PRENATAL EDUCATION & NATURAL BIRTH SUPPORT
Helping prepare you to make informed decisions that best fit your goals and assisting your partner to be your best support in your labor and postpartum.
As your doula, I offer support for your natural birth plan in your home or at a hospital. During your journey into parenthood with your new baby, I provide physical, emotional, and informational support. I believe in providing a nonjudgmental environment for all birthing people.
I enjoy working with people who expect to be active, informed participants in making decisions on the care they receive. This means many of my clients are excited to let their labor unfold as it will and not have policies and standard practices dictate how their labor and birth will be managed; they recognize that they are fully in charge (which is a concept I can help you feel confident with!).
I view birth as a physiological event that is fundamentally normal and safe. I believe the journey through labor and birth is sacred and commit to helping protect your space.
Preparation is the key to the birth and the postpartum experience you desire. I feel that being proactive in pregnancy will help "stack the cards in your favor" to get the birth outcome you want. As a Spinning BabiesⓇ Aware Practitioner and a Body Ready MethodⓇ Certified Pro (learn more about these here), I can help you reduce pregnancy discomfort and prepare your body for birth and postpartum recovery. I am also knowledgeable in birth techniques to help balance your body and make space inside the pelvis during labor itself to help baby descend and rotate. We cannot choose how birth happens, but we can do our best to prepare and balance the body.
Prenatal Support
During your prenatal journey, I will support you in learning the intricacies of birth. I will connect you with resources (including podcasts, books, articles, videos, and classes) and deepen your learning through discussions, questions, and additional resources to help answer your questions as they arise. Together, we will be on a journey of gaining a true understanding of how birth works and what is truly happening (or needs to happen) in pregnant and birthing bodies. All labors are different. Nobody can tell you how your labor will be. However, through a true understanding of what makes labor work, you can plan and prepare for your natural birth. My goal is to help you begin your labor from a place where you trust your body, baby, intuition, and strength.
Additionally, I will provide you with information on interventions and common practices so that you can make informed decisions that are right for you and your birth. I will aid you in creating a birth plan that fits your goals. I will also provide you with information to help you plan and prepare for your postpartum.
Labor & Birth Support
I will be on call 24/7 from 37 weeks until you go into labor, and I will support you from the onset of labor to a few hours after birth, plus one postpartum visit. In most cases, my support begins before your midwife or doctor are present, which means I can assist in making the phone calls and updating them as needed.
For birth to work optimally, you must feel safe and supported. I will aid you (and your partner) in creating this atmosphere. I will be with you holding your space. When needed, I provide physical and emotional support (and I can help your partner do the same for you), and I can give you space and an unwavering belief in your ability to navigate your birth. I will be your extra set of eyes and ears in your birthing space and help you maintain the birth plan that you intended. In your vulnerable state of labor, I will advocate for you and help keep your sacred space of birth. I will support you in listening to your intuition on determining what is best for you and your baby. I will maintain this role until you are comfortably resting with your baby (usually 2-3 hours after birth).
Postpartum Support
After your baby is born, I will have at least one postpartum visit with you. I will help you as necessary to set your postpartum sanctuary into action. If you need any extra support, I will assist you in connecting with local resources. For the two weeks following birth, I will check in with you several times over the phone, and I am available for you to call during that time if you have questions or need to talk.
Base Doula Package $1250*
- Prenatal education, continual prenatal support, 3+ visits
- On call 24/7 starting at 37 weeks
- 1 one-hour prenatal bodywork & movement assessment session (located in Mahtowa, MN) - usually scheduled to happen between our first and second prenatal meetings
- Attending you in labor and birth
- Providing a backup doula for your birth
- One postpartum visit
- Postpartum phone support 24/7 for two weeks
- $10 discount on each additional prenatal bodywork & movement session booked (located in Mahtowa, MN).
*Repeat Clients contact me for an individualized package plan
Premier Doula Package $1500*
Everything in the Base Doula Package plus the following (which replaces the 1 one-hour session from the Base Doula Package):
- 3 one-hour prenatal bodywork sessions (located in Mahtowa, MN)
- 1 one-hour postpartum bodywork session for you (in your own home!)
- 1 craniosacral bodywork session for your newborn (in your own home!)
*Repeat Clients contact me for an individualized package plan
Please do not hesitate to contact me if your finances are limited. Sliding scales and payment plan options are available under my discretion.
