Doula Services Orange County

As a mother of four, I’ve had a variety of birthing experiences and I’ve felt a calling to help support other women with theirs. I’ve been lucky enough to train with the international leader in birth doula training, DONA International. I'm excited to work with families from Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties.

What is a birth doula?

A birth doula is a trained professional who provides emotional, physical, and informational support to a person during pregnancy, labor, and childbirth. Think of them as a non-medical companion whose main goal is to help you feel empowered, comforted, and confident throughout the birth experience. A birth doula doesn't actually deliver the baby (that's the job of the midwife or doctor). A birth doula does a wide range of other things to help women have the optimal birthing experience.

 

Birth doulas help you understand your options and make informed decisions, offer comfort measures, like massage, breathing techniques, or finding the best positions to ease labor and offer calming support to your partner or other support people.

benefits of a birth doula

You may think that you don’t need a doula if you already have a supportive partner and maybe even a parent that will attend your birth. Both of those people are amazing support during labor and delivery but studies show that having a doula present is proven to reduce intervention rates (like cesarean sections) and improved birth outcomes. Yes, you read that right.

  • 9% decrease in chances of having a C-section.
  • 31% increase in the chances of having a satisfying birth experience.
  • 39% decrease in the need for pain medications.
  • 15% increased likelihood of having a spontaneous vaginal birth.
  • 41 minute decrease in the length of labor.

Bohren MA, et al., Continuous support for women during childbirth. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2017, Issue 7.

Difference between a doula, midwife, and labor and delivery nurse

A midwife is a medical professional that provides and monitors fetal health. Midwives can also administer labor-inducing medications, deliver babies vaginally or assist with C-sections, prescribe medications, perform episiotomies and stitch tears.

 

Labor and delivery nurses are licensed medical professionals that monitor both the baby and the mother’s vital signs during labor, administer medications, help doctors during delivery, and educate patients and family members. 


 

A good analogy is to think of doulas like flight attendants. The doctor or midwife is like the pilot, in charge of the flight and responsible for getting everyone to the destination safely. The labor and delivery nurse is like the co-pilot, assisting the pilot and making sure things run smoothly. Your doula is like the flight attendant, making sure that you’re as comfortable as possible by bringing refreshments and pillows, keeping you updated and informed about the process, offering comfort and reassurance if things go off schedule.

Family Size

Family members of 6 or less are considered an average family size for portraits. However, I do have a lot of requests for extended family portraits and that is not a problem. Some families choose to combine several smaller family portrait sessions as part of a larger family portrait that includes the grandparents and all the cousins. I actually love this idea. It's a great way to get everyone comfortable for pictures because they are all surrounded by family. It’s a great opportunity for grandma and grandpa to get some professional pictures as well, which is something they probably haven’t done for a number of years. I absolutely love getting grandparent portraits. It's fun asking them to kiss at the end because I get the best facial expressions from them.

 

These large family portrait session will take a little bit longer simply because we are interacting with more people. There also will be a lot more talking amongst yourselves so it will take a little longer to settle down haha So be prepared to bring something to entertain little ones while I’m working with the various smaller family units.

What to Wear for Family Portraits

One could write a whole book on how to style families for their photo shoot. The main rule that you want to consider when planning outfits for family portraits is that you want everyone to coordinate but not specifically match. Gone are the days of white t-shirts and jeans. Modern family portraits will have everyone within a common color scheme wearing different patterns. First pick an outfit for the person that is typically hardest to shop for or the person that you want to stand out. Then you can pick out everyone else’s clothes based on the first outfit.

 

Don’t be afraid to mix up some patterns and colors. Mom can be wearing a pretty floral dress and one of the kids can be in a polka dot outfit, as long as they are in the same color scheme. Now, don’t get too crazy and have every person in a pattern, but it is ok to mix a few pieces.

 

If you like a more traditional family portrait, you can choose to have everyone in a solid colored outfit. Again, make sure that you add some variety so that not everyone looks like they’re wearing the same outfit. An example would be everyone wearing different tones of neutrals (browns, beige and cream).

WORK WITH ME

Freebird Studios is an Orange County Maternity, Newborn and Family photography studio located in Brea, CA and serving Fullerton, Anaheim, Yorba Linda, Rowland Heights, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Riverside, Laguna Beach and all of Los Angeles and Orange County.

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