What Is a Labour Doula?(And what it really means to be supported through birth)

As your doula, I’m your pre-Google check-in, your steady hand in the swirl of information, your pregnancy best friend, your personal yoga coach, your breath guide, your quiet spiritual support, your voice when you’re unsure how to find yours. I’m the one who listens without judgment, who walks beside you as you prepare to meet your baby, and who stays beside you — unwavering — through every wave of labour.

So... What Is a Labour Doula?

A labour doula (also known as a birth doula) is a trained professional who provides continuous emotional, physical, and informational support during pregnancy, labour, and birth. Unlike your doctor or midwife, a doula doesn’t perform clinical tasks like checking dilation or monitoring the baby’s heart rate — instead, my full attention is on you: your comfort, your choices, your experience.

I work with you (and your partner, if you have one) to explore your fears, questions, birth preferences, and desires. Together, we build a foundation of confidence and clarity. I support you in preparing for birth your way — helping you advocate for what you need and feel informed and empowered within the healthcare system, whether you’re planning a hospital birth, home birth, or birth center experience.

What Does a Doula Do During Labour?

Think of me as the calm in the storm, guiding you through the birthing process with grounded presence, compassionate care, and practical tools. Birth can be raw and unpredictable — but with the right support, it can also be empowering, connected, and even beautiful.

As your doula, I:

• Provide continuous labour support — no shift changes, no distractions, just unwavering presence

• Offer physical comfort techniques like massage, counter-pressure, and rebozo support

• Suggest optimal labour positions and movement to support baby’s descent and your comfort

• Guide your breath, sound, and rhythm to stay grounded through intensity

• Help you navigate decisions with evidence-based information and advocacy support

• Encourage and coach your partner so they can support you with confidence

• Maintain a calm, respectful environment — wherever and however you choose to birth

  
  

Whether I’m offering a firm hand on your back or quietly holding space nearby, I stay attuned to what you need — adapting moment to moment as labour unfolds.

Why Hire a Birth Doula?

Hiring a birth doula has been shown to:

• Reduce labour length

• Lower the likelihood of interventions like cesarean birth or epidurals

• Increase positive birth experiences and satisfaction

• Improve bonding and postpartum outcomes

  
  

But beyond statistics, the real value is this: you feel supported, respected, and not alone. You feel prepared to make decisions. You feel grounded in your body. You feel like the birth experience belongs to you — not just the system.

Birth Is Natural, Not Always Predictable — But It Can Be Empowering

Birth is a wild, instinctual, human experience. It isn’t something we control, but it is something we can prepare for. And it’s something you deserve to feel supported through — physically, emotionally, spiritually, and practically.

That’s what I offer. Support that doesn’t leave your side. Care that adapts to you.Knowledge that helps you make clear, confident choices.And presence that reminds you how powerful you really are.

If you're exploring doula support or wondering how it fits with your birth plan, I’d love to connect. Whether you’re birthing in a hospital or at home, working with midwives or OBs, curious or confident — you’re not meant to do this alone.

Let’s talk about what support can look like for you.This is your birth. Your body. Your experience. And I’m here to honour that — every step of the way.

With love,

Kristen

Labour Doula | Prenatal Yoga Instructor | Holistic Birth Support