Congratulations… you’re in the home stretch! What happens now?
When/how to communicate with your doulas in your final weeks of pregnancy:
When/how to communicate with your doulas in your final weeks of pregnancy:
EMAIL
- Prenatal Visits: We'd love to hear from you via email after your last few prenatal appointments with your OB/Midwife in the last month of pregnancy, even if it was a super-boring-nothing-new appointment. Often questions arise at these visits so it’s the perfect time to make sure you have all the info and support you need. We like to know when your next appointment is, if possible… sometimes things come up at these late-pregnancy visits that we can give you a heads up about!
- Non-Urgent Questions: Is there something on your mind that you want to check in with us about, but it can wait a day or 2 to be answered? Email us! Examples might be....
- What's that website you mentioned at our last meeting?
- Is there anything we should plan to pack in our hospital bag? (We have info about that here, by the way!)
- Is there a birth ball at the hospital?
- Weird Third-Trimester Stuff: There's a LOT of stuff happening in your body these last few weeks of pregnancy that can seem like labor is imminent, but often just indicate that you're very, VERY pregnant. Here's a list of things you might experience that may not necessitate a phone call, but we're always happen to provide some reassurance when you need it:
- Bloody show aka mucus-y discharge in your underwear/toilet: We love hearing about mucus plugs and other similarly glamorous things, but even though discharge is a super-common thing as birth approaches, it doesn't always mean you're in labor.
- Nausea or diarrhea: GI upset is often a fact of life in pregnancy, but it may not be a sign of labor (yet!).
- Nesting-type behavior: Feeling like painting a mural on your baby's bedroom wall? Assembling baby furniture? Organizing the pantry? Go ahead and email us about it!
- Restlessness: Can't sit still? Lots of swirly thoughts? Also normal. If you're not feeling super anxious, email's probably fine for this, too. Sometimes just getting it out of your head and into writing can be helpful, and we're here for all of it <3
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TEXT
Our team will be on call for you (24/7) from week 38* until your little one arrives. We'll have a text thread with all of us in it (parents and both doulas). Please text us both when labor gets rolling (day or night!). This helps keep communication flowing between all of us. If one doula is at a birth/ill/unavailable, the other automatically comes on call. We set our text tones for this thread to be LOUD and LONG - it will distract us from conversations, our children, it will wake us up, etc., so please reserve text messages for urgent stuff (more on that below). We aim for a 15-minute response time for texts, but if you don’t hear from us in that time period please call. You are covered!
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PHONE CALL
And if at any point you'd like to schedule a phone call, just say the word! We often have follow-up phone calls with clients in these final weeks of pregnancy to talk about whatever's going on, so don't hesitate to let us know you want to talk. |
If something is bugging you, we want to know about it. Don’t let negative thoughts fester! If you’re pondering something and want to chat about it or need resources, email is perfect. If you’re laying there, anxious and uncomfortable, trying to figure out whether or not labor is progressing and stressing yourself out...text or call us. If you ask yourself more than once "should we text the doulas?".... you probably should.
Becca (404) 931- 6488 / Kate (706) 201-3650
Becca (404) 931- 6488 / Kate (706) 201-3650
EARLY LABOR SURVIVAL GUIDE
OMG it’s happening! Maybe! What do I do?
When do I contact the doulas?
If you are experiencing signs that labor is imminent, like these...
What about timing contractions?
Umm...maybe not so much with that? Timing contractions for hours and hours will make it really difficult to do the super important thing we just talked about (Do Life & Rest). We don’t recommend a specific app, they’re pretty unnecessary and tend to encourage excessive timing :-) Though some people like them because it will log them as you go. Your plain, old-fashioned phone timer will work just fine. So if you’re curious about where your contractions are at any point, bust it out and time 2-3 contractions, make a note, and go back to your regularly scheduled life. Remember, we time contractions from the start of one...to the start of the next.
When to call in the doula(s)
Short answer: When you’re ready for some in-person support.*
Is the pregnant person sick of texting? Are they no longer chatting through contractions? Can the partner/support person tell that contractions are happening from a mile away? Are you out of ideas for how to cope? Are you hoping to stay at home as long as possible before heading to the hospital, but you don't want to have an accidental unplanned homebirth? We want to be there for all of this! We’d much rather come over (to your home or the hospital) before things are feeling chaotic, so remember that it takes about an hour before we’re by your side. Don’t wait until you’re freaking out!
*This is the same for inductions - if you're chilling waiting for contractions to get going, you probably don't need your doula staring at you ;)
When to go to the hospital
That's your call! Some folks are comfortable staying home longer, others prefer to go in sooner. Your provider may have some recommendations about this, but generally the "5-1-1" rule you see online (contractions 5 minutes apart, lasting 1 minute each, for 1 hour) means there's still a lot of laboring left to do... ESPECIALLY for a first-time parent. We will support whatever feels best to you. However, we will always tell you if we think you SHOULD go into the hospital (for example, if we hear you inadvertently pushing with your contractions). This is rare, but it happens :)
If you told us you're comfortable having one of our apprentices shadow your birth, we'll confirm this BEFORE they join us. You always have the right to change your mind, no questions asked or reasons necessary.
