Birth Doulas

You’ve heard all about the wonderful benefits of hiring a doula, such as a decrease in cesarean birth and the use of pain relieving medications and an increase in positive birthing experiences. You have decided that it makes sense for you and your family to hire one! Now what? It’s time to start interviewing doulas who will potentially support you during an extremely exciting and nerve wracking time. This is why hiring a doula who you trust and like is so important....

So you’ve read the blogs, you talked to your friends, you saw all the chatter about switching to a homebirth early in the pandemic. Maybe you’ve seen the popular birth documentary like The Business of Being Born? You’re pregnant and you have come to the conclusion you want to give birth at home. Or maybe you’re pregnant and you have no idea where you want to give birth. Maybe you assume you’ll go to the hospital like most everyone else you know. But you keep hearing these stories of friends who had C-sections, who had to lie down for most of the birth, who couldn’t hold their babies right after giving birth and you wonder if there’s an alternative option. What about giving birth right in the comfort of your own home?...

You may feel like you have been pregnant forever or you might feel like the experience has flown by, but almost universally toward the end of your pregnancy, you may start wondering “when will I know I am in labor?,” “what are the stages of labor?,” and “what can I expect?”. Just like every pregnancy is different, experiences of birth can vary greatly. While your experience will be uniquely your own, there are some patterns to physiological labor and birth that can be helpful to know as you prepare....

While giving birth has always included many unknowns for expectant parents, COVID-19 has created more questions and confusion for many parents-to-be. Educating yourself about what to expect during labor in the pandemic will help you feel more positive, confident, and ready to bring your baby to this world. This may not be what you envisioned, but you can do this! These COVID-19 birthing tips will support you in having the best hospital birth possible given the uncertain circumstances....

One of the biggest decisions you will make when you are pregnant, in addition to who will help you deliver your baby, is where to give birth. Where you give birth will influence the type of care you receive and the likelihood of medical intervention....

Watch Jada Shapiro, doula & boober founder, in conversation with Jill Blakeway, a Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, a licensed and board-certified acupuncturist, and clinical herbalist and founder of the Yinova Center. New York Times described her as a “fertility goddess” and named her as one of Manhattan’s top acupuncturists. They cover various pain perception and management techniques during pregnancy and labor including breathwork (including tips for coping with required mask use), acupressure points, and positions that can help. Acupuncture, visualization, and doula care (both in-person and virtual) are discussed. Pain-coping skills are life skills, not just labor skills. The more they are practiced, the more easily they can be accessed and used during labor. Acupressure requires physical pressure to be applied to points that run along the body’s meridian system. A number of recent studies have shown the ancient medicine’s effectiveness for making labor a little shorter and reducing pain....

Watch the “All about homebirth” webinar moderated by boober founder, Jada Shapiro in conversation with Certified Midwife, Shawna King, CM, LM. They shared what expecting families needed to know about homebirth. COVID-19 has caused expectant parents to think differently about what options they have when giving birth, in light of concerns about birthing in a hospital in the presence of a pandemic. While homebirth has always been specifically sought out by some parents, and while homebirth is a safe, viable, and supported option in many countries, only 1% of US births are currently planned at home. We have seen a huge uptick in interest in the possibility of homebirth during this time and want to give our community an opportunity to learn more about whether homebirth is available or even a possible option for them. We honor the homebirth midwives who provide their expert services to our communities. Recorded May 2020....

My name is Jada Shapiro and I’m the founder of boober, a platform that connects expectant parents and new families to maternal care providers, like birth doulas, lactation consultants, postpartum doulas, and mental health therapists. Until March, we were known for matching clients with expert care providers for in-person visits. I have always maintained that there are a time and place for virtual care, but there are certain aspects of support that can only happen in the same place. Pregnant, birthing and postpartum parents benefit from empathetic in-person connections, and we stand strong as one of the few companies that focuses on the face-to-face experience. ...

While there have been virtual doulas for a while now, the appearance of the novel coronavirus has transformed this once largely in-person role into a remote and critical one. We are living in unprecedented times, and many of us have been ordered to stay at home unless absolutely necessary. As hospitals work hard to reduce the possibility of transmission, extra people, including doulas and, in some cases, partners, are currently not allowed in several hospitals to support laboring people. We must protect healthcare workers and flatten the curve, and we empathize with how challenging it will be for partners to not be there physically....

Both doulas and midwives support people during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, so it’s unsurprising that many think their jobs are similar. But the truth is that doulas and midwives actually have entirely different skillsets and training. Here’s what you should know about the differences between these types of professionals:...