Big things are happening in NWA!

Between the Improving Birth National Rally for Change on September 3rd and the super awesome Meet the Doulas of NWA event on September 22nd, my time is fully of planning right now. I'm learning to navigate media/press releases and researching the beginning steps for a non-profit. It's been pretty incredible to watch what was once just a little idea begin to grow into a community event that people are getting excited about. Once I can manage to get a non-profit doula group in this area, I can make a foray into grant applications in the hope of finding a way for every woman to have access to a doula, regardless of their income.

I've now been to 15 births and can say I've had a birth at every local hospital. I'm also gearing up to take my NCLEX (and add R.N behind my name) in just a few weeks. It looks like I will be trying to secure a local nursing job, at least part time, so tomorrow I will be meeting with two fellow doulas to discuss back up arrangements. It's exciting to have the freedom to take on more clients and know that even with a nursing job, I can continue to do what I love. My pricing is going to get a revamp in the very near future to reflect my nursing degree, pending certification, and to add some package deals with a few more services than I currently offer.

I need to get on top of creating some releases to send to my last three clients so I can post their birth stories up here! Stay tuned for that!

The Birth Survey

Copied from their website, their main goal is "to give women a mechanism that can be used to share information about maternity care practices in their community while at the same time providing practitioners and institutions feedback for quality of care improvement efforts."


This is already a pretty good resource for women in our area to check out what others have said about their care providers. I also try and encourage my clients to go here after their birth and rate their doctors to gather further data. Let's all do our part to help provide women with accurate, objective data so that they can make truly informed decisions about their care providers.

New Website

Please visit my newly designed website over at simplysupportive.net!

I look forward to using this more in the future to talk about new research pertaining to pregnancy and birth, post approved birth stories, and answer some frequently asked questions.

More forward movement!

Only 2 finals stand between me and the completion of this part of my always continuing education. Although I do not plan to do anything but doula (and maybe help out with IVs at homebirths when needed), I am so very thankful for the time I have put into getting "R.N" added behind my name. I have seen a huge difference in my confidence level since the start of nursing school. I've spoke about my passions in front of hundreds of people and found a side of myself that I never knew existed. The way that it has affected my practice and my comfort level in the hospital setting is immeasurable. It has also had the added benefit of really increasing the amount of respect I get from the hospital staff.

Also, I applied today for a National Provider Identification number (NPI #) which will allow my clients to bill their insurance to cover my fee if they are one of the lucky ones with an insurance company that enjoys the evidenced based practice that shows that births attended by doulas involve fewer interventions and are less likely to end in c-sections, thus saving them money!

I am just about giddy with all the excitement of watching my dreams unfold in front of me right now!

International Doula Month

May is International Doula Month and I am very excited for a boost in stories about doulas!

-I would like to add that I am booked through mid-July right now but if you are due between now and then, you are still welcome to email me for other recommendations in the area.

Added paperwork

Hey everyone! I love that my summer is just filling up with births! I have decided to go ahead and post both my contract and prenatal questionnaire which I go over at every first meeting. You will get a copy to take home and go over with your partner, if applicable, and then if you decide to contract me as your doula, I will sign the contract with you at our second meeting.

Also, I graduate nursing school in 21 days!!!! I will breathe a big sigh of relief when I get to add those two little letters to the end of my name. One step closer to being a nurse-midwife and being able to serve childbearing women in a more clinical capacity. And it means I will finally have some time to finish this last birth story that is way over due and finally get my real website up and running. Stay tuned!

Moving along

I had the pleasure of attending an amazing birth last week and hopefully I will be posting their birth story soon (after I get permission of course!) I don't have any clients scheduled during April or May due to a hectic schedule full of traveling out of state, a small surgery, and then nursing school graduation (which falls on the same day that my husband and I are renewing our vows.) My newly updated contract and birth questionnaire forms will soon be available online as soon as I have a second to breathe and get my website up and going.