Find a Doula in Albany, OR
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Why Use Meela to Hire Your Doula?
Meela is the trusted place for parents to find top-rated doulas, connecting over 1,700 parents with vetted doulas each month. Reach out to doulas directly, or answer a few questions and let us bring you the best available options near you. All for free, no strings attached.
Certified, Expert-Vetted Doulas Near You
Our doulas are the best of the best and hold the highest standards of evidence-based, inclusive, and compassionate care. Each verified doula on Meela is vetted by a licensed medical professional and comes with multiple client recommendations, active certifications, and has extensive training and experience in perinatal care.
0 reviews • 12 families supported • 5 years experience
0 reviews • 5 families supported • 3 years experience
0 reviews • 2 families supported • 1 years experience
3 reviews • 11 families supported • 14 years experience
3 reviews • 2 families supported • 1 years experience
My own personal first childbirth experience was full of trauma and abuse of power, I wasn't listened to or heard. I was scared after feeling prepared and confident going into labor. After my second birth, I realized what a difference it made having safe, reassuring and experienced support on my side. It made such an amazing difference and fueled my passion for supporting birthing people. Everyone deserves support, and to be seen and heard and respected during childbirth. It is an innate human right that no one has the power to take away from you. I chose DTI (Doula Trainings International) as my doula certifying body because their programs is one of the most comprehensive and inclusive trainings. I am a birth nerd and daily my goal is to learn at least two new things about birth, pregnancy, birth support, reproductive justice and anything related in order to best be able to serve my clients. My philosophy surrounding pregnancy, birth and beyond is that every person and family is unique, comes from different backgrounds, different cultures and should be able to make the decisions that suit them best based on their needs without judgment from others. Your vision becomes my vision while I am supporting you and I will do everything in my power to help facilitate that for you along the way. Mental health and nutrition support are two things I am passionate about during the postpartum period, and I love helping new parents navigate their new life with baby.
Care philosophy
Every birthing person has the right to a safe birth where they are seen and heard. My passion is to provide you emotional and physical support through your labor and delivery, and to provide education and information throughout pregnancy to ensure you are confident and trust that your body can do this. Because you can! Raising children takes a village, having support makes a difference.
Areas served
- Willamette Valley and Surrounding Areas
Reviews
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Linda
November 4, 2022 at 11:09 am | Peer reviewSara is a dedicated experienced Doula and mother. She has a passion to support families in giving birth the way they want to give birth.
0 reviews • 5 families supported • 1 years experience
Doula Services: FAQs
A doula is a professional that provides emotional, physical and educational support to new parents before, during, and after childbirth and into the early postpartum period. Doulas are companions who strive to give families a safe, positive, and healthy labor experience. They provide parents with evidence-based information and education on childbirth and are someone who the parent can turn to with questions and concerns about having a baby. Doulas also take an active role in collaborating with the parent to create a birth plan.
A certified birth doula offers advice and techniques to help reduce the stress that the parent often experiences during childbirth and provides you with education about different aspects of delivery and labor and what comes after.
There are two ways you can hire a doula through Meela in Albany, OR.
You can browse through the available doulas in Albany, OR and send the doulas you are interested in a message, introducing yourself and setting up an interview. We recommend interviewing at least three before hiring your top doula.
You can also hire a doula in Albany, OR in three easy steps:
- Post a job for free: answer some questions and receive responses from top-rated doulas in Albany, OR. It takes less than 30 seconds to post your job.
- Get your list of Albany, OR doulas: in a few hours, you will have a collection of doulas near you who are qualified to meet your needs. You can compare pricing, experience and read reviews. You can chat with each doula to learn more about them.
- Hire a doula with confidence: schedule virtual or in-person interviews with your top doula choices. Hire your top doula and start getting the care you deserve.
