A doula is a trained professional who is non-medical. As doulas, we provide continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to a mother/birthing person before, during, and after childbirth. Though our support with each family will look different depending on their desires and choices, most of all as doulas it’s our deep desire to help you have the healthiest and most satisfying birth experience that you can.

Studies have shown that having a birth doula can result in reduced use of pain medications, fewer cesarean birth rates (by up to 35%!), a decrease in the length of labor, higher breastfeeding rates, higher satisfaction with the birth experience and reduced rates of a perinatal mood & anxiety disorders. Of all of those things, the thing that we continue to see making the biggest impact is higher satisfaction with their birth no matter how it unfolds. Our clients feel advocated for, supported, and that their voices were amplified in their births.

For additional evidence check out: https://evidencebasedbirth.com/the-evidence-for-doulas/

This is a very common question, and honestly one that makes us smile. It shows us that you want your partner to be part of the process. We want that for them, too! Many of our clients have found that simply having us there it has helped lower not only their anxiety but their partners, too. We often hear from and read about local dads that feel like they wish someone would have realistically prepared them for what was really going to happen in labor and birth. That they felt overwhelmed watching someone they love so much go through labor and birth, and that if they would have had knowledge prior, during, and after that they would have felt more confident in the support they gave. We all sometimes can forget that dads and partners need support, too. They need to be able to have room for their feelings, to be present, and to know that they gave all they could to support you. We provide tools so they can confidently know they did. Here’s the thing, your partner doesn’t want to disappoint you, and wants to feel confident moving into parenthood. We are here to help take some of the weight off of them and to give them practical tools to bring you comfort. We are here to help you both.

Our clients have hired us for many reasons. From having never been through the experience of labor. birth, and postpartum before, realizing that they need their partner to provide love and comfort and to not feel the full weight and pressure to have to remember everything, to having had a very unsatisfying prior birth experience and feeling confident that a doula would have made a huge difference.

Here are some other common reasons clients hire us:

Families want a team who are experienced and they take solace in knowing we’ve supported hundreds of families since 2010;

Families want to fully understand options and scenarios better before making choices and know that they have exhausted all options in their birth;

Families who want to be supported in their choices/desires in the birth they are desiring and ultimately, in the birth that they actually have;

Families desire to have fewer medical interventions and/or medications during labor;

Families who want constant and continuous support for both parents, because they recognize that this is a family-centered experience;

Dads/partners want to know they showed up fully with effective tools to support the laboring/birthing mom;

Families that recognize each birth is unpredictable but having a doula there brings more calm, knowledge, and comfort to everyone;

Mother/birthing parent has researched the benefits of doula support

They may want someone to dance with them in labor and who is ok with ending up on YouTube (we’ve got sweet moves, doulas honor)

We are commonly asked if we are midwives, and while much of our approach can be similar, our roles are very different. As doulas we are non-medical professionals. We are not monitoring or caring for you medically in your pregnancy, birth, or postpartum. We are providing physical, emotional and informational support to birthing people and their partners. While we come alongside the medical system in supporting you, we are hired solely by you and amplify your desires. We are not part of a hospital system and can solely focus on you.

Midwives are medical care professionals within a hospital (CNM) or home birth (CPM) setting. They are able to provide medical care for birthing people. They monitor your health in pregnancy, can order tests/labs, ultrasounds, and catch your baby when the time comes (unless you opt to catch them yourself)!

We stand by these Core Values at Doulas of Marquette:

Inclusivity

Doulas of Marquette is committed to being a welcoming and safe space for ALL families. We are committed to supporting and embracing diversity, and being economically inclusive. We also provide a partial scholarship for those on UPHP and WIC.

Empathy

We have an innate and experienced ability to listen to and hear your needs. We meet you where you are at in the joys and in the challenges. We know that everyone is facing battles that no one else knows about, and that kindness matters. We create and cultivate a space for you to be vulnerable and real. Our support is a safe place for you and your partner to land.

Trust

From day-one, we are there for you and your family. We know that a trusting relationship is built over time, and we will consistently show up for you. We make our process at Doulas of Marquette very clear so you can feel confident about what you are choosing and the support you will receive. We feel so honored to be the doulas that hundreds of local families have, and continue to trust as they welcome their child into the world.

Nurturing

We acknowledge that growing and birthing a human is a very vulnerable process. We come alongside you and meet you where you are, just as you are. We help amplify your voice and your desires, we validate your experience, and we bring comfort both physically and emotionally. More than just your body gives birth. It’s your emotions, your mind, and your soul/spirit. We honor all of these parts of you fully throughout the entire process.

Discretion

We respect our client’s privacy. We understand that you are sharing a very private and intimate part of your life with us. We will not discuss any details of your family, your experience, or choices with anyone or on social media. Any testimonials that have been or are shared are with the full permission and approval of clients.

Through many years of consistent professionalism, we have developed very positive relationships with all the doctors (OBs and Family Doctors), midwives, and nurses in the area. The medical staff has seen that we fully support their patients (our clients) in whatever choices they make, and that we aren’t there with an agenda, but to be part of the team. Doctors have commented that we make births better for their patients by decreasing their patients’ anxiety, helping exhaust all the options so their patients aren’t looking back with regrets, and as one client shared, her doctor said, “We love Doulas of Marquette! They remind us all to slow down in birth.”

There are many tools available to birthing people in labor, and the epidural is one of them. Your doula team supports all birthing options and makes sure you have all the information you need to decide what feels right to you at the time. Before an epidural, there are sensations that require focus and intention to work through. We bring comfort measures such as breathing, positions, massage and other tools until an epidural is available to you. After the epidural is placed, we help with positioning, additional birthing options you may encounter, and keeping you emotionally connected to the experience.

Unmedicated Vaginal Birth, Vaginal Birth with an Epidural, Family-Centered Cesarean Birth, Hospital Birth, Induction of Labor, VBAC, Water Birth, Preterm Labor and Delivery, Bereavement Support, Pregnancy after Loss, Birth Processing, Lamaze, Hypnobabies, Birthing from Within, Newborn Care, Bradley Method, Breastfeeding, Bottle feeding, Babywearing, Cloth Diapering, Attachment Parenting, Scheduled Parenting, Belly Binding, Blessing Ways, Nurturing Postpartum Meal Preparation, Normal Infant Sleeping Patterns, Infant CPR, Postpartum Support, Infertility, Car Seat Safety, Adoption, Prenatal Education, Childbirth Education, and much more.

While a few insurance companies cover doula support, many of the most well known insurance companies do not currently cover our services.

We can however accept FSA/HSA accounts and we of course offer payment plans so that our services are more feasible for growing families in our community.