Your Beautiful Birth Choices birth doulas are here to walk alongside you in an open and supportive way that helps you experience a birth that is crafted with intelligence, guided with intuition and wisdom, and honored with respect.
How does a doula help you navigate your birth experience?
If you think of a doula as a guide, similar to someone you might like to bring alongside you as you plan a major life happening like new steps in your schooling or career, a house purchase, or a monumental trip or cross country excursion , you’ll start to get a more detailed picture of what it looks like to hire a doula.
A birth doula is just that, a guide. Uniquely trained and educated in the nuances of navigating pregnancy and labor alongside a birthing person and their primary support(s), birth doulas know the road and have traveled it many times. The inner work that it takes to prepare for birth, the physicality of pregnancy and labor, the decision making tree that we often have to traverse in order to reach that safe and satisfying birth experience - we’ve been there. And we would love to go there with you.
We offer years worth of birth experience and education to help you navigate your journey as it unfolds. A deep understanding of physiologic birth, non-judgmental support, evidence-based information, unique and up-to-date training and specialties, and a host of referral systems, come together in our teamwork approach to support you and your family.
If you are interested in doula support through Beautiful Birth Choices or would like to learn more, please fill out our inquiry form. We will always do our best to match you with a doula according to your preferences, approximate due date, and doula availability.
Please note: BBC is currently unable to enter a contractual agreement between a Medicaid insured individual and a Medical Enrolled Doula. In order to utilize the Medicaid reimbursement program, please see the list of doulas here.
What you can expect with doula support:
Labor and birth are as much an inward journey as an outward one. Your doula is there to help you as you traverse the innerwork needed to prepare for a transformational birth.
They play a valuable role in helping to protect your emotional space during labor in order to help you stay in your labor flow and focus on the work before you. Whether that looks like encouragement, or safe words, or reminders to stay present, they are there to help guide and nurture you through this time.
A clear and constant component of doula support is physical comfort. Doulas play the role of helping you to prepare for birth by increasing your movement vocabulary in a way that works for you and your baby.
Our goal is to help you tune into what’s going on in your body, connect with your baby, and intuitively lead the way throughout birth. We are there to help support and keep you as comfortable as possible, but we follow your lead. This means that whether you want an unmedicated birth full of movement, an epidural with best possible positions to work with baby during labor, or a scheduled cesarean birth with a doula by your side.
Birth is physically intense in all its forms and you’ve got us to help you through it no matter what.
Doulas come with an abounding list of resources, evidence-based articles, workshops, podcasts, books - you name it. We thrive on resources and one of our key roles is to help you feel supported when questions come up. And they will come up.
A beautiful part of the BBC Doula Team is that we resource each other, which means that you’ve got close to twenty doulas, educators, lactation consultants, and birth pros at your service, ready to dive in and help you find the information you need to make decisions that feel good for you and your family.
While we don’t make decisions for you, we are here to help you figure out what and who to ask and get the information you need to make choices that are right for you.
If you are birthing alongside a partner, we are there for them also. Our role is never to replace a partner or a primary support person, but rather to complement them.
As doulas, we’ve done this birth thing many times. Sometimes hundreds of times. As a birther, or a birth partner, this may be your first or your third, or even your tenth!
But regardless of how many times, it’s so important that the partner feels supported as well as the birther. You both need to stay in your labor flow. Whatever we can do to support the partner, whether encouraging a nap or bringing food, suggesting ways they can comfort you when they’re looking a little lost, normalizing some things that might feel scary - that’s our role.
Your doula is always keeping an eye on your partner so that you don’t have to. Stay focused. Feel supported. Trust your team.
If you want a guide through pregnancy and birth, we’ve got you covered.
Owner Level Birth Doulas
Our Co-Owners at Beautiful Birth Choices include Julia Sittig, Christy Muscato, and Alison Spath. They not only co-own and lead BBC, they are active doulas in the birth community. Christy, Julia, and Alison have combined over five decades of doula experience, plus a wealth of training and education behind them that inform their work.
While their client calendar has limited availability due to their small business leadership responsibilities and schedules, they have a passion for working closely with their doula clients and staying actively involved with their team.
Active Birth Doulas
BBC’s Active Birth Doulas are our doulas who are available for many clients each year. If you request doula support, you are most likely to be paired with one of our Active Doulas.
You are welcome to specifically request any of our Active Doulas to be your primary doula. We are happy to connect you with any doula from our team as their availability allows.
Our Active Doulas are also a part of our back up support team if/when needed, or to step in when births go long and your primary doula needs to step away to rest and recover.
Associate Birth Doulas
BBC’s Associate Level Birth Doulas are those who take only a few clients each year, but are available for back up support if/when needed or to step in when births go long and if your primary doula needs to step out to rest.
All of our Associate Doulas are fully trained through BBC and through our certifying organization, DONA International. They are exceptional doulas but currently have less availability for a full doula schedule.
You are welcome to specifically request any of our Associate Doulas to be your primary doula. We will be happy to connect you with any doula from our team as their availability allows.
"When I arrived at the hospital in active labor and the nurse asked for my pain management plan, my answer was simply, "Julia." Her presence, calm and gentle encouragement, and the welcome support and guidance she gave my husband helped me feel grounded, powerful, and focused as I brought 3 of my children into this world with no medication and minimal intervention. Her familiarity with the hospital policies and staff helped free me to be fully present in my body."
