My Doula

In my opinion, every pregnant woman should have a doula. Or maybe they should have my doula - I just love her!
For those of you who might not know what a doula is (I only found out myself through a friends' blog about 2 years ago), I've found an explanation from the "medical dictionary website" that sums it up pretty well.
"dou-la: A non-medical assistant in childbirth. A doula is not the father but is usually a woman who is experienced in childbirth. The role of the doula is to provide the mother with physical and emotional assistance before, during, or after childbirth."
I feel so lucky that I met a wonderful doula who agreed to take Jamie and me on as her clients. She is very knowledgeable, helpful, warm and sincere in her desire to help me have the best childbirth experience possible. Because of her, I have learned so much about proper nutrition and exercise in pregnancy. More importantly though, I've learned about all my options when it comes to drugs, procedures, tests and what it will be like to deliver at the hospital. She has loaned me some wonderful books, suggested movies to watch and is available 24/7 for any questions that I might have.
When the big day finally arrives, she'll be there with pain management techniques, encouraging words and support for Jamie (she'll even make sure our cats have food and water before we go to the hospital. She's that awesome!). Once the baby arrives, she'll be there to help me breastfeed, she'll take pictures and she'll even write out a birth story for me.
I feel so much more confident about experiencing labour and childbirth now that I know she'll be there to help me and Jamie. I think all first-time mothers should feel so lucky!