Applying pressure to her lower back while she labors in the birth tub with her partner
Applying counter-pressure to her low back while she labors in the birth tub with her partner

Birth Doula Support Packages & Options: Overview

Birth Doula

All three support packages include:

Text/ email/ phone support throughout pregnancy & postpartum
An interactive “Client Portal” through Canva, loaded with information & resources
TENS Unit use for entire labor

“Full Birth” Support Package $2,000 Includes:

Two in-home comprehensive, personalized, educational prenatal meetings (~4 hours each)
On-call for you starting at 38 weeks until the birth
Early labor text & phone call support
In-person support throughout entire active labor & birth
Two to three hours post-birth support
One in-home Postpartum Meeting (~4 hours)
This package is the most popular choice for both new and repeat clients

“Birth Only” Support Package $1,350 Includes:

One prenatal meeting (at my home or virtual) to review your birth preferences (~2 hours)
On-call for you starting at 38 weeks until the birth
Early labor text & phone call support
In-person support throughout entire active labor & birth
Two to three hours post-birth support
This package is intended for repeat clients or folks who have given birth before and have taken a comprehensive childbirth education class

“Everything But the Birth” Support Package $1,250 Includes:

Two in-home comprehensive, personalized, educational prenatal meetings (~4 hours each)
These meetings include all of the information from the “Full Birth” Package with more emphasis on how your partner can support you, position practice, etc
One in-home postpartum meeting (~4 hours)
Please note that this package is primarily focused on personalized, private childbirth and hands-on newborn education, and does not include on-call availability or in-person birth support

Discount Options:

“Local” Discount: $100 off if you live within 15 miles of my home in north Pittsboro, and are birthing at UNC Chapel Hill or the new NC Birth Center in Chapel Hill when it opens soon.
“Repeat Client” Discount: $150 off.
Alternate payment plans are available upon request, as is a sliding scale for a certain number of clients per year.

Prenatal Yoga

I offer private in-home prenatal yoga sessions for individuals or a small group of your pregnant friends for the same price. $85 per 1.25 hour session. Often the session is directly before or after our prenatal meeting. If the it’s independent from our meeting, please add a $15 travel fee for a total of $100.

Bengkung Belly Binding

Bengkung Belly Binding is a traditional art for postpartum healing which uses a long cotton cloth that is tied using a specific technique around your abdomen in a supportive way. For a session during our postpartum meeting: $90; please add a $15 travel fee if it’s a special trip, independent of our meeting; you can purchase your own bind before the meeting, or buy a bind custom made by me using beautiful 100% batik cotton cloth: $70

Birth Doula Support Packages: Details

“Full Birth” Support Package: $2,000

With a deposit of $1,000 (applied toward the total fee) to hold your birth window in my calendar along with my signed Letter of Agreement. The remaining $1,000 is due at the second prenatal meeting (~37 weeks).

