When to Call the Doula
During the last month of pregnancy, your doula (me!) goes "on call" for you. This mean I'm available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to drop what I'm doing to help you finally get to meet your baby.
But when should you call me?
If you think you're starting to have signs of laber during the day - early contractions, losing your mucus plug, your water breaking - this is when you should either text or call me to let me know things might be starting to happen! Doing this allows me to have enough time to get my kids set up with a sitter, other responsibilities taken care, and snacks packed in my go bag. I'll continue to periodically check in with you eveyr couple of hours after that if I don't hear from you. When you're in active labor and heading to your place of birth, this is most likely when I'll also get on the road to meet you.
But, you or your partner will need to clearly communicate with me when you're ready for my birth support.
If it's after 10:00 PM at night and you think you're starting to have some signs of labor, you can text me but I won't see it till morning likely (and that's ok!). If you have questions, are beginning to experience active labor in the middle of the night where your contraction pattern is looking more like 3-5 minutes apart and/or you're getting ready to head to the hospital, this is when you should call me! I'll be able to get up and moving within 30 minutes or so of a middle of the night call and be ready to meet you where you're planning to give birth. There's a good chance by this point your birth partner will be doing most of the communication for you.
But what if I can't get ahold of you?
Don't be afraid to call a couple of times, but also know I will give you a back up phone number for on the off chance you can't get ahold of me. Thus far in my career I've never missed a labor call and no one has needed to use the back up number.
If you're a client of mine and you're at the end of your pregnancy, rest assured I'm here for you, praying for you, and excitedly anticipating a brilliant birth for you! It's going to be absolutely amazing.
And if you're wondering if having a doula is a good idea for your up and coming birth, please don't hesitate to reach out! I'd love to meet with you for a free consultation and talk all things labor support and how my services could be a part of your story!
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