Doula services
Giving birth to my first son in 2007, which I am so grateful and humbled to have been able to do naturally in the peace of our home, set me on a long-standing interest in women's health, motherhood, midwifery, and supporting women going through this time (more of my story in the About me section). Now, after years spent caring for my own children and doing scientific work in the field of environmental chemistry, I am starting with the official doula profession and I am currently a mentored labor and postpartum doula in the Ammadula organization.
Mentored doula - what does it mean?
A mentored doula is a doula-student in the early stages of her practice who is on her way to becoming a certified doula.
Accompanying by a mentored doula has some specifics for clients. The first is, of course, the lower experience of the doula-student in the early stages of her practice. However, each doula-student works closely with her mentor, an experienced certified doula who is available to her when needed. The specifity for clients is in the need to fill in an evaluation form after the end of the cooperation with their doula, which will be available to the doula-student's mentor and will serve as a basis for her later certification. These aspects are then counterbalanced in the case of mentored doulas by a lower price for the clients than in the case of fully certified doulas.
How does it work and what can I offer you?
If you are interested in cooperation, we will first arrange an initial non-binding introductory meeting (free of charge), which can take place online or in person at a café at the locality Prague 9 - Prosek. It is ideal if both partners can attend the meeting.
If we agree on mutual cooperation, 3 meetings will follow during the pregnancy, the content of which will be fully adapted to your wishes and needs. Usually, right at the start of our collaboration, we'll prepare a draft outline of the content for each meeting so that you have a rough "roadmap" from the beginning, and an overview of the topics we'll cover and what lies ahead. For first-time parents, we usually go through preparation for childbirth and breastfeeding step by step during our sessions, including handling the baby. I can help you choose a maternity hospital, create a birth plan, and navigate the available options for pain relief techniques, etc. Especially in the case of English-speaking clients, I also often help with navigation in the Czech healthcare system, etc. At the same time, however, we stay in constant contact throughout our collaboration, and we continuously adapt the content of our sessions to your current needs and questions.
In addition to my work as a doula, I specialise in craniosacral therapy and massage (including prenatal massage). Craniosacral therapy is a wonderful technique that can help, for example, with relaxing and harmonizing the nervous system before childbirth, as well as with processing previous stressful situations, postpartum recovery, and more. I also work with rebozo scarves and offer my clients free rental of a scarf for the third trimester.
I'm on call from the 38th week until delivery. I can accompany you both during a birth in a hospital facility and during a home birth, if the birth is also accompanied by a professional midwife. During labor, I can support you with techniques such as rebozo, massage, aromatherapy, craniosacral therapy or herbal steaming. After the birth, there is a postpartum consultation designed to help you process the birth experience and provide further support as needed, such as lactation counselling (I am also a certified lactation consultant with the MAMILA nonprofit organisation), babywearing, handling techniques, etc.
Pregnancy and childbirth are some of the most powerful natural transformational events in a woman's life. As such, they can be more deeply anchored, experienced and integrated through the rites of passage associated with this period. If you are interested, I would be happy to design and organize a prenatal or postpartum ritual for you.
Childbirth package (10 000,- CZK) includes:
- Initial free non-binding meeting (30 - 40 min) - online or in a café in the locality Prague 9 - Prosek
- 3 appointments during pregnancy (120 min)
- Brief consultations via phone/WhatsApp/email if needed
- On-call from 38 weeks to delivery
- Accompaniment to labor at the maternity hospital or during a home birth accompanied by a professional midwife
- 1 postpartum appointment
- Rental of a rebozo scarf in the 3rd trimester
A receipt can be issued for lactation counseling and pregnancy massage for reimbursement by the health insurance - see more information in Price list.