Intimacy in the Philadelphia area Hospital Setting
I thought today I would address this frequently asked question:
"We don't want a lot of people at our birth and we want this to be a time of deep connection. I'm not sure a doula would be right for us."
It sounds like you are looking for a really intimate birth experience. Have you chosen a home birth? No? You will be at a hospital? Okay, well at a hospital there are going to be a lot of people there, we can't change that. There are nurses, doctors, anesthesiologists, students, custodial workers and more. What we can change is the level of intimacy you experience while at the hospital. As a doula, I help create that space.
How do we help create an intimate space in a literally sterile environment? Before the birth, during our prenatal appointments, we discuss how you would like the environment to feel and what we can bring to help make it feel more intimate and less sterile. When we arrive at the hospital, I help you get all of your belongings set up, set mood-lighting, go find sheets, towels, pillows and a rocking chair. When hospital staff bounce loudly into a room in the middle of an intense contraction and time of quiet intimacy, I help soften that barrier between staff and mom and dad helping them to best navigate how to answer questions and ask questions of staff. Just the calming presence of a doula can really help signal to the staff a higher level of respect for the laboring mother and her partner. Main Line Doulas has experienced a ton of respect from the Philadelphia area hospitals and their staff and really work well to provide that intimacy that our clients are looking for in their birth experience.
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