Services
Doula Services
Photo by Magriki
Would You Like a Doula on Your Support Team?
A Doula Is Someone Who
- Draws on her treasure trove of knowledge and experience to provide you with emotional, physical and informational support in pregnancy, labour and postnatally.
- Accompanies you in labour, helping you have a safe and satisfying birth experience.
- Is a member of your birth team, working independently of the hospital, whose sole job is to attend to your needs.
- Explores your various options with you, sharing up-to-date information and evidence, enabling you to make your own decisions about the steps you would like to take, and then supports you in the choices you’ve made.
- Helps you prepare for your baby's birth and early parenting with evidence-based information and key skills and techniques that you and your partner can use.
- Offers support and information in the first hours and weeks with your baby, such as helping you get breastfeeding off to a good start.
Evidence shows that Doula Support decreases the chance of caesarean, the use of medications for pain relief, and the risk of baby having a low Apgar score, while increasing satisfaction and the chance of a spontaneous vaginal birth.
What Does a Doula Not Do?
A Doula Is Not Trained To
- Perform medical tasks, diagnose medical conditions or give medical advice.
- Make decisions for you. I will help you get the information you need to make informed decisions.
- Speak to your healthcare providers, e.g. the midwives or doctors, on your behalf. I will be your sounding board, to discuss your concerns with you and explore options with you.
What's included?
A doula package includes
Two Antenatal Visits
I will meet with you and your partner at least twice antenatally to get to know you, to explore and discuss your priorities and any fears or concerns you may have, and to plan how we will work best together.
Phone/Text/Email Support
Throughout pregnancy and until 6 weeks postpartum, I am available by phone, text or email.
on call from 38 weeks
I will be on call for your birth 24 hours/7 days a week from 2 weeks before your expected birthing date until your baby is born.
Labour Support
Continuous emotional and physical support during labour, at home and in hospital, depending on your wishes.
After Your Baby is Born
I will stay with you until you are comfortable and can support you with initial feeding.
A postnatal visit
A postnatal visit at your home on a day you request. I am also available by phone, text or email for ongoing support and to help answer any questions you might have.
Additional in-person postnatal doula hours are available to birth doula clients only. Cost: €30/hour (usually in 3hr blocks)
What's included?
A doula package includes
Two Antenatal Visits
I will meet with you and your partner at least twice antenatally to get to know you, to explore and discuss your priorities and any fears or concerns you may have, and to plan how we will work best together.
Phone/Text/Email Support
Throughout pregnancy and until 6 weeks postpartum, I am available by phone, text or email.
on call from 38 weeks
I will be on call for your birth 24 hours/7 days a week from 2 weeks before your expected birthing date until your baby is born.
Labour Support
Continuous emotional and physical support during labour, at home and in hospital, depending on your wishes.
After Your Baby is Born
I will stay with you until you are comfortable and can support you with initial feeding.
A postnatal visit
A postnatal visit at your home on a day you request. I am also available by phone, text or email for ongoing support and to help answer any questions you might have.
Additional in-person postnatal doula hours are available to birth doula clients only. Cost: €30/hour (usually in 3hr blocks)
How Does It Work?
3 Simple Steps to Booking Me as Your Doula
Check Availability
Check my calendar to make sure I am available around your estimated due date. If you’re unsure, please contact me.
Book a Free Exploratory Call
Book a free exploratory call so you can decide whether I’m the right doula for you. It’s so important that you feel 100% comfortable with the person you choose to support you.
Get Booked In
Once we’ve met and you’re happy to proceed, it’s time to get booked in. We’ll sign a Letter of Agreement and a 50% deposit will be taken at the time of booking. The full cost of birth doula services is €1100.
Please contact me for alternative payment arrangements.
If you are facing hardship or on low or no income, please contact me for reduced rate services.
What do my clients say?
Testimonials
Thank you for the incredible support you’ve given us throughout the most important journey we’ve all embarked on – welcoming [baby] into the world. Your warmth and compassion has made it so easy to open up. We greatly appreciate your insights and advice. It has been invaluable in helping us make this little man’s transition into the world as beautiful and joyful as possible.
From our first meeting with Tara, she was a wealth of information and pleasure to speak with. Her warmth, care, and immense knowledge came across as genuine as could be. She not only explained what a doula was to my husband, who thought it wasn’t necessary, but she also encouraged us to interview other doulas before we made our choice. Tara shared resources from podcasts, literature, videos, and books to help us make wise decisions on our journey and help us envision how we wanted our birth story to go, regardless of the outcome. Her antenatal classes were also a bonus and all of the prep work in positioning and gear she let us use made a difference in the latter part of my pregnancy.
Thanks for your amazing doula support. Because of your mentoring, I believed I could birth a big baby naturally. Without you, I wouldn’t have believed it. You gave me the strength (and the facts!) to resist an induction and wait for [baby] to arrive in her own time. In the midst of a pandemic, it was particularly comforting to have you around. Keep doing what you’re doing.
Thanks again for your support bringing baby [ ] into the world. I had the most amazing experience and I couldn't have done it without you! Le grá...
We will be forever grateful for the support you gave us and the lasting impact it has had on us as parents.