When you should call your healthcare provider
Anytime you have a medical question. We will tell you when we think you should call your provider, and we will not provide medical advice or opinions. And if you're really anxious about something feeling off/wrong, we'll always recommend calling your healthcare provider.
- Make it go away: Drink a glass of water and lay down.
Often late in the day, especially when it's warmer weather, contractions are caused by dehydration and gravity, but you can make them go away by drinking a glass of water and laying down. This will almost always be our first recommendation if we hear from you that you've been having contractions all evening :) We promise that you aren't going to miss your labor once it gets going! - If it refuses to go away: Sleep. Distract. Ignore.
Remember...during early labor you’re simply going to “do life” and rest for as long as you can. Try not to give the contractions much attention at this point. Sleep if you can, watch a funny movie, go for a walk, play a board game. Anything you can do to keep your mind off labor is a great idea! We’re not saying this is easy, we’re saying it’s important. Labor is a long process and you’ll want to save your physical and emotional energy for when you really need it. Don't start pulling tools out of the toolbag. Don't go walk a couple of miles. You can't work early labor. The first part of labor is (ironically) not for working, it’s for rest and distraction.
When do I contact the doulas?
If you are experiencing signs that labor is imminent, like these...
- Increasing cramping/back pain/tightness
- Remember that you may not recognize that you're in labor/having contractions until you've BEEN HAVING contractions for a pretty long time (hours!). It's perfectly fine to text us and say "I think I'm having contractions, but I'm not sure." We'll be happy to talk with you about what you're experiencing.
- Contractions (longer, stronger, closer together)
- Contractions usually start out pretty short (maybe 30 seconds long), mild (a tightening of the uterus, usually not uncomfortable) and irregular/spaced out (maybe every 15-20 minutes, or you could have a few very close together but spacing out again when you change positions). The pattern you're looking for is are they getting LONGER (1-1.5 minutes long), STRONGER (they're all uncomfortably and you're having to stop what you're doing to work through them), and CLOSER TOGETHER (immediately prior to pushing they're almost all going to be 2-3 minutes apart).
- Waters breaking (may feel like a trickle)
- You may experience the "pop and a gush" like you see in the movies, but that's actually pretty rare! Hollywood doesn't know much about birth. It's not uncommon for us to hear from folks that they think maybe their water broke... or they peed themselves. Or maybe it's just a LOT of discharge. Either way, and especially if you're anxious about it, please let us know!
What about timing contractions?
Umm...maybe not so much with that? Timing contractions for hours and hours will make it really difficult to do the super important thing we just talked about (Do Life & Rest). We don’t recommend a specific app, they’re pretty unnecessary and tend to encourage excessive timing :-) Though some people like them because it will log them as you go. Your plain, old-fashioned phone timer will work just fine. So if you’re curious about where your contractions are at any point, bust it out and time 2-3 contractions, make a note, and go back to your regularly scheduled life. Remember, we time contractions from the start of one...to the start of the next.
When to call in the doula(s)
Short answer: When you’re ready for some in-person support.*
Is the pregnant person sick of texting? Are they no longer chatting through contractions? Can the partner/support person tell that contractions are happening from a mile away? Are you out of ideas for how to cope? Are you hoping to stay at home as long as possible before heading to the hospital, but you don't want to have an accidental unplanned homebirth? We want to be there for all of this! We’d much rather come over (to your home or the hospital) before things are feeling chaotic, so remember that it takes about an hour before we’re by your side. Don’t wait until you’re freaking out!
*This is the same for inductions - if you're chilling waiting for contractions to get going, you probably don't need your doula staring at you ;)
When to go to the hospital
That's your call! Some folks are comfortable staying home longer, others prefer to go in sooner. Your provider may have some recommendations about this, but generally the "5-1-1" rule you see online (contractions 5 minutes apart, lasting 1 minute each, for 1 hour) means there's still a lot of laboring left to do... ESPECIALLY for a first-time parent. We will support whatever feels best to you. However, we will always tell you if we think you SHOULD go into the hospital (for example, if we hear you inadvertently pushing with your contractions). This is rare, but it happens :)
If you told us you're comfortable having one of our apprentices shadow your birth, we'll confirm this BEFORE they join us. You always have the right to change your mind, no questions asked or reasons necessary.
When you should call your healthcare provider
Anytime you have a medical question. We will tell you when we think you should call your provider, and we will not provide medical advice or opinions. And if you're really anxious about something feeling off/wrong, we'll always recommend calling your healthcare provider.
