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We are a group of doulas, midwives and related care providers
who are linked together as members of the Green River Doula
Network. We serve the Pioneer Valley (Hampshire, Franklin
and Hampden counties) as well as eastern Berkshire county,
southern Vermont and southern New Hampshire.
GRDN provides an informational listing service. Anyone
is welcome to contact GRDN members who are listed here.
We intend our listings to provide easy access to birth and
postpartum doulas. This is not a referral service, but is
an inclusive list of network members. For more information,
feel free to contact GRDN.
Mission Statement
The Green River Doula Network was founded to provide easy
access to doula services for area families and to provide
professional support. We provide resources, information,
and referrals for those seeking labor support or postpartum
doulas. Our goal is to expand awareness in the wider community
about the positive emotional and physical effects that doulas
can bring to the labor and birth experience, and to provide
educational opportunities for doulas.
About Doulas
Postpartum Doulas
Postpartum doulas provide support to new mothers and their
families after the birth. A postpartum doula provides services
in the home to help facilitate a warm and nurturing experience
for the entire family. Each doula offers individualized
services, tailored to the individual needs of the clients.
Birth Doulas
- Provide a wide range of caring, non-clinical and highly
beneficial techniques that include physical comfort measures
and emotional support before, during and after the birth.
- Understand the physiology of birth and the emotional
needs of a woman in labor.
- Access helpful information for the expectant, laboring
and postpartum parent/s to assist in their decision making.
- Work in cooperation with physicians, midwives, nurses,
and the partners and families of laboring and postpartum
women.
- Faciliate communication between the laboring woman,
her partner, and clinical care providers.
- Vary in experience, training, services, and personality.
There are certifications for doulas; however, many very
experienced doulas are not certified.
- Recognize that childbirth is a key life experience that
the mother will remember all her life. Thus, doulas help
nurture and protect the woman's memory of her birth experience.
- Provide support and care for adoptive parents in the
first few weeks of their new family member's arrival.
Find
a Doula or Other Birth Professional
Upcoming Events | About
the Network | Become a Member
How to Interview a Doula
| Local Hospital Information
Bibliography | Resources
and Links | Contact Us
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