This package is the most popular choice for both new and repeat clients

Prenatal

An interactive “Client Portal” online using Canva in which I’ll provide comprehensive resources, articles, videos, educational materials, vetted local providers, lists, answers to your questions and concerns, detailed intake forms for you and your partner to fill out, meeting notes which you can edit, your finalized birth preferences (“birth plan”) that you can share with your providers, and more.
Unlimited phone, text, email availability between the hours of 9:30am-10pm until 38 weeks, and then 24/7 beginning at 38 weeks until the birth, ensuring personalized, continuous care in which we form a strong trusting bond over those weeks and months. I love getting to know my clients!
Two comprehensive prenatal meetings ~4 hours each, at your home, the first around 30-32 weeks and the second around 35-37 weeks. They consist of a curated “Birth Essentials” Course developed over a decade of experience in attending many training workshops, over 180 births, and hundreds of prenatal meetings.
Topics include: creating an individualized care plan together by hearing your preferences, goals, and values regarding labor, birth, and how you’ll feed and care for your baby(ies);
how I can best support you and your partner;
how your partner and team can be actively, authentically, and confidently involved with support and advocacy for you;
evidence based education, preparation, and comfort measures in pregnancy, labor, and postpartum including breath work, Spinning Babies exercises and techniques, comfortable sleeping positions, acupressure points, and practicing different labor positions;
your medical options and rights, as well as questions to ask your providers, enabling informed decision-making, advocacy, and collaborative care with your providers;
homework to do on your own;
processing Dr/MW appointments;
your rights as a patient, questions to ask, advocacy, and more.
TENS Unit education and demonstration of proper use. I’ll leave it with you so you have it to use during early labor.
In-depth physical and emotional preparation for the postpartum time.
You’ll find more details provided in the Client Portal.
By the end of the meetings you’ll have a final copy of your Birth Preferences Form (“Birth Plan”) to share with your providers and hospital staff, and feel more informed, confident, prepared, and at ease.
Getting to know other members of your Birth Team (optional). Your Birth Team can include your partner, sister, mother, friend, etc, all/or none of the above. I will support & work with your team to help create your optimal birth experience
On-call for you beginning at 38 weeks. I will support you if labor begins prior to 38 weeks, or if it’s a planned induction or cesarean, and I’m in town. Prior to 38 weeks, if I’m unavailable, I’ll arrange a backup doula from the Triangle Doula Collective for you. You’ll always have caring, skilled support.

LABOR

Early labor:

Virtual support during early labor via unlimited text and phone calls.
Help you assess the stages of labor– what is early labor vs active labor
Knowledgeable, comforting, patient support with active, compassionate listening.
Suggest positions, comfort measures, distraction ideas, ways to keep labor progressing, and gentle reminders to nourish, hydrate, and rest.
Offer calm reassurance, perspective, and normalize the birth process.
Support your individualized goals in your preferred birth style, and help adapt if medical needs arise, to ensure personalized care.
Help you and your partner to know when to ask questions about medical options/ needs, and point out if there is a departure from your Birth Preferences that we have discussed during our meetings. When feasible, I create space for time so you can make informed, intentional decisions, and may suggest possible alternative options to consider.
Offer encouraging support for your partner. We discuss how s/he best supports you, suggest ways to be involved, explain what is happening, increase confidence, & strengthen the bond between the two of you.

Active Labor, Transition & Birth:

Active labor begins around 5-6 cm dilation. Contractions become consistently longer and stronger and closer together. Around then you’ll likely be ready for more support. I’ll come to you wherever you are (not based on how dilated you are), and provide all of the support I offer in early labor, plus:

Continuous physical and emotional in-person support in active labor, birth, and immediate postpartum for you, your partner, and the rest of your “team”.
Optional in-home support in early active labor, if timing allows.
Please allow for 2 hours from the time you call for my arrival.
Suggestions for labor progress, based on the position of the baby with the use different tools (birth ball, peanut ball, hot/cold packs, tub/shower, etc), and techniques (Spinning Babies exercises, Miles Circuit, walking, stretching, etc), as well as hands-on massage, counter pressure, double-hip squeezes, acupressure, etc to optimize baby positioning, shorten labor, and increase confidence & comfort.
Help you discover and maintain your birth rhythms.
Support your individualized goals and birth preferences, and help adapt if medical needs arise, to ensure personalized care.
While other nurses or doctors may change shifts, I will remain consistently present throughout, and maintain a continuous source of grounding, encouraging energy.
Collaborate as a team with you, your partner, and your healthcare providers, including doctors, midwives, and nurses, and support my clients in all of the hospitals, birth centers, and midwife attended homebirths in the NC Triangle
Take photographs right after the birth with a camera/phone that you provide (optional).
Any other assistance needed in achieving your optimal birth.

POSTPARTUM

Immediately Following Birth:

I will remain by your side for two to three hours after birth to continue with comfort measures.
Ensure that breastfeeding is established (if that is your plan).
Ensure that you’re healing and all is well, answer questions, and until your family feels calm, settled, and you have essential items at arm’s reach – homeostasis is established.
And, of course, celebrate with you the birth of your babe(s)!

