredients that give the placenta its healing properties are:

• Gonadotrophin – the precursor to estrogen, progesterone and testosterone
• Prolactin – promotes lactation
• Oxytocin – for pain and bonding; produced during breastfeeding to facilitate bonding of mother and infant. In pharmaceutical form this is a very addictive drug because it promotes a feeling of connectedness with others andis often referred to as the “love” hormone
• Interferon – stimulates the immune system to protect against infection
• Thyroid Stimulating Hormone – boosts energy and helps recover from stressful events
• Cortisone – combats stress and unlocks stores of energy
• Prostaglandins – anti-inflammatory
• Hemoglobin – replenishes iron deficiency and anemia
• Gammaglobulin – immune booster that helps protect against postpartum infections
• Urokinase Inhibiting Factor & Factor XIII – stops bleeding and enhances wound healing

WHY TRUST VILLAGE BIRTH AND BABIES WITH YOUR PLACENTA

Your amazing placenta is so very precious and it’s also tissue that needs to be processed and handled properly before consumption. Jessica, owner of Village Birth and Babies, worked as a Laboratory Technician in high and moderate complexity laboratories for over four years. Her laboratory background, Certification in Bloodborne Pathogens and her mild case of OCD/Germaphobe tendencies, ensures that your placenta will be handled with the upmost care. There are many people offering placenta services but very few with the background and training you can trust.

Placenta Encapsulation fees range from $300 to $375.00. Your placenta should be processed within 24hrs to 48hrs of birth and encapsulated within 72hrs. Please contact me for more details or check out the form below.

Click Here to Fill Out the Client Info Form

What Clients are saying: “I want to thank you for providing such an incredible service. I don’t know if I ever shared with you the benefit of taking the placenta during the baby blues period. I jokingly said it was like taking an anti-anxiety medicine. I would get anxious around a lot of people, but as soon as I would take the placenta, my nerves would be calmed. No this was not a placebo effect; instead a true replenishing of hormones. Also in the first month of my milk regulating, there were times that i needed more milk than i had. I was so impressed with help of taking the pills, my milk would quickly develop. Now, four months in, I am donating extra milk to the hospital for NICU babies nourishment.”

FAQ

Why should I consume my placenta?

• During birth women lose 1/8-1/10 of their blood supply. The mammal placenta was made to be consumed and make up for this loss by giving the new mother essential fats, amino acids, vast amounts of iron and essential hormones to aid the body in self recovery after birth.

Will placenta capsules help with my breast milk supply?

• Dried placenta has been proven to increase a breast-feeding mother’s milk supply. The first and still one of the few ever studies on using placenta as a lactagogon gave incredible results. 181 out of 210 women who were given dried placenta to increase milk supply had positive results and saw an increase in their milk supply.
  Placenta as a Lactagogon; Gynaecologia 138: 617-627, 1954

I’m delivering in a hospital. Can I still have my placenta encapsulated?

• Absolutely! When you sign up for our service, we will provide you with instructions and paperwork to give to all your hospital caregivers to make bringing the placenta home easy and stress free for you. **PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE MAY BE AN ADDITIONAL CHARGE TO HAVE YOUR PLACENTA RELEASED.**

How long does the placenta encapsulation take?

• Once we receive your placenta we are usually able to complete the encapsulation process is about 24 hours.

How many capsules can I expect from my placenta?

• It all depends on the size of your placenta. We have seen anywhere from 75 – 200 capsules from various placentas.

What about sanitation? I’ve been told the placenta is a bio-hazard.

• Uninformed people call the placenta a biohazard. We thoroughly disinfect the area where we work before , during, and after the process. All of our equipment is used solely for encapsulation and is disinfected with a hospital quality cleaner that is effective against HBV and HIV (the viruses that cause hepatitis B and AIDS), EPA registered, and meets OSHA requirements for blood spill clean up. We are careful to go beyond OSHA’s rigid requirements to ensure total safety everyone involved.

I delivered some time ago; my placenta is in the freezer. Is it too late to encapsulate?

• Absolutely not. Although it is best to process the placenta within six months, all hormones and some nutrients are still viable and beneficial.

FAQ via barefootbirth.com

Disclaimer: Despite centuries of safe placenta use, the information in this entry have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The services we offer are not clinical, pharmaceutical, or intended to diagnose or treat any condition. Families who choose to utilize any such services take full responsibility for researching and using the remedies.