I always knew that I wanted to have a doula for labor and delivery when the time came. We chose to deliver at Portsmouth Regional, and coincidentally, they offer a doula program, which I made sure to enroll in. When the time came, we had the night shift on-call doula come in for a few hours, and then Ashley came in for day shift. My labor and delivery was nothing I expected, and my birth plan of "going as naturally as possible, as long as possible" quickly went out the window. Labor was hard and fast. At 1cm I wanted pain medication/management, and then my water broke, wo we augmented with pitocin.
Ashley was phenomenal with me, and was a great resource and relief person for my husband (who doesn't do hospitals, and was having a hard time himself). We did some breathing work, counter pressure, and a lot of laboring in the bath, with candle and aromatherapy. However, I struggled. I did get some IV medication for pain, and I thought I was screaming for an epidural, however, I had actually only asked once.
In 2.5 hours I went from 1-10, and had an unmedicated delivery! Hubby and myself felt so supported through it all, and would hands down utilize doula services again, especially with Ashley!! She even took some beautiful first photos for us to treasure!
-Sheralin
June 29, 2022
Birth Fee: $0 to $2200
Postpartum Rate: $0 to $50