The benefits to you having a doula team:

• If you require physical support from your doula for more than 24 hrs it is often helpful to have a rested doula with fresh energy!  It is wonderful if you have already gotten to know and develop a relationship with both the doulas that may be attending your birth.
• If your doula is sick or has an emergency, you will need a backup! Again – knowing the person standing in is part of what helps you feel relaxed, and comfortable.
• Your doula can get in touch with her partner in births where some brainstorming may be helpful – in a partnership you are drawing on doubled years of experience while maintaining confidentiality within your support team.

I worked as a “solo doula” from 2005-2010.  I was on call 24/7 and had a couple of near misses where one client was in labour before their expected due date, another was running late, and I was concerned I’d have to send a back up for one of my clients.  I never want to miss a birth!  I think most doulas would tell you the same thing.  We develop a relationship with our clients, we love birth, and we want to be there to support the people who have given us the honour of choosing us as a member of their support team.

In 2010 I met Jill Colpitts.  What a lovely she is!  A busy woman, running Midwifery Supplies Canada, Mama Goddess Birth Shop, teaching CPR, and a doula.  I was working as an office manger at Pomegranate Midwives, the busiest midwifery clinic in Vancouver, parenting my 2 boys, and running my online business.  We started discussing our passion for birth, our love of doula work, and the challenges that come with juggling other work with being on call.  This was the first time I’d considered partnering with another doula – as we talked I felt that our philosophy in supporting families, our commitment to clients, and our need to find more of a balance in our busy lives would make us a perfect pair.  I asked Jill if she’d ever considered a doula partnership, and the rest is history!  Between us we have supported over 150 families.

Jill and I attend interviews with potential clients together.  Us working on a call schedule means that our clients need to feel great about hiring us both, because either of us could be on call the day their baby decides to make his/her way in to the world.

If a mother and her partner choose to hire us, we each attend one prenatal visit allowing some one on one time to get to know each other.

We provide our clients with a call schedule – we use a Google Calendar, so for those that have gmail we just share the calendar, and those that don’t I send a PDF.

We offer on call support 24/7.  We often have clients calling and emailing as their birthing time draws near.  We welcome any questions or chats, whether it’s regarding a discomfort, a fear, or an excitement and suggestion needed for infant carriers!

When early labour begins we ask our clients to give us a heads up.  We make every effort to have whichever one of us goes, to stay throughout the birth.  One of us is with you from when you feel you need support, until about 2 hours after your baby is born.  If you are birthing at home we tidy and throw on a load of laundry, make you something to eat and make sure you are settled in for some rest.  If you are birthing in the hospital we again make sure you get something to eat, assist with latching baby and help with getting you settled in with everything you need from your car / hospital bags.

We also provide postpartum support.  Assistance with normal infant care, again phone and email support as you adjust to parenthood, and additional resources.  Jill is close to finishing up her requirements and becoming a La Leche League Leader, we are both breastfeeding our own babies and are very experienced in supporting women in breastfeeding.

Our partnership in doula services allows us to offer you experienced and immediate support.  Please feel free to contact us to find out more or set-up an interview!

Emily