Katie is the creator of the Kopa Birth Method and I had the privilege of being her doula and photographer for her latest birth. She recently wrote a post about her experience with a Doula during birth and I wanted to share it with all of you.
Some things that I wanted to add to the post are;
Labor can present differently, there are many factors that can go into the contraction pattern and sometimes we just need to trust our gut. When I got to Katie's house I noticed that her contractions were spaced out to 6-8 minutes apart if she sat or laid down. But, the intensity of her pain during those contractions matched her intensity of deep active labor that I had witnessed in her before. I decided to base my recommendations on that intensity and not timing, we left for the hospital and she arrived at 9cm.
Sometimes pitocin can be a very useful tool. In this case, I knew that we would have a baby within 10 minutes if she just had a whiff of pitocin and that is why I suggested it.
Heat can be very helpful on the lower belly, if you do not have a heat pack available, take a diaper, cut off the top on one side and fill the diaper with hot water, then put the diaper in a ziplock bag, you have a ready made heat pack that lasts a long time.
I hope you all enjoy her story and perspective!
www.qcitydoula.com