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coming soon…
Doula: A doula (doo-lah) is a person who provides emotional, physical, and educational support to you during your pregnancy and childbirth. A doula will help you understand all of your options and support the path you decide to take to the best of their ability. Doulas can also help facilitate open communication between you, your partner, and care providers. Doulas are not medical professionals. They fill the gaps what separates an ordinary and an extraordinary birth journey.
Birthkeeper:
Monitrice
Facility Midwife: (CNM, DEM, CM) is a medical health professional who provides care and advice during pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period for many low-risk women. They are socially held to a standard to follow evidence-based practices and the midwifery model of care, however most these days are tightly bound by restrictions and impersonal hospital policies.
Homebirth Midwife: (CPM, Lay Midwife, Traditional Midwife) is a professional that often follows a more holistic, traditional approach to caring for a woman through pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. They use their training and experience to support the natural phenomenon of physiologic birth. They prefer to use herbal remedies rather than medicine and are typically less hands-on as they like for mothers to make their own intuitive choices.
Obstetrician: (OB, OB-GYN) is a medical health professional that specializes in women’s reproductive health issues. They are trained surgeons and often intervene when a pregnancy is labeled high-risk. They are typically unnecessarily hands-on when assisting vaginal births.
Gynecologyst
Labor Nurse: Nurse in the labor & delivery floor. The labor nurse manages standard care for the laboring patient. Adjusting fetal monitors, charting progression notes, vitals, etc.
Baby Nurse: A nurse from the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) who will be in the room as you give birth, in efforts to treat and care for your baby in the event of an emergency. (Though these emergencies are often created by the facility and the interventions themselves, but I digress..) There are also “Baby Nurses” that may be available for hire by the hour to tend to your newborn while you sleep at night. Often referred as a postpartum doula/baby nurse.
Maternity Nurse: Nurse in the maternity or mother-baby section of the hospital or birth center. This nurse cares for you after giving birth.
Lactation Consultant: A trained professional that specializes in lactation. They offer resources and hands-on support to troubleshoot difficulties and help you achieve your breastfeeding goals. Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultants (ibclc’s) spend countless hours of education and training and are usually worth every penny spent. You may find other loving lactation support known as Lactation Counselors, or something similar.
Anesthesiologist: The specialist that provides epidural and emergency medications in hospitals.
Maternal Fetal Medicine Doctor:
NICU
Patient Advocate