This is undoubtedly a time of tremendous uncertainty and heightened anxiety. We are feeling it too. What remains constant is that we are committed to creating a safe, healthy, and confident environment for you to prepare for your baby, to birth, to heal, and to become a family. Tree of Life Doula Care wants to ensure you feel well supported regardless of what might be happening around you. We have been keeping up-to-date with the latest information regarding COVID-19, both worldwide and locally, especially in terms of how it relates to pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, and newborns. We will continue to watch trends closely and make appropriate adjustments given the information provided. Flexibility, adaptability and compassion have always been a part of our vocabulary, but now more so than ever.
What We Are Doing
We are providing our clients with a letter that can be presented to your provider to advocate for doula support during your labor.
We have adopted guidelines for our team indicating how we plan to minimize risk and exposure.
We are communicating regularly with providers so they are aware of our efforts to support our clients and so we may receive updates directly from them.
We have shifted some of our typical in-person support to virtual platforms with new offerings for education and information sharing.
If we are seeing clients in their homes, we have decreased doula-to-client ratios so as to have minimal overlap.
We have increased our “on-call” availability to meet your changing and immediate needs.
We are having more frequent conversations with our clients to prioritize their mental and emotional well-being.
We are assuring our clients of transparency and open dialogue in an effort to remain fluid in these ever-changing times.
What You Can Do
Talk to your provider about doula support and express your desire to have your chosen birth team by your side during labor.
If you are birthing in the hospital, present the letter we have provided.
Ask questions and share your thoughts – with your provider, with your partner/spouse, with us.
Know your rights and ask questions.
Look into alternative birth settings if you’re not feeling comfortable or safe at your current one.
Choose virtual support from your doula if in-person care is not an option or doesn’t feel like the best option for you right now.
Utilize our guidance and support even more than you originally anticipated by reaching out, participating in our private client groups, and letting us know what you need.
Consider shifting the type of support we were planning on providing you, or when we were planning on providing it, to another type or time.
Practice trust and patience.
Doulas are welcome as labor support at these locations!
If you don’t see your intended birth location listed, let us know! We have been successful in reaching out to facilities and working with them to make doula support possible.
Livingston HealthCare
Click HERE to find out about your options.
Pregnancy, birth, and parenthood have always come with some trepidation, never mind the added stress of a pandemic. Please remember you’re not alone. You still have choices. You still have access to support. As doulas, we are equipped to help you navigate the birth journey – physically, emotionally, and with information so you can feel confident and ready for whatever may come. Although we have no control over the course of this virus, we can control our responses and actions. Hopefully, in that we can find comfort. Thank you for putting your trust in us. We will get through this…TOGETHER!
