Utilizing the services of a doula during pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum can make a big difference in parents’ experiences of welcoming a new baby into the world. Doula care can improve the health of families in the community through support during pregnancy and postpartum. Doulas are often expensive and difficult to find, but Birthwell Partners in Alabama is a non-profit organization that trains community doulas who can provide support to under-resourced pregnant women in the central Alabama area.
About Birthwell Partners
Birthwell Partners, a non-profit organization in Birmingham, Alabama, trains community doulas who have served pregnant women in the community for over ten years. Birthwell Partners seeks to help every birthing person feel educated, respected, and empowered during the birthing process and beyond. Doulas provide support during pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum.
Birthwell Partners facilitates doula training and provides affordable doula care to make access to doula services more equitable and accessible to all families. A doula provides informational, emotional, and physical support to families before, during, and after delivery.
Using the services of a doula has many incredible benefits. These benefits include improving birth outcomes, reducing the need for interventions during labor, reducing the likelihood of a C-section, making the birth experience more relaxed and positive, and lowering the risk of postpartum depression. Doulas also assist families with bonding, newborn care, and breastfeeding. The doula’s impact can have a lasting positive influence on a family’s experience of welcoming a new baby into the world.
Birthwell Partners was founded in 2011 by Dalia and Susan, whose goal was to start a program that would support families who give birth in Birmingham hospitals. Their doula program was founded on the ideal of providing one-on-one, cost-effective, impactful support to families.
Services
Birthwell Partners offers doula services during pregnancy and beyond. Doulas help families make informed decisions during pregnancy and delivery, give physical and emotional support during labor, and provide assistance with breastfeeding and bonding. A doula’s services help families achieve pregnancy, labor, and postpartum goals.
- During pregnancy: Ask birth and labor questions, make a birth plan, and get to know your doula.
- During labor and delivery: A doula will stay with you throughout your entire labor and delivery. Doulas provide physical support, emotional support, and education during labor. After delivery, the doula will also help the mother begin breastfeeding her little one.
- Postpartum: Your doula will connect with you after you leave the hospital to provide breastfeeding support and answer any questions about newborn care.
Doula care should be set up at least 2-3 months before delivery.
Birthwell Partners also offer doula training and training in breastfeeding education and health advocacy. DONA certification requires birth doula training and breastfeeding support training. Currently, courses cost between $40-$600. Dalia Abrams, a DONA-certified birth doula, Lamaze certified childbirth educator, and certified lactation counselor, teaches the courses.
Specialty
Earthy Birth Fair and Family Wellness Expo occurs annually. This expo is a great way to learn about wellness products and services in the Birmingham area. This one-of-a-kind educational and shopping event features many vendors who provide holistic products and birthing education for families.
Birthwell Partners
A doula’s services during pregnancy and postpartum can significantly improve a family’s overall birth experience. However, doulas are often hard to find and can be costly! Birthwell Partners seeks to make doula services more affordable and accessible to families in the Birmingham, Alabama, community.
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