What is a doula? How can they support me?
A companion, a coach, an advocate and your village — a doula is a nonmedical person who assists women as well as her spouse and family before, during or after childbirth by providing physical assistance and emotional support.
Doulas are usually paid for her services — typically, prenatal visits, postpartum visits and breastfeeding support — under contract. She helps create a birth plan with a client’s family and answer any questions that they may have throughout the entire process.
A BBC Perinatal Support Person is a professional doula and highly trained support person in childbirth and essential health needs. She not only provides emotional support, but also physical and educational assistance to a mother and her partner who are expecting, experiencing labor or have recently given birth. As a member of the birth team, the PSP’s purpose is to do all a normal work a doula does, while addressing the basic, grassroots issues of infant mortality, such as isolation, instability, deficient education, underdeveloped parenting skills, risky behavior and lifestyle choices, and poor nutrition. Bringing a sense of empowerment and hopefulness to an individual and to the community, self-awareness issues, like self-love, stress management, self-esteem and self-actualization, are also addressed.
Our birth workers are neighbors, friends, sisters and mentors acting with the goal to help every woman have a safe, memorable and empowering birthing experience. Then, continuing to support the family up to a year after the baby is born, easing the transition of a new child into a family dynamic.
BBC’s model is based on CEASE, an idea rooted in Culture, Education, Advocacy, Support and Engagement. The model takes a two-prong approach, allowing for economic development and the creation of a more equitable future by:
Employing local women at high wages + Providing support to women in need = Increasing the human and social capital within a single community.
Our PSPs provide all the basic support and functions of a doula in addition to guiding women and their families through the Perinatal Pipeline which connects the dots of life.
PERINATAL CARE LEVELS
All levels of care provide assistance in creating and facilitating an educated birthing plan for labor and delivery. Perinatal Support Specialists (PSP) provide mothers and families with evidence-based information and support on infant feeding, emotional and physical recovery from birth, mother-baby bonding, infant soothing and basic newborn care.