Compassionate care, professional support
Whether it's your first baby or your fourth, every birth and every family is unique. Detroit Doulas will be by your side, helping to navigate the joys and challenges of pregnancy, birth and the first days of your baby's life.
We want to help your family experience an ideal birth as defined by you. Hospital or home birth, medicated or medicine-free, this is a judgment-free zone! Our mission is for families to feel informed, supported and empowered every step of the way.
BIRTH SERVICES
Our standard package for birth doula services is $1,600 and includes the following:
• 2 Prenatal In-home meetings with Detroit Doulas that will cover:
What to expect in the different stages of labor
What to expect in the moments after birth
Birth plan creation/assistance
Comfort measures during labor
Ways to prepare for baby at home
Discussion of helpful books, movies, websites and apps
Answer any client questions
Exchange of contact information and review of doula contract and expectations
• Unlimited text, phone and e-mail support throughout pregnancy
• Guaranteed on call 24 hours a day for two weeks before expected due date until baby is born
• Text, phone and e-mail support in early labor
• Attendance and support throughout labor and birth and 1-2 hours after birth with no time limit or overtime charges.
• One postpartum visit to review birth process, answer questions, offer support and make referrals as necessary.
POSTPARTUM SERVICES
Additional prenatal and postpartum doula services are available for $35/hour. There is a 4-hour minimum per shift for daytime work and an 8-hour minimum for overnight work.
This can include additional prenatal preparation and organization, shower registry and birth bag assistance before birth. Postpartum care can include general assistance with infant care so mom can nap, shower or get some fresh air, general companionship, light house cleaning, cooking, running errands and more. Overnight postpartum services, both in the hospital and in the weeks after birth are available, depending on availablility.
Private yoga with Alex and personal chef services with Kirsten also are available.
PLACENTA ENCAPSULATION
Detroit Doulas offers placenta encapsulation services for $300 for non-birth clients and $275 for birth clients. We will process and encapsulate your placenta within 3-4 days of your birth and will deliver it to you as soon as possible, to assist in your postpartum healing.
If you are not a birth doula client, we can connect with you or someone from your team to obtain your placenta soon after birth. Due to rising fuel prices, travel over 30 miles from encapsulators home will incur a charge of 50 cents per additional mile for non-birth or postpartum doula clients.
FAQS
WHY SHOULD I HIRE A DOULA?
In addition to planning and preparing you before the birth, a doula helps guide you in communication with your team of doctors, midwives and nurses. She is trained to support you physically and emotionally during your labor and birth, using soothing techniques to ease discomfort and promote safe progress. She will offer information about procedures and options available and, though medical practitioners will come and go as they tend to other patients, your doula never leaves your side.
WHEN SHOULD I HIRE A DOULA?
The ideal time to hire a doula is 5 to 6 months before your estimated due date, but it’s never too late! Our schedule can fill up -- and we can only take on so many births a month -- so the earlier the better though.
CAN I BENEFIT FROM A DOULA IF I AM HAVING A C-SECTION OR AM CONSIDERING PAIN MEDICATION?
Yes. Even in a surgical setting, a doula is there to explain what is happening and guide you through the process of a C-section. With the permission of the doctor or anesthesiologist, she can even accompany you into the operating room in most non-emergency cases.
A doula is helpful and supportive of all births, whether or not the expectant mother plans on using pain medications. A doula offers information on all procedures and potential scenarios, including pain medication and possible side effects and interventions. She will discuss, support and empower you to advocate for your decisions and preferences. She appreciates that your plans may change and such choices as whether to use pain medication are individual to each expectant family.
WHO WILL ATTEND MY BIRTH?
Two birth doulas are assigned to each birth and you will get to know them during your prenatal appointments. They share an on call schedule, so who will attend your birth depends on the calendar and when your baby arrives.
WILL MY INSURANCE COVER DOULA SERVICES?
Some insurance companies will reimburse you for “Out of Network” care services or allow you to use your HSA or FSA account. Check with your provider.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2023, Michigan now allows doulas to accept Medicaid. Detroit Doulas will be registering with the state to accept Medicaid as soon as the State releases information on how to do so.
WHO WE ARE
KATHLEEN FORTUNATE
Postpartum Doula
Kathleen Fortunate joined Detroit Doulas in the fall of 2022. She has worked with families of all sizes and structures during her 20 years of caregiving, witnessing the many joys and struggles families experience when welcoming a new baby. As a queer postpartum doula, she believes everyone has a fundamental right to safe, healthy and comprehensive care, especially gestational parents of marginalized communities. It is her goal to provide the best, most inclusive support to ensure all members of the family are thriving.
ALEX IDZIAK
Birth Doula
Detroit Doulas co-founder Alex Idziak was inspired to get involved in birth work after a friend suggested the energy she brought while assisting in her birth should be shared with others. She did her birth and postpartum training through DONA International at Ann Arbor’s Lifespan Doulas, formerly Center for the Childbearing Year. With every birth she receives more validation that birth work is her calling. In addition to doula work, Alex is passionate about teaching yoga.
KIRSTEN JOHNSON
Birth Doula and Placenta Encapsulator
Co-Founder Kirsten Johnson also did her birth and postpartum training at Lifespan Doulas in Ann Arbor. She became interested in birth work after stumbling upon the documentary Business of Being Born more than a decade ago. After the birth of her daughter, James, in 2014 with the support of an incredible team that included a doula, she felt called to become one. Kirsten also is the personal chef behind Fresh Chef Detroit, which she opened in 2011 and is attending Wayne State University to become a labor and delivery nurse.
LISA ROMERO
Birth and Postpartum Doula
Lisa Romero, who also did her training at Center for the Childbearing Year in 2018, joined Detroit Doulas in 2022. After hiring a doula for the birth of her second child, Lisa felt an undeniable calling to offer that support to other expecting and postpartum parents. She believes knowledge, support and voice is everything when it comes to your body and choices, and strives to guide and support her clients to have an empowered birth and postpartum journey. Lisa also enjoys her other work, providing advocacy and empowerment workshops for parents of children with special needs to advocate for their children and positive change within the children’s mental health system.
