Mama's Friend Birth Services

🤍 Is a doula beneficial if you are planning an epidural birth?….the answer is Yes! 🤍

~One of the things we hear a lot is “Oh I don’t need a doula, I’m having an epidural” and gosh, that just makes no sense to me. First off, I want to ask…. “How do you know? How do you know you *want* an epidural? How do you know you *don’t want* an epidural? You have no idea what labor will be for you, this time, for this birth…..will you walk in at 8 cm perfectly fine or will you be in labor 2-3 days? How do you know? The point is the epidural is *always* an option, for anyone, anytime. It is always available. Contrary to popular belief you don’t need to pre-choose if you want an epidural or not beforehand. It’s not about natural birth……or an epidural birth or even a c-section birth. It’s about getting the best birth experience for YOU and we have no idea what that will be…..you have no idea what that will be. Of course you can create your birth “preferences” plan (which we do encourage!) ….. which the main goal with that is to become a part of your own birth experience, to be a decision maker regarding options and choices……but always know that things can change. Go with the flow and know your options is what we say on repeat. So what are the benefits to having a doula if you do plan to have an epidural or if you decide to get one mid way thru labor?

Benefit #1: For best case scenario it is best to wait til 6cm before getting an epidural to ensure your body is in active labor and for some that can take hours and days of contractions. Doulas help with relaxation techniques, breathing techniques (controlled breathing), position changes, facilitating optimal fetal positioning as well as hands on comfort measures such as hip squeezes, counterpressure, effleurage, massage etc to ease you thru early labor contractions more comfortably.

Benefit #2: Once you get the epidural, doulas can help facilitate position changes….yes you can change positions with an epidural including on hands and knees (as seen below). There is dozens of options depending on baby’s position and station etc. Ideally rotating positions every 30+ minutes or so is best for progress.

Benefit #3: Once an epidural goes in and you can no longer physically feel what your body is going thru, it becomes an emotional mind game. So many times once the epidural is in the emotional support drops off and mamas feel so alone. We find that mama’s want to *talk* thru what they are feeling as a way to still connect emotionally to their labor and their baby. Essentially talk thru their labor as a way to still feel a part of it. Proper support and encouragement has been proven to show better birth outcomes.

Benefit #4: Sometimes…..epidurals don’t work. As much as we don’t want to think about that, it happens. It helps if you have someone who is solely there to provide comfort measures and relaxation techniques to ease the contractions.

Moral of the story: Doulas are beneficial in ALL types of births 🤍🤍

Welcome sweet Holden 🖤 His amazing mama ROCKED the VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) birth of her gorgeous little guy! This incredibly determined mama knew she wanted a different experience than she had with her first birth so she proactively went about this pregnancy differently. She started by changing to a more supportive provider midway thru pregnancy, got her pregnancy nutrition up to par, worked on optimal fetal positioning and took Mama’s Friend 7 week Childbirth Education class series. As she battled thru several pregnancy complications, she remained steady….taking it one day at a time, getting her facts and working thru her options, all while keeping an open mind. Well, it worked! An incredible vaginal birth after cesarean 🙌 birth experience in which she felt completely listened to, respected and supported throughout. Congratulations Nicole and Bobby, we are so happy for you! Thank you for allowing Mama’s Friend the honor of being a part of Holden’s incredible birth-day 🖤🖤

🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

🖤🤍 Updated Availability! 🤍🖤
**2022 is becoming BOOKED UP!**

~ Space is limited for birth doula services as well as our Childbirth Education Classes (we can fit 12 couples each 7 week session) If you wish to get on our fall schedule or in our summer classes contact us ASAP to secure your dates ~

🖤🤍Remember…..we offer a free no obligation consultation where we meet with you to review your options, talk about the services we provide and what we offer as well as give you a chance to see if we are a good fit for you! 🤍🖤

Introducing Ms. Charleigh 🌷 Her amazing mama ROCKED the all-natural, intervention-free, epidural-free birth of her sweetheart baby GIRL….a surprise until her grand arrival! After a quick start into labor, this incredibly strong + determined ROCKSTAR mama worked thru contractions for 8+ hours @ 9-10 cm before Ms. Charleigh finally decided to grace us with her presence, wowza!! Congratulations Sara & Zach, we are so so happy for you 🤍 Thank you for allowing Mama’s Friend the honor of being a part of Charleigh’s beautiful birth-day🌷🤍

