RVA Doula FAQ

 A doula is a person who provides continuous emotional, informational and physical support before, during and just after birth. Doulas provide non-medical support by providing encouragement, information and a variety of comfort measures to help a person throughout their birthing process. There have been multiple clinical studies that show the presence of a doula at birth tends to result in shorter labors with fewer complications, less interventions, a greater success with breast-feeding and an overall feeling of a more positive birth. 

 As your Doula, I provide you with continuous physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional support to all of our clients. We understand that this can look different for every family, so we do our best at personalizing and customizing all services rendered to fit each and every family perfectly, according to their wants, needs, fears, and our in depth conversations. 

In addition to this support provided, clinical studies have proven multiple times that having a doula gives you a: 

39% Decrease in C-Sections

15% Increase in spontaneous vaginal birth 

10% Decrease in the use of narcotic pain relief 

Average length of labor decreased by 1 hour 

38% Decrease in the risk for a baby having a low 5 minute APGAR score 

31% Decrease of the risk of the birthing person being dissatisfied with birth experience

I have been professionally trained in multiple different specialties. My birth & postpartum doula certifications come from DONA INTERNATIONAL. The short term word for it is called a Full-Spectrum Doula. This means I have been trained in Birth, Postpartum, Stillborn, Abortion, Fertility, Miscarriage, Adoption, sleep support, and so much more. I am continuously expanding my knowledge and trainings so that we may serve all families of Richmond regardless of reproductive plans, and outcomes! 

Great question! A Birth Doula is more specifically supportive more during the pregnancy, and childbirth process They usually stay a few hours after delivery to help parents transition into the recovery process. 

A Postpartum Doula is not present during the pregnancy or childbirth phase. Although they are not present during delivery, they are able to come start supporting you immediately after baby is born. Most doulas will come the first 1-3 nights you are home, to help you adjust. Most often postpartum services are about 2-3 times a week, for about 4-12 weeks. This of course varies on the needs of each individual family. 

To view Birth doula support, click here

To view overnight/postpartum sleep support, click here

To view Virtual Doula Support, click here

To view general information on ALL doula support, click here

If you have any questions about what is/isn't included in packages, please reach out to us via email!

Some partners are​ ​concerned​ ​that​ ​a​ ​doula​ ​will​ ​be​ ​a​ ​“third wheel”​ ​or​ ​will​ ​exclude​ ​the​ ​partner​ ​from​ ​being active or supportive​ ​in​ ​the​ ​birth.​ ​When​ ​you​ ​talk​ ​to​ ​parents​ ​who have​ ​had​ ​a​ ​doula​ ​present​ ​for​ ​their​ ​birth,​ ​this is usually not the case.

Doulas are not supposed to replace the partner or dad. We help the partner to learn and to be more productive, and helpful to the birthing person. Often times, the dad or birthing partner can feel discouraged about being present for the birth, simply because they feel they are not being useful, or being productive. As your Doula, I dedicate some time to spend with the birthing partner for this exact reason. We go over worries or concerns the birthing partner has, and how we can overcome them, while still remaining supportive to the birthing person. 

If you or your birthing partner feel uneasy or worried about the position of a Doula, talk it over together. 

On​ ​the​ ​other​ ​hand,​ if ​your​ ​partner​ ​feels​ ​maybe a little uncomfortable​ ​about​ ​being​ ​present at​ ​the​ ​birth,​ ​a​ ​doula’s​ ​presence​ ​means​ ​you​ ​have​ ​continuous​ ​support​ ​while​ ​your​ ​partner​ ​is free​ ​to​ ​come​ ​and​ ​go​ ​throughout​ ​labor & delivery, without risking the support, care and advocacy you deserve!

When hiring and looking for a Doula, it is imperative you find one that has a backup on call 24/7. As your Doula, we offer 24/7 support to all clients. Depending on your package, we also  offer 24/7 In-Person On-Call Support. At RoseMoon Birth, anytime you have a contract with us, a backup Doula in included for no extra cost! You will meet the backup doula briefly, so that everyone is at least acquainted. We have not had to utilize our backup doulas as of yet, but we always have them on call just incase!

We are working on it! Right now, most insurance companies will reimburse their clients the amount it costs to hire a Doula. Insurance companies do not pay Doulas directly. If you would like more information on this, please reach out!

If a client does not have insurance, no worries! Reach out to discuss payment plans. 

YES! We refuse to deny any client due to lack of funds, or income. We promise to work with each client/family closely to develop a price/package we can both agree on and be happy with! EVERY FAMILY DESERVES A DOULA. NO MATTER WHAT! We also offer special pricing to those that qualify. Please see the Special Pricing page to see details. 

