The doula, ​Jenna Stingley​, serves the client and her partner in the following ways:

• Emotional, physical and educational support during pregnancy and birth

• Upon contract signing, email/text/phone support during business hours

• I will be reachable 24/7 beginning three weeks prior to your estimated due date

  (37 weeks)

• Two prenatal visits covering comfort measures and building a birth plan

• During your active birthing phase (please see When to Call), I provide continuous support as defined as:

  • Facilitation of your birth vision, including but not limited to techniques, movement, positioning, comforting touch, aromatherapy, additional music, prayers, scripture, or anything else that feels supportive to you, either as included on your intake form, or as requested in your birthing room

  • Working with your partner to establish and maintain a peaceful and positive environment

  • Working with the staff and providers to establish a positive rapport and to ensure that you have enough information to make informed decisions about your care

• Immediate support after the birth of your baby for one-two hours and assistance with baby's first breastfeeding latch, unless you request otherwise

• Supporting you is my top priority, but unless you request otherwise, I will also take pictures and record information for your birth story if possible (captured only as a keepsake for you)

• Information and support over the phone during discharge from the hospital if needed

• A post-birth home visit to see how you’re adjusting, provide support, answer questions, and give referrals to more advanced support if needed

Limitations

The doula shall not perform any clinical assessments, including but not limited to cervical exams, fetal heart tones or blood pressure checks. The doula shall not speak on behalf of the client unless specifically asked to by the client or her partner, but rather helps facilitate conversation between you and your providers.

Fees

The fee for continuous birth doula support with two prenatal visits and one post-birth visit is $1450; 50% is due upon signing this contract, and the remaining balance is due in full by 37 weeks of pregnancy. If baby is born prior to 37 weeks, payment is due within a week after the birth.

When to Call

From the moment we agree to work together, I’m available to provide support for you and your partner. Call if anything unusual or perceived as unusual comes up during the pregnancy. Call me when you think you notice any birthing signs, even if you do not feel you need me yet. Please allow 2 hours for me to arrive from the time you ask me to come, though I can generally come sooner. When you call, we will decide together if I should come right away or wait awhile and reassess again soon. We will also decide where to meet – at your home or the hospital/birth center. The doula or a back-up doula will provide the services described here unless you request otherwise.

Back-up Doula Policy

An experienced back-up doula may stand in for me in cases such as travel dates, contagious illness, during an extended birth or postpartum support process, or other extenuating circumstances. It is the doula’s responsibility to inform the client in as much advance notice as possible of any known dates or times a back-up will stand in for her. The client compensates the primary doula, who compensates the back-up doula for services rendered. A full-time doula generally serves 3 or more clients per month. Although rare, birthing times may overlap. If this occurs, a back-up doula with a comparable skillset and style of support will provide coverage during this time. I only work with other doulas I know and trust.

Refund Policy

The doula provides prenatal support as desired, continuous availability via phone/text and email during the on-call period beginning at 37 weeks, and joins the family during active birthing time or earlier in some cases. If a doula were to fail to attend a birth or send a back-up, the fee less a $250 prenatal/postpartum support fee is refundable. If unusual circumstances, such as an extremely rapid birth process or extreme weather,* prevent the doula or a back-up doula from being present at the time of birth, the doula joins the family as soon as possible to provide postpartum support and the fee is non-refundable. If a client fails to contact the doula, or if the client chooses after 37 weeks of pregnancy not to utilize birth doula services, the fee is non-refundable, given the booking prevented additional clients from hiring the doula. In the event of a Cesarean birth, the doula provides support equal to what is expected during a vaginal birth. Please see “Client’s Responsibilities” for additional details.

*Extreme weather is defined as an event causing impassable or extremely unsafe road conditions. Every exhaustible effort will be made to allow the doula to arrive safely at the birthing location.

Client’s Responsibilities

The client is responsible for informing her caregiver that a doula will be present at her birth and ensuring the doula will be allowed to support her; in the event of an unexpected or planned Cesarean birth, the client or her partner will be responsible for requesting to allow the doula into the operating room (OR). A doula supports a Cesearan birth during pre- and post-op and will join the family for the birth if allowed. Many hospitals’ policy allows for only one support person at a time in the OR but this can sometimes be overridden, usually by an attending anesthesiologist.

The client is responsible for her own clinical and medical well-being. The client will notify the doula of any pregnancy or non-pregnancy complications should they arise and is responsible for completing the accompanying intake form by providing forthright responses. The client is responsible for making informed decisions and for her own education and research on topics pertaining to her.

Agreement

I/We have read this document describing services to be provided and agree that it reflects the discussion we have had with the doula. I/We do not hold the doula responsible for any unexpected clinical outcomes. I/We understand the doula provides absolutely no clinical advice or assessment. If asked to provide support in the home during birthing time while a care provider is not present, I/We understand the doula has no clinical training or licensure and is unable to act as such.