Contact me at:
maren.rausch@gmail.com
513-313-0686
Introduction
Welcome to Wonderfully Woven Births. Pregnancy and birth is an amazing time in life that grows, empowers, and changes couples as they enter into parenthood. It is a time that can be accompanied by fear and trepidation as new experiences seem to threaten to overwhelm. It is also a time of great joy and eager anticipation for excitement, love, and new life. My favorite part of being a doula is walking alongside couples as they navigate through unknown territory, supporting them in decision making, and assisting them as they find their path. Our society holds that the birthing experience is to be feared. The media portrays labor and birth to be full of drama every time. My goal in providing professional labor support is to help couples become active participants in the decision-making process throughout pregnancy, labor, birth, and immediately after birth. I help the couple have the birth they want to have. I am willing to take the primary support role for the laboring woman, be in the background supporting the primary support person, or anything in between. My role in the birth is set by the laboring couple. I practice evidence-based support and desire to support the couple in meeting their goals.
Who Am I?
I am a wife to my amazing husband Greg, who supports me in all I do. Greg has a Masters in Social Work and works with adopted and foster children as a mental health therapist. I am a homeschooling mother to five fabulous children. The first two, now graduated and fully independent, productive adults, were born through unmedicated hospital births using the Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth®. The youngest three joined our family through unmedicated international adoptions, my son from China and my daughters from India and Haiti.
Who Am I Not?
I am not a medical professional. I do not perform physical exams or any other tests. I do not recommend, suggest, advise, or treat. I do not deliver babies. I am not a professional lactation consultant.
FAQ
Do I have to be planning to have an unmedicated birth to have a doula?
No. Doulas can be useful when an epidural is used or even during a planned C-section. A doula knows the desires of the parents ahead of time and is available to help keep their goals in focus throughout labor, birth, and the immediate postpartum period.
What if I already have a coach chosen?
A doula is not here to replace your coach, rather to support your coach. The doula can be a resource of ideas for the coach, can give the coach breaks, and can provide encouragement for the coach as well as the mother. If a coach is not available, a doula can step into that role.
Services Provided
• Preliminary visit to discuss birthing goals of parents.
• Assistance in writing a birth plan, if desired.
• Availability during pregnancy to discuss issues.
• Access to my library of birthing and infant care books.
• Referrals for childbirth classes, La Leche, and other community-based services.
• Labor support at home.
• Use of my labor ball and other labor assisting items.
• Continuous labor support in labor and delivery room of hospital or birthing center of choice.
• Assistance in settling into room in hospital after birth.
• Assistance in beginning breastfeeding.
• Postpartum visit including breastfeeding support, postpartum mother care, and infant care techniques.
• Availability afterward for continued support.
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What is My Role as Your Doula?
My role (or level of involvement) as your doula will depend on you and your needs and expectations. As a doula, there are three basic roles that I can play. It is very important that I understand which role you would like me to play so that I can support you in the best way possible.
One role is as primary support person. I am the primary support person when the father of the baby does not want to be as actively involved in the birth. He may be uncomfortable with the process of birth or may be unavailable to participate as an active member of the labor and birth team. Just as I will do everything I can to make this a positive experience for the mother, I will do everything I can to make this a positive experience for the father.
Another role is as shared support person. As a shared support person, I work side-by-side with dad, both of us taking an active role in the birth equally. He may be on one side of mom while I’m on the other. We may take turns supporting mom. This can be helpful for the dad who wants limited involvement in the birth…he wants to be an active participant, but not the main support or the only support. He wants a partner to help him throughout the process.
The third role is as invisible support person. This is also known as the "fly on the wall". As an invisible support person, I take care of dad and his needs…and only become actively involved in the birth process through dad. For example, I may whisper into dad’s ear, "Why don’t you try pressing on her back right here…that will probably feel good to her," but dad is the primary support person. If I do my job correctly as the invisible support person, then after the baby is born mom will not even remember me doing anything, but will just remember dad as being "such a great support! He just did SUCH a good job!!"
It is very important that my understanding of your expectations is clear. If I am unclear, then I run the risk of having you say to yourself after the birth, "That doula was so pushy, always having to be involved," or, equally as bad, "The doula didn’t seem to do much, why did we hire her?"
Just like everything else in birth, my role is a dynamic one…it is normal to go into the labor process with one set of expectations, only to discover that labor is not what you expected or that this labor is different than the ones you have experienced before. It is fine to change the needs and expectations during the actual labor. Just let me know what you need. I want the experience of having a baby be one that will build your marriage and relationship.
The bottom line is…how can I help you, both of you, have a better experience?
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What my clients say...
"Just wanted to thank you again for the labor support during Sam's birth. Your help was invaluable. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect birth experience. But I couldn't have gotten through it without you." ~Jon and Amy
"Thank you so much for your support and encouragement during Grace's birth. I was a lot more anxious this time and you helped me stay focused and motivated. Grace is doing terrific and is a pro at nursing. Jake is a great big brother and gives her lots of kisses! Thanks for helping us bring our precious children into the world!" ~Matt and Erin
"We want to thank you for all your help during the birth and after with breastfeeding. Your support means so much to us and helped make Julien's birth extra special. You were really a blessing to us." ~Jen and Pat
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