Yes we do! Because we make sure to never turn a client away, we accept donations so that we can continue to do this and expand our services to all families in need. Please see our Special Pricing page for more information on Donations. We also serve teen mothers and survivors of abuse 100% free of charge. All donations go directly to supporting these mothers.

We accept a wide variety of payment methods. We accept Credit/Debit Cards with a 2% fee. Zelle, Venmo, Cash app, Apple Pay, Check, & Cash are all ways you can pay, without any added fees. We Also accept payment by Carrot Fertility, Maven Clinic & other fertility/employer benefits. We can accept HSA/FSA payments with a doctor referral. (Ask us for clarity)

Unfortunately taxes are not included in the prices. A 5% tax will be added to all services and packages purchased.

Unfortunately not right now! We are currently working on getting the certification to be able to accept medicaid clients, and get paid from medicaid for my services. With the help of my clients, hopefully this process will be over soon and we can start helping more families in need.

A Receipt for each payment can be provided upon request. 

If working with a fertility or employer benefit, a proof of payment screenshot usually works, but I do have the appropriate reciept template if requested. 

Both services, come with an extensive list of resources available to you in the area, as well as referrals to any highly recommended perinatal professionals & experts. 

All paid packages & paid hours expire 12 months from date of signing the contract &/or paying retainer fee, whichever comes first. Extensions can be approved upon request.

Birth Doula support consists of 4 prenatal visits will last between 1-2 hours long, and are expected to be spread out evenly during the time of your last few months of pregnancy

ALL prenatal visits will consist of us discussing a number of things.

First, we will go over your birth plan, prepare & inform ourselves on the birth plan, possible interventions, etc.

Secondly, we will go over comfort measures, things we can do to assist delivery, exercises, pelvic floor techniques, feeding, postpartum, etc. I will answer all questions, discuss fears, goals, etc

With each contract, each client is entitled to a backup doula. The back up doula is out in place to support the client in any case the primary doula cannot make it. The primary doula will always have you as #1 priority. However, some situations might arise that prevent the doula from attending the birth. In any case, the back up doula will be called in and will support you until the end of labor. This is built into the contract and is at no extra cost to you.

Birth Photography is a service that is included in your birth doula support. You may request I use a specific camera you may have, or I will use my phone and send them to you once baby has been delivered. Once photos have been sent to the clients, the said phographs are deleted from my device and are not to be used by me in any manner, unless previously discussed and agreed upon. 

A retainer fee of $1,000 is due at the time of contract delivery. This, along with the contract, verifies your spot and my availability and complete commitment to you, as my client. This Retainer fee goes towards your final package price. The remaining balance is due by 36 weeks gestational. Payment Plans are available upon request

You may add on postpartum support to your birth support package at any time, although it would be more cost efficient to purchase hourly postpartum package. You will also receive a $300 discount to use on either package. 

A retainer fee of $1,000 is due at the time of contract delivery. This, along with the contract, verifies your spot and my availability and complete commitment to you, as my client. This Retainer fee goes towards the final week(s) of the postpartum contract. 

Payments are accepted via Venmo, Zelle, or Personal Check. Invoices will be sent out a week in advance, and must be paid within 72 hours. Failure to pay within 72 hours results in a small late fee, or pause of services.

Daytime Postpartum Doula Support is currently not available. RoseMoon Birth | Richmond Doula is currently only offering overnight support. Should you need daytime support, we have plenty of daytime postpartum doulas happy to assist.

To prevent burnout and maintain quality of life, doulas are compensated at 1.5 times their regular hourly rate for all national holidays.

Shifts need to be a minimum of 8 hours in length, but must not exceed 12 hours. Shifts begin no earlier than 8:30pm, and will end no later than 8am. 

Things happen! We get it.

We understand things happen and can change at the drop of a hat. That's why we do our best to be as flexible as possible. As much as we'd like an advance notice, we know it sometimes just can't happen. Just let us know as the changes come, and we will do our best to make it work. 

All overnight postpartum packages will be supported with my hands on and evidence based approach for sleep routines and soothing for newborns. Although a newborn is too young to be sleep coached, I use the temperament, attachment, and feeding patterns of the baby to help guide and shape them to have positive and restful sleep patterns that aide to build a night time routine and sleep schedule for the baby. 

Whether you plan to co-sleep, room share, or if you plan on using the crib, I will work closely with you and your baby to enforce and educate on safe sleeping and sleep patterns. My goal is to learn how you ideally want your night and sleep to go for you and your baby, and then work to achieve that.