Doulas provide emotional, physical, and informational support to women in late pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. The word "Doula" comes from the Ancient Greek word for "Woman who Serves."
Birth Doulas are trained specifically to prepare women for childbirth and assist at the birth itself in a non-medical role, whereas Postpartum Doulas are trained to provide support to the mother and infant(s) in the weeks and sometimes months following the birth.
There are many Birth and Postpartum Doulas offering their services in the Davis area. As expectant parents you should contact a few different local doulas and arrange for an interview. The initial interview should be free but it is always good to clarify that ahead of time. It is important that you choose the doula that is best for you and for your family. Trust your instincts and don't be afraid to ask lots of questions. For a few tips on how to choose a doula check out the article "How to Choose a Doula". Many doulas can only by found by word-of-mouth. If you are having trouble finding a doula you connect with, ask around—someone you know has the number for a local doula they love.
- BABIES Postpartum Doula Services Empowering mothers and families with new babies by offering a variety of services from breastfeeding support to helping mom get that needed sleep and shower. BABIES Postpartum Doula Services will be the rock you need as you start life with your baby. 916-525-7596 [email protected]
- Birth Song Doula Services Brittany Torke is a DONA trained birth doula providing services to the greater Sacramento Area, including Woodland and Davis.
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Cyndi's Doula Service Cyndi Whitwell is a professional birth doula with over 20 years experience. She works with families in the Greater Sacramento area, including Davis. She is DONA certified.
- 10/24/10: I had my baby on 10/5/10 and Cyndi was my doula. She was FANTASTIC! I would highly reccommend her.- jsbmsb
- 04/24/13: Cyndi was our doula when my daughter was born in 2010 as well. She was amazing. I was never really sold on doulas, even though my wife insisted we enlist one. She was so right. Cyndi was the calm, comforting voice that made the entire labor so much smoother than it otherwise would've been. She also was very helpful when deciphering the different steps doctors and midwives wanted to take with my wife. I cannot recommend her enough, except to say we are expecting again and have already enlisted Cyndi's help for baby number 2. —BrianPakpour
- 11/05/15: Cyndi is still awesome. Check her yelp page. Our labor experience was so much more positive because of Cyndi. She is very familiar with the Sutter Davis hospital (and all area hospitals) along with most of the staff there, So she brings a unique ability to advocate and advise, especially in unexpected situations. No question that doulas are helpful, and Cyndi has to be among the best. -AD
- 06/18/18: Cyndi was our doula in 2015 when we birthed our first child. We actually didn’t think we needed a doula before being in the hospital as ours (Sutter Davis) offers volunteer doulas when in labor. So little did we know. I was in extreme pain and was worrying to no end when the contractions got real. We took a prep course, but nothing really prepares you for this until you’ve experienced it first-hand, especially when it’s a unique situation, and we definitely had one of those: baby decided to turn over to sunny-side up last minute and was also a really big baby. My husband found Cyndi through this Wiki site and called her. How fortunate were we to have her be so willing to help despite the last-minute call, and be available no less with her level of expertise, with a really reasonable bill! Her calming voice and suggestions to take certain positions to relieve my aches and pains really helped, I think, as my daaughter was born naturally and healthy despite getting her shoulders stuck on her way out due to her size. This year, in 2018, we birthed our second child. We got in touch with Cyndi again for sure. And we are NOT sorry we did so. Learning from the past last-minute experience, we reached out to Cyndi in better time and was able to reap the benefits of having her on call well before labor hit. She even had to juggle between two client births at the same hospital on the same night our newborn son came to this world, but this did not stop her from being available to us and seeing our son through to his successful (and much faster!) all-natural birth. I highly recommend her. Thank you Cyndi!
- Davis Mama Doula Gerrit Michael has raised her 4 children in Davis since 2002 and is now providing postpartum doula, night time care and lactation education services to new moms and their families in Yolo, Solano and parts of Sacramento counties.
- Lovin Heart Birth Doula Services Erin Lovin is a CBI certified birth doula providing services to the greater Sacramento Area and Yolo County. She believes that it is important for a woman to feel empowered and in control of her birth experience no matter what her birth choices are.
- Welcome Home Doula Services is a nonprofit organization with doulas serving Davis and surrounding areas (including Sacramento). They offer prenatal, birth, and postpartum support, as well as childbirth preparation courses, pelvic health courses, doula trainings, and placenta encapsulation. They provide sliding scale fees through their Apprentice Doula Program to low-income mothers as well.
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