Find a Doula in Martinsburg, WV

Doulas on Meela are certified, client-recommended, and vetted by licensed medical practitioners. Find one near you.

Create a free account, and we'll bring top doulas to you.

Get started

1,000+ childbirth experts

Client recommended, 97% 5-star reviews

Vetted by licensed medical practitioners

Verified client testimonials

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.

Found 3 Pros in Martinsburg, WV, USA | Birth doula support
EXPERIENCE
0 50
Families served
0 3500
Birth fee
$0 $7500
HOURLY RATE
$0 $500
img img

Jessica Slonaker

Glengary, WV

4 reviews • 12 families supported • 4 years experience

4 reviews • 12 families supported • 4 years experience

Birth work has always been my calling. In kindergarten when they asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up my answer was “a doctor that takes out babies!!!” Spoiler alert: I never went to medical school. However through the birth of my own children, I discovered a passion for out of hospital birth and set out to become a Certified Professional Midwife. I started practicing as an autonomous birth and postpartum doula in 2019. Since then, I have earned 2 certifications. My first from Indie Birth and my second from A Woman Who Serves, a Christian doula program. As your birth doula, you can expect to feel supported, encouraged, understood, and educated. My focus with birth clients is to educate them on everything they’re experiencing in their pregnancy, whether they’re first time or experienced mamas. I believe the best way to have the birth you want is to prepare yourself with strong educational foundation. For this reason, I love it when my clients sign on as early as possible. As your postpartum doula, you can expect the same support while you rest and bond with your baby. I want my clients to soak in those early days with their newborn. I will happily educate and support you however you want around the house, but encourage clients to be the one holding, feeding, and snuggling baby. I will be right beside you to answer questions and give you a break but this is the foundation of my practice as a doula: YOU were born for this and I’m just here to remind you that you have what it takes.

Care philosophy

As a doula and student midwife my passion is not babies- it’s mothers. I believe that birth is normal life process and that YOU were born to do this. Everything you need to have an empowering birth experience is already inside of you and my job is to remind you of that when things get hard.

Areas served

  • Berkeley, Morgan, Hampshire, & Jefferson County WV
  • Frederick, Clarke, & Loudon County VA
  • Washington & Frederick County MD

Reviews

  • Grace
    September 28, 2023 at 4:33 am | Peer review

    Jessica is eager to learn and has good knowledge of natural birth.

$ flexible
img

Shannon Creamer

Martinsburg, WV

2 reviews • 7 families supported • 1 years experience

2 reviews • 7 families supported • 1 years experience

I've always been intrigued by birth; but my passion for birth became ignited by my own personal experience having an empowered birth. I can personally relate to the fact that the birth of a child is one of the few events in life that will be forever engraved in our hearts and minds-and that it should be an experience that parents can look back on with happiness, not regret. Women will remember how they were made to feel at their births for as long as they live, and I want to help women have birth experiences that are the best that they can possibly be, and help parents achieve the birth that they dream of. My primary role as your doula is to provide physical, emotional, and informational support, as well as advocacy. I provide emotional and physical support through reassurance and encouragement, massage, counter pressure techniques, and assistance with position changes to facilitate optimal comfort and fetal positioning. I assist with water therapy, applying heat and/or cold packs, and ensuring a calming atmosphere by dimming the lights, offering electric candles and/or string lights, and/or aromatherapy. In providing informational support, I am committed to doing all that is necessary to help you make informed choices throughout your pregnancy and birth. I also provide clients with free access to my lending library. I am a firm believer that every informed decision is an empowered one. As your advocate, I will help you draft a birth plan that outlines your birth preferences. I will help ensure that your wishes are honored as expressed in your birth plan and in our prenatal conversations. I do this by encouraging you to ask questions of your care provider and express your preferences and concerns. I am not your voice, but am here to help you find and use yours! I offer in-person comfort measures classes, and my online childbirth education classes will be available soon as well!

Care philosophy

As your birth doula, your childbirth goals are my goals. My desire as a doula is to honor YOUR birth philosophy and walk beside you in it, and help keep you and your baby healthy throughout this miraculous journey. What makes a good birth experience is not necessarily a natural birth, but an empowered one in which the birthing person is supported and their wishes and needs are met.

Areas served

  • Eastern Panhandle of WV and surrounding areas

Reviews

  • Wendy
    July 3, 2021 at 4:20 pm | Peer review

    Shannon is a dedicated, professional childbirth educator who is a blessing to all childbearing families

$ flexible
img img

Virginia Adele Guynn

Berkeley Springs, WV

5 reviews • 5 families supported • 3 years experience

5 reviews • 5 families supported • 3 years experience

I am a birth and postpartum doula certified by DTI, Doula Trainings International. I help birthing parents have an empowering birth experience. I can help you get the information you need to make informed decisions about your birth and postpartum experience. I assist you with writing your birth preferences/plan. During labor, I will arrive when you decide you need me and remain with you throughout labor and birth. Drawing on my knowledge and experience, I will reassure, encourage, comfort, and empathize with the birthing person. I will also work with the birth partner, if there is one, to help them assist and comfort you. In addition, I can advocate for you with your other care providers. I will remain with you after your baby is born and until you are resting comfortably. After birth, I will visit you three times to see how you and the baby are doing, to review your birth experience, and to assist with planning for postpartum support such as help with meals, housework, and care of other children.

Care philosophy

I believe birth can be rewarding and fulfilling regardless of where it takes place as long as the birthing person is adequately supported and cared for by their birth team.

Areas served

  • Winchester, VA
  • Frederick County, VA
  • Frederick County, MD
  • Montgomery County, MD
  • Washington County, MD
  • Jefferson County, WV
  • Berkeley County, WV
  • Morgan County, WV
  • Loudoun County, VA
  • Fairfax County, VA
  • Clarke County, VA
  • Charles Town, WV
  • Martinsburg, WV
  • Berkeley Springs, WV

Reviews

  • Emma
    April 29, 2021 at 4:13 pm | Peer review

    Virginia is a kind, caring, and compassionate person.

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 Martinsburg, WV.  

You can browse through the available doulas in Martinsburg, WV 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 Martinsburg, WV in three easy steps:

  1. Post a job for free: answer some questions and receive responses from top-rated doulas in Martinsburg, WV. It takes less than 30 seconds to post your job.
  1. Get your list of Martinsburg, WV 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.
  1. 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 Martinsburg, WV to be $2,000, which is the average cost of a doula in the state of West Virginia. The cost of a doula in Martinsburg, WV can range from NA to $2,000. These costs are based on a representative group of 1 doulas surveyed by Meela across the state of West Virginia. The average cost of a doula in West Virginia is higher than the U.S. national average cost of a doula, which is $971.

When hiring a birth doula in Martinsburg, WV, 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 Martinsburg, WV: 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 Martinsburg, WV, 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 Martinsburg, WV 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 Martinsburg, WV 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 Martinsburg, WV will typically stay with the parents for several hours after birth to help them with birth recovery.

Evidence suggests that a birth doula in Martinsburg, WV 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:

  1. Give birth without the need for pain medicine
  2. Describe their birth experience in a positive way
  3. Give birth without the need for medical intervention, such as C-sections or vacuum delivery
  4. 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 Martinsburg, WV; 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.

Get Started
keyboard_arrow_up