Testimonials
Partner's Perspective "Amanda helped out so much during birth. Helping me get into position and reassuring my wife. We could have done this without you, but you made the process so much more smooth and easy. You were almost as integral to the birth as I was. Thank you." - Erick
Partner's Perspective "I struggle to find words to express my gratitude to Amanda for her doula services during the prenatal, labor/delivery, hospital transfer, and postpartum aspects of the establishing of our new family. I was struggling to feel up to the challenge of becoming a new father and during the prenatal visits, Amanda was able to help me find trust and confidence in myself with our conversations. During the labor and delivery process, she was a supportive and guiding presence that kept both my wife and my fears in check and focused on the goal of giving birth to our baby boy. Once my wife was transferred to the hospital, (I will spare details) I went through the most frightening moment that I've had in my life. I remember that the only thing that I did not want or could not handle was to be alone in this process. I wasn't. Amanda went above and beyond to drive my newborn son and I to the hospital, provide guidance, and advocate for us during the strange medical times that we find ourselves in in 2021. There is no price that I could place for her services that our family received. It is beyond a monetary value. I don't think that I could have become the father that I am today without the guidance and support of Amanda and her services as a doula. Do not hesitate to advocate for your family as a partner and utilize the services that Amanda has to offer. Her knowledge and abilities made the birth of our son an experience that will always remind me of the amazing power of birth and life." - Matt
"Amanda was fantastic. I felt prepared for my labor and birth, but it did not go the way that I had envisioned it and neither I nor my husband would have gotten thru it the way we did without her help and presence. She provided both physical and emotional support throughout a long labor. Her counter pressure techniques during contractions made the pain tolerable. She provided invaluable support, encouragement, and calm presence to my husband throughout the whole process, even staying with him after our baby was born and I had to be taken to the OR. If/when we have more children I will definitely seek Amanda's help again." - Nicole
“Amanda was an amazing resource for me and my family during my pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. I was so impressed with her attention to detail, guidance during pregnancy, and motivation to form a close relationship before the birth, as well as how often she checked in with me after baby was born. She had great input during my labor, made me feel safe and calm, knew when to give space, and helped guide us when calling our midwife and making decisions. I know she did even more than I was aware of while I was laboring, pushing, and recovering that I am so grateful for. My husband was also impressed and grateful for how much she did during the labor and afterwards as far as cleaning. Amanda also took some amazing photos for us. We are so glad she was there!” - Aurora
"The birth of our little girl was quite the adventure! My husband and I moved cross country at 36 weeks pregnant and met Amanda quickly as we got into town. She was able to help us for the birth which was a huge relief since we didn't know the area. Amanda was able to meet with us several times and was even able to join us at my 38 week appointment. At that appointment was when I was admitted to the hospital with high blood pressure and it was 6 days later that we met our baby girl! It was a long journey...my body was not ready to deliver and my little girl was not ready to come out. Amanda helped me feel confident in making choices when it came to interventions my doctors suggested. Ultimately I needed to have a C-section...something I was never wanting or planning for! But because I was an advocate for myself and was an active part of decision making I felt really good throughout my time in the hospital. Amanda helped me feel confident in making choices and was always available to talk through anything I needed help with. Amanda checked in with me often and was a great resource before and after the birth of our little girl. She seamlessly blended into conversations between myself and my husband. We both felt that Amanda was very knowledgeable and truthfully wanted the best for us. It felt so powerful to have someone to turn to when we had questions and tough decision to make. We would recommend Amanda to anyone...no matter what your birth plans are." - Jamie
“Amanda was beyond helpful during the trying labor and delivery we ended up with. She was the key to my success in getting the birth I wanted!” - Meredith
"Physically, she [Amanda] knew where to press on my side/back during back labor. I had a really long labor and she stayed up with me at least a couple/few nights. Mentally she prepared me by educating me on pregnancy and birthing.... I felt informed about the steps and procedure about to happen. She also taught my partner some ways to support me during labor —keeping me hydrated and fed, how to lift my belly and jiggle my butt 😉 " - Maddi
"Amanda was one of the best choices that we made when it came to planning the home birth of our son! She was so supportive of both me and my husband during the entire process- from the prenatal meetings, to the labor/birth itself, to our hospital transfer after our son was born and then during the postpartum time. I felt like her care and support was genuine and tailored to us as individuals. She was never pushy with her suggestions and was fantastic at providing an abundance of information for us to make our own decisions. She encouraged me when my labor got hard and interactions with her always felt like I was talking to an old friend. When I was transferred to the hospital, my husband and son were my top priority and it was so nice having Amanda there to help my husband get our hour-old baby dressed and in the car seat so they could meet me at the hospital. Once there, she went above and beyond to advocate for all three of us. Having her there to support us saved us from having any trauma from how the hospital handled our situation. During the postpartum period she checked in on us frequently but was never pushy or dismissive. Being a new mom is so much harder than I imagined and Amanda listened to me cry on the phone and calmed me down while still validating what I was feeling. I could not recommend Amanda enough! Her knowledge, skill and genuine care for her clients is second to none. We already want her to be part of our second birth when that time comes!" - Ali