One In-Home Comprehensive Postpartum Meeting:

Preferably within the first two weeks, or whenever you’re ready, I’ll come to your home for a postpartum meeting, to discuss and practice:

How you’re healing and feeling;
Create strategies for healing and sleep;
Hear and debrief your birth story/experience;
Breast/ bottle feeding, including different positions;
Safe baby carrier use;
Answer questions/ discuss care of your baby(ies);
Connect you with any additional resources you feel would be helpful/ necessary, and much more.

“Birth Only” Support Package: $1,350

With a deposit of $650 to secure your birth window in my calendar, along with the signed Letter of Agreement. The remaining $700 is due at 37 weeks.

This package is intended for repeat clients or folks who have given birth before and have taken a comprehensive childbirth education class.

The “Client Portal” filled with resources and education, virtual support via text/ phone/ video between the hours of 9:30am-10pm throughout the rest of your pregnancy, and TENS Unit for use during labor mentioned in the “Full Birth” Package.
One (2 hour) prenatal meeting, either in-person (at my home) OR virtual, in which we discuss your birth preferences and how I can best support you, your partner, and your birth team.
By the end of the meeting you’ll have a final copy of your Birth Preferences Form (“Plan”) to share with your providers & hospital staff, and the confidence that I’ll be there for to support you and your partner throughout your birth experience.
On-call for you, beginning at 38 weeks until the birth, same as the “Full Birth” Package.
Virtual support during pregnancy, early labor, and postpartum via text, phone, video, and email, same as the “Full Birth” Package.
Labor, Birth, and Postpartum Support: virtual support in early labor, and continuous in-person support in active labor, birth, and immediate postpartum, same as the “Full Birth” Package.
Please note, this meeting does not include the in-depth education, or practice from the “Birth Essentials” Course, or the postpartum meeting offered in the “Full Birth” Package.

“Everything But the Birth” Support Package: $1,250

With a deposit of $600 to secure your birth window in my calendar, along with the signed Letter of Agreement. The remaining $650 is due at the second prenatal meeting, ~37 weeks.

Please note that this package is primarily focused on personalized, private, hands-on education on childbirth and newborn feeding and care. This package does not include on-call availability or in-person birth support. At any point, you can choose to upgrade to the “Full Birth” Support Package, as long as there is availability in my calendar at that point.

The “Client Portal” with resources and education, support via emails/texts/ phone throughout pregnancy and postpartum between the hours of 9:30am-10pm, and use of the TENS Unit during labor mentioned in the “Full Birth” Package
Two prenatal meetings: These contain most of the same content of the “Birth Essentials” Course in the “Full Birth” Package, with more of an emphasis on education of the stages of labor, what to expect and how to confidently move through each stage, in-depth practice of positions in the different stages of labor, and how your partner and team can feel confident to actively participate to support and advocate on your behalf with comfort measures, questions to ask, understanding baby positioning, how to optimize that with positions and tools, and generally prepare you and your birth team to navigate labor without my in-person support.
By the end of the meetings you’ll have a final copy of your Birth Preferences Form (“Plan”) to share with your providers & hospital staff, and feel more informed, confident, prepared, and at ease.
Virtual support during pregnancy and postpartum; limited labor support depending on availability.
One comprehensive postpartum meeting with the same content mentioned in the “Full Birth” Package.

Backup Doula Support

All full-time, professional birth doulas need reliable backup, in case illness, or attendance of another birth prevents them from being able to attend a client’s birth. I provide backup doula support through the Triangle Doula Collective, so you will always have dedicated, caring, and experienced support. The Triangle Doula Collective is a close-knit, caring, professional group of prenatal and postpartum doulas with varying other skill-sets, and decades of collected experience and wisdom. We’re all independent contractors (not an agency), and we support each others’ clients when the need arises. Though it’s very rare that I’m unavailable to attend a birth, it’s comforting to know that they’re there. I pay them through private agreement, and line up who will be there in my stead “behind the scenes” so you won’t need to worry about those logistics when you’re in labor or postpartum.

