Doulas, lactation specialists enhance birthing experience
After Beth of Nottingham suffered a second miscarriage, she decided to approach pregnancy differently. She did some research and found a program based out of Australia dedicated to a holistic, education-focused approach to fertility. She knew she had to at least explore it.
But her obstetrician wasn’t on board, dismissing the information Beth had gathered and felt so strongly about. So she found a provider who would be more open to her holistic approach, and soon found herself at Harbour Women’s Health. Before long, Beth was pregnant and after a healthy pregnancy, she gave birth at Portsmouth Regional Hospital to a healthy baby girl, Sophie.
“One of the things I loved about my doctor at Harbour Women’s Health, and about Portsmouth Regional Hospital, is they listened to me,” Beth said. “They didn’t dismiss my concerns, they didn’t patronize me. They heard me, and they made my birthing experience the best it could be for me.”
Another high point for Beth? Portsmouth Regional Hospital’s doula services. PRH is the only hospital on the Seacoast to provide doula service as part of the care provided. Doulas provide education and continuous physical and emotional support before, during and after birth, and can provide critical support during the postpartum period.
Studies have shown that when doulas attend births, labor is often shorter with fewer complications, babies are healthier, and they breastfeed more easily.
A doula will …
- Prepare the mother and partner for the birth experience, carrying out the birth plan
- Recognize that birth is a key experience that a mother will remember for the rest of her life
- Provide emotional support and physical comfort during labor and delivery
- Provide non-medical pain and stress management tools including massage, mindful breathing and visualization
“My husband Jeff and I met with Holly, the doula coordinator, in my third trimester and we knew I was in the right place,” Beth said. “Soon I was introduced to Melissa (doula), and found that she and I had very similar attitudes and beliefs about things like vaccines. It’s so important, encouraging and reassuring when you feel those on your care team, those helping you bring your baby into the world, look at life the way you do, and want the best for your baby.”
While childbirth may be the most natural thing in the world, for some it’s not always an easy or smooth transition. Some babies may have trouble feeding, be colicky, and moms may suffer from postpartum depression. PRH’s Labor and Delivery team offers experts to help moms through these changes and challenges with one-on-one support as well as classes focused on providing education, tips and camaraderie.
Beth took advantage of having a lactation consultant, who she still sees for support postpartum, and has attended numerous classes/moms groups at PRH.
“I can only imagine how isolating postpartum would be without these moms groups, if you had to face it alone,” Beth said. “I am so grateful for Emily who leads these classes, she was so helpful and supportive, especially when I needed donor milk. I was so nervous about that. I’m also grateful for another doula, Marie, who was there to support me and Sophie. She’s also a massage therapist, and specializes in pregnancy and postpartum massage.”
Her doula also took photos and a video of Sophie’s birth, and facilitated with immediate skin-to-skin contact in the delivery room.
The mothers in these groups often develop friendships as they find themselves on similar journeys. One of the new moms Beth became friendly with was Melanie.
Melanie and her husband Brandon, of Durham, took advantage of every educational opportunity provided by the doulas, lactation consultants, and others at PRH’s Labor & Delivery unit.
Melanie also met with Holly, was assigned to doula Morgan during her pregnancy, and registered for the five-week childbirth education, breastfeeding, and baby basics classes.
“When I met Emily the lactation consultant, she put me at ease. She spent two hours with us. She was so natural and took her time helping me to feel more confident and create a feeding program,” Melanie said. “At one week old, I was bringing Sophia to the support group at Portsmouth Regional Hospital nearly every Tuesday for the first three months. I don’t know how I would have gotten through the first few months without it, it would have been a very different experience.”
Meeting other first-time moms creates a bond, she said. “It’s so helpful to meet other women in the same situation, and I feel fortunate to have made some wonderful connections. We have a text group and get together occasionally.”
“The team at Portsmouth Regional Hospital truly cared about all three of us – me, Sophia and my husband Brandon,” she said. “Being vulnerable isn’t easy, but they help moms and dads find comfort, they create programs tailored to my baby, they truly are invested in Sophia’s success.
“I have a co-worker who is due soon with her first baby and she is also going to Portsmouth Regional Hospital for her delivery, and I’ve been encouraging her to take the classes. I’d tell any pregnant woman to go to PRH, it truly was a beautiful experience, and I can’t imagine anything less. I’m grateful for all they did for me and my family.”
Learn more:
To take a tour of the Labor & Delivery Unit, call (603) 433-4086.
Meet our doula team during a monthly Doula Tea, for more information, call (603) 559-4172.