Website: www.hopethedoula.com Phone: (651) 398-0775 Type of Practice: Solo practice Clients per Month: 3 to 4 births and to 2 postpartum families Birth and Postpartum Doula Birth Doula Experience: 2 years and 37 births attended Postpartum Doula Experience: 3 years and 6 families served Area of practice: Saint Paul, MN Travel range: 40 miles Travel comments/restrictions: Languages spoken: English
Birth Doula Certifications
DONA (DONA International)
College Education
BA/BS
Specialized training or previous experience:
Teens
Families conceiving with ART and IVF
VBAC
Multiples
Special needs babies
Prematurity
Twins
High risk
Single parents
Cesarean birth
Waterbirth
Addiction Recovery
Special services available:
Mother blessing celebrations
Acupressure and/or acupuncture in labor
Belly casting
Reduced rates for military members/spouses
Reduced rates for women considering adoption
Antepartum doula
Relevant volunteer or advocacy work: I work as a doula for Everyday Miracles-- an organization that works with at-risk mothers, as well as their sister organization Isis Rising-- a program which provides doulas to incarcerated mothers. I also volunteer at the Childbirth Collective to help educate parents and connect them with natural childbirth resources.
Attends hospital births? All Hospitals I have been to most hospitals in the metro-area and feel comfortable serving mothers as a liaison between them and the hospital staff. I work with your hospital care team to ensure you get the best care possible. Attends birth center births? All Birth Centers I have been to a birth at Morning Star Birth Center, and hope to also be able to attend one at Health Foundations! Attends home births? Any Home Birth I do not currently have home birth experience, and currently offer special rates for families that are looking to have a doula at their home birth. Please contact me if you are interested!
Birth doula fee: $400 to $600 Postpartum doula hourly rate: $20 Fee details: I usually charge $20 an hour, serving you in 4 or 8 hour increments. I can do light housekeeping, organization, infant care while you rest and relax, and help you process your birth experience.
Client Testimonials for Hope Lien
Jake Ladd
My wife and I have had the pleasure of having two babies with Hope as our doula. Going into our first baby, we had no idea what to expect we truly were “deer in headlights”. We read no books, had no personal birth experiences, but we decided to use a doula. We met with Hope a handful of times before the birth, I soon went from a deer to an informed confident Father to be, I learned coping methods, birth terms, I had a birth plan, and I felt fully prepared to be whatever my wife needed when it came time to deliver this baby. Hope has the most calming spirit, she truly creates an environment that is peaceful. Despite all the chaos and noise that can happen in a hospital Hope was our advocate. She would be talking with nurses about how and when to enter (at our request), and making sure my wife was always comfortable, that we both were hydrated, and above all, she was always keeping a sense of calm in the room. I am more than happy with our birth experience, I wouldn’t have changed a thing.
Posted 2/7/2012
Tracy Lair
I was pregnant with my second child and really wanted to experience a natural childbirth. My first birth experience was something I did not want to repeat so I looked into doing pretty much the complete opposite of my first experience. I knew having a doula would help me to reach my goal of having a natural childbirth so I was very open to the idea. It was wonderful to meet with Hope a few times before the birth, she shared a lot of information that helped me to feel more confident in the decisions I was making. She worked hard at finding and answering any questions I had. During the actual labor she was amazing. I labored mostly at home and during that time she came over and supported my husband and I through the contractions and had a lot of great suggestions on how to coop with the pain. Hope has a very calm demeanor and was able to help me relax even through contractions. She continued to support us through the car ride, the short time I labored at the hospital, and through the baby’s birth. I look back on my birth experience fondly and know that a big reason it turned out how I hoped it would was because of the wonderful support Hope gave both my husband and I through the pregnancy, birthing, and post birth experience.