What On-Call Support Means

As a birth doula, being “on-call” is different from a person who is on-call during a shift or particular days of the week. It means being available at all hours of the day and night, for weeks and months at a time with rolling due dates.

I always have my phone with me and don’t “unplug”. It means being ready to attend your birth at any time, even if it means missing personal events like birthdays, holidays, performances, and time with my family and out of town guests. It can mean missing appointments, meetings with clients, and time & energy for self-care. It also means staying local, avoiding travel and alcohol, and conserving energy so I can support you through labor, which can often mean being awake for 24-48+ hours at a time (and subsequent recovery time after).

You are worth it.

I’m deeply invested in my clients, and I strive to provide the highest level of care and commitment. As I have gained experience and reputation, and now attend more births per year, the intangible elements of being on-call are taken into consideration when calculating my fees to keep this a sustainable profession for me, and for my family.

Extended In-Person Birth Support: $45/ hour

For labors in which my in-person support lasts for longer than 30 hours, there will be an additional fee of $45/ hour starting at hour 30, payable at the postpartum meeting. The “additional payment clock” stops at the time of birth and does not include the immediate postpartum time frame. The same applies for any backup doula support. This is a rare occurrence.

Cost of Services Summary

“Full Birth” Support Package: $2,000
- $1,000 deposit when the Letter of Agreement is signed to secure your birth window in my calendar, and the remaining $1,000 due at the second prenatal meeting around 37 weeks gestation.
“Birth Only” Support Package: $1,350
- $650 deposit with the Letter of Agreement, and the remaining $700 due around 37 weeks gestation.
“Everything But the Birth” Support Package: $1,250
- $600 deposit with the Letter of Agreement, and the remaining due at the second prenatal meeting around 37 weeks.
Prenatal Yoga Session(s): $85/ session
- Travel fee $15 if it’s a session independent from our prenatal meetings.
Bengkung Belly Binding: $90
- Travel fee $15 for lesson independent from our postpartum meeting;
- Hand-made bind with 100% cotton batik cloth: $70 (optional)
“Local” Discount: $100 off total fee if you live within 15 miles from me and birth at UNC Chapel Hill or the new NC Birth Center when it opens.
“Repeat Client” Discount: $150 off total fee. If you also qualify for the “Local” discount let’s chat about a reasonable compromise. I look forward to reconnecting with you again!
Extended Birth Support: $45/hour after 36 hours of in-person birth support.
Payments are accepted via check mailed to me or
- an online invoice through Clover that you can pay using a credit, debit, or HSA card.
There are insurance company HSAs who are now covering Doula Support. I can provide an invoice for you to submit for reimbursement through your HSA.
Gift certificates are available for a loved one/ friend/ co-worker.
I believe that every mother/ birthing person deserves a doula who wishes to have one. While it’s important that I earn a living wage to support my family, if the cost of my services is truly out of your price range, I am willing to work with a certain amount of clients per year on a payment plan, sliding scale, or possibly even a barter system. Please be in touch to discuss this in more depth. You may also consider asking for contributions toward doula services at your baby shower. What a great gift!

Check out my Availability Calendar on DoulaMatch.net to see if I’m available during your birth window – two weeks before & two weeks after your estimated due date. I accept rolling due dates. If my availability calendar looks like I’m not available during your entire birth window, but I’m marked as available on your EDD, that means that I’m likely still accepting clients in that timeframe in order to not over-book myself, and also maintain a steady income. Please feel free to reach out if you’re unsure of my availability. Thanks, I look forward to hearing from you!

Next Steps: Please contact me with any questions, and to set up a Meet and Greet!

email: [email protected], or text/ call: 828.280.8854 cell

Birth Doula Support