Welcome to the Mama’s Friend family sweet Lydia Rae ☀️ Her amazing mama….our very own Dr. Jessica @ Family First Chiropractic, ROCKED the family centered cesarean birth of her tiny little peanut 🥜, weighing just 5 lbs 5 oz. After a tumultuous pregnancy, riddled with multiple unexpected complications that kept everyone on their toes, the decision was made to bring sweet Lydia earth side a whole 5 weeks early. With less than 3 hours in the NICU, her tiny but mighty self busted out of that NICU and surprised everyone by immediately latching, gaining & thriving! Wowza!! Mama’s peaceful strength throughout her rocky pregnancy and birth was incredible to see. Congratulations Jessica & Bryan, we are so incredibly happy for you. Thank you for allowing Mama’s Friend the honor of being a part of Lydia’s precious birth-day as well as big brother Brady’s 6 years ago and big sister Myla’s 3 years ago! 🤍🤍

🌟 Mama’s Friend has been BUSY! 🌟
Meet the 12 precious faces we have had the pleasure to welcome into the world over just 4 short weeks! Wow! 12 perfect babies (4 boys and 8 girls) from 12 AMAZING mamas!
🤍 We are so incredibly thankful and blessed! 🤍


Special Thanks to Cyndi Jones @ Cjs Custom Designs for the “My Doula ❤️’s Me” onesies!
https://www.facebook.com/Cjs-Custom-Designs-270546567153621/

Meet sweet Willow Love 🌾 Her amazing mama ROCKED the VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) birth of her precious baby girl 🤍 After experiencing 2 previously traumatic birth experiences, this incredibly strong mama was determined to do things a different way. She sought out a supportive provider, hired Mama’s Friend doulas, worked hard to remain healthy thru her pregnancy and got educated on all of her options. She wanted the complete say-so this time around, to be the decision maker when it came to the course her labor/delivery was going to take. Ultimate goal…..a peaceful, healing VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) birth experience! Goal achieved! Her unwavering peaceful strength throughout was amazing to see 🤍Congratulations Josephine and Cameron, we are so happy for you. Thank you for allowing Mama’s Friend the honor of being a part of Willow’s beautiful birth-day 🤍🌾

Introducing sweet Rowan 🌼 Her amazing mama ROCKED the all-natural, intervention-free, drug-free birth of her precious baby GIRL….a surprise until her grand arrival! This sweet girl was super comfy in her mama’s belly and decided to stay in until the last minute at 41.4 weeks but once she decided to come, she sure made it exciting! With less than 2.5 hours of active labor that included an expedient drive with flashers from Enterprise to Dothan, Ms. Rowan made her debut just 30 min after arriving to the hospital! Wowza! Mama’s peaceful strength and determination throughout was incredible to see. Congratulations Kait and Sean, we are so happy for you! Thank you for allowing Mama’s Friend the honor of being a part of Rowan’s beautiful birth-day 🤍🌼

Welcome to the world sweet Lynlee Kate 🤍 Her amazing mama ROCKED the all-natural, epidural-free birth of her teeny tiny baby girl…..weighing just 5 lbs 9 oz! After some unforeseen circumstances warranted a medical induction @ just 37 weeks, this incredibly strong mama calmly labored all natural (after just a slight nudge, her body kicked in all on its own) …with the unwaivering support of her husband (and doula on Zoom 😉) for 14 hours. Her peaceful strength, determination and the pure love shown through the labor/birth was awe inspiring to see 🤍
~Ms. Lynlee spent a week in the NICU, for a bit of support, but is home and thriving now 🤍
Congratulations Katie & Zach, we are so happy for you! Thank you for allowing Mama’s Friend the honor of being a part of Lynlee’s sweet birth-day 🤍💗
🗣 Shout-out to Jessica Bullock Scarratt @ Family First Chiropractic for providing weekly care to this sweet mama through her entire pregnancy! She said she could not have survived (as happily and pain free😉) without it!