While the cost of a doula can vary based on experience and the services offered, you can expect the average cost of a doula in Albany, OR to be $992, which is the average cost of a doula in the state of Oregon. The cost of a doula in Albany, OR can range from $827 to $1,158. These costs are based on a representative group of 283 doulas surveyed by Meela across the state of Oregon. The average cost of a doula in Oregon is about the same as the U.S. national average cost of a doula, which is $971.
When hiring a birth doula in Albany, OR, you and your doula will discuss and agree upon a fee structure, and your doula will send you itemized invoices through Meela, which you can pay securely through the app.
Some insurance companies will cover all or part of the cost of hiring a doula. Contact your insurance company to find out if they offer any coverage for hiring a doula; not all insurance companies do.
You can hire two types of doulas in Albany, OR: a birth doula and a postpartum doula. The birth doula is during your pregnancy and through the birth of your child. They provide you with emotional, physical and educational support during your pregnancy, your labor and delivery and for the first few hours after your child is born.
A postpartum doula will support you for the first few weeks after the baby is born. They provide in-home assistance, including teaching you how to take care of your newborn, acting as lactation consultant, and can provide some night nanny services.
Yes, a birth doula can provide support during a Cesarean birth and delivery. Doulas are non-medical professionals and do not replace obstetricians, physicians, midwives or nurses. They are an additive member to the team and provide emotional, physical and informational support to the birthing parent, partner and family. It is up to you whether the certified doula can remain in the operating room during the procedure.
When you hire a doula in Albany, OR, your services typically include several in-person prenatal sessions, 24/7 phone and text support, full attendance throughout your labor, and several hours of support immediately following your birth.
A doula in Albany, OR can help you in any kind of birth. Certified doulas are able to assist parents in creating the ideal “birth environment” and help parents deliver their baby safely. A doula can provide support during the birth whether it occurs in a hospital, a home, or another birth center of some kind. Doulas are there to support you in your desired birth preferences, whether that is a preference for natural, non-medicated, assisted, C-section or anything else.
Certified doulas can also act as a liaison between you and hospital staff regarding your childbirth expectations and preferences. For example, if your preference is to have a non-medicated birth, a doula can help guide you through that process and create a personalized birth plan. A certified doula in Albany, OR does not replace medical staff (such as your obstetrician and nurses).
When a surgical procedure is required, there are some situations in which a birth doula can also remain in the operating room, although this is not an expected obligation. A certified birth doula can also assist hospital staff to improve the overall birthing experience. A doula in Albany, OR will typically stay with the parents for several hours after birth to help them with birth recovery.
Evidence suggests that a birth doula in Albany, OR can help improve parent satisfaction with their baby’s birth and delivery. The involvement of a doula can also lead to shorter deliveries with less complications.
Recent studies show that parents who have a support person like a doula by their side throughout labor and childbirth are more likely to:
- Give birth without the need for pain medicine
- Describe their birth experience in a positive way
- Give birth without the need for medical intervention, such as C-sections or vacuum delivery
- Experience a shorter labor
You can hire a doula early in your pregnancy to allow you time to get to know each other and to begin planning for your later trimesters, labor, birth, and aftercare. It is ideal to hire a doula when you are around 20 weeks along, but you can start looking for one before that.
It is never too late to hire a doula in Albany, OR; you have right up to your due date to find a doula near you and receive all the benefits of doula support.
While many people think that a doula and a midwife are the same thing, their educational background and job duties are different. Doulas are non-medical professionals who provide emotional, physical and educational support, while also offering actionable advice and guidance to new parents about how to nurture their baby.
A midwife is a certified nurse-midwife (CNM) or a certified midwife (CM). CNMs are medical professionals that are certified and licensed by the American College of Nurse-Midwives. CMs are also certified, but they do not have nursing backgrounds.
Doulas are not medical professionals; they focus on the emotional support for the parents and the family before, during, and after the birth of the baby. Their job is to provide information, advice, and support to the family not diagnose any medical conditions or provide medical advice.
Wendy
February 18, 2023 at 10:46 am | Peer reviewDoula Loves 6 month Mentorship has prepared Lori to provide professional Doula services to families in the Portland Metro community.