Abigail
"She was a grounding force of calm and support to our family. Julia is professional, respectful and knowledgeable - and doesn't hesitate to get right into any stage of labor. She is talented with touch, and quickly tunes in to the needs of the laboring mother - listening and observing carefully - and meeting her where she is physically and emotionally. Julia helped guide our entire family, especially our newborn baby, peacefully and gracefully through the birth process."
Iris
"The support I got from Alison was incredible. She let me have those feelings of fatigue and frustration, and then helped push me to keep moving forward by encouraging me to try new techniques, get into different positions and change my breathing to help get me through. I can say with absolute certainty that I would never go through labor without a doula ever again. The services they provide are invaluable. And my husband, who was a skeptic at first, totally agrees."
Maggie
"Mindy was attentive, attuned, informed/educated, and deeply kind and empathetic. Everything you would want in a doula. She was also helpful before and after labor and delivery, being a strong sounding board for questions and when emotions ran high. So thankful to be connected to her, and for her to be a part of our family story!"
Katie
"Jennie Kieffer is an absolute gift to the doula profession. Although our birth did not go as we had originally envisioned it, we were able to walk away feeling comfortable and confident about all of our decisions thanks to her. She created the space needed to think clearly about each choice in our birth process which was invaluable. I will forever be grateful for the support she provided to me and my husband in what was a very emotional and exhausting experience."
Christie
Frequently Asked Questions
Numerous studies have documented the benefits of having a doula present during labor. A recent Cochrane Review, Continuous Support for Women During Childbirth, showed a very high number of positive birth outcomes when a doula was present. With their support, the birthing person was less likely to have pain-relief medications administered and less likely to have a cesarean birth. Birthing persons also reported having a more positive childbirth experience.
Other studies have shown that having a doula as a member of the birth team decreases the overall cesarean rate by 50%, the length of labor by 25%, the use of oxytocin by 40%, and requests for an epidural by 60%.
Doulas often use the power of touch to reduce stress and anxiety during labor. According to physicians Marshal Klaus and John Kennell, comforting touch helps stimulate the production of natural oxytocin. The pituitary gland secretes natural oxytocin to the bloodstream (causing uterine contractions) and to the brain (resulting in feelings of well-being and drowsiness, along with a higher pain threshold).
We are committed to finding the perfect doula match for your needs & budget.
We invite you to fill out the brief form below to tell us a little about yourself and your hopes for your birth. Our administrative team then works together to review your request while also checking in with our team to see who might be a perfect fit for you based on your preferences and their availability. We then send an introduction email to connect you with one of our wonderful doulas.
Our BBC Doula will then reach out to you directly to set up a time to meet at your earliest convenience. You may choose to meet in-person, online, or just start with a phone conversation. This is a time for you to ask questions, gauge comfort and connection, and get to know each other. Partners are encouraged to participate!
This is a starter conversation, no obligation.
Once you’ve met, you can let us know if you’d like to move forward in working with your BBC Doula. Most people feel a great connection to the birth doula they meet and it’s a go, but if that’s not you, that’s ok! Just let us know and we’ll reconnect you to another doula who is available around your due month.
We are committed to helping you find a supported and safe connection, and the right match is so important.
Choose your Doula Bundle and we will forward all the details to you to get you started! This includes a contract, payment options, a clearly outlined set of things you can expect from our team over the next several months, and a starter questionnaire so your doula can learn more about you and your unique story.
Your doula will work closely with you to make sure that you have all the information you need to walk forward with support and confidence.
NEXT, CHOOSE YOUR PERFECT CARE BUNDLE:
Full Circle Bundle
$2500
Signature Bundle
$2200
Traditional Bundle
$1800
Classes Only Bundle
$300
Having another baby and either just need a little extra support, or you already have a doula? This package includes:
"Casey did a great job making sure I had all the resources I needed to be able to make decisions during my two pregnancies. During birth, she helped me stick to my plan, guide me in non-medical pain relief methods, and made the big event feel so much less intimidating. She is a friend and a cheerleader I never knew I needed!"
Priti
"As first-time parents, we didn't know what to expect from birth (or preparation) and Julie worked with us, asking a lot of important questions we would never usually think of to create a plan. Her support was invaluable in the hours right after our baby was born as I held her terrified and clueless about what to do next, and in the weeks and months after when she frequently checked in and offered strategies to help me navigate a difficult postpartum. Julie is kind, thoughtful, supportive, and such a reassuring presence."
Rachael
"Kirsten was a phenomenal doula and I am so glad we made the decision to have her with us for our first birth. It was great to have a touchpoint leading up to delivery to answer any and all my questions as well as just being a supportive presence. Throughout the whole labor process, she was such a warm and steady hand. She was with us every step of the way and her expertise made all the difference for me. I honestly could not have done it without her and am absolutely planning to have her with us for baby no.2 someday!"
Amy
"The work doulas do is absolutely amazing and I would recommend to all my pregnant friends to have one. Not only was she there for me, she helped to calm my husband because he knew she was there to support me and assist in keeping me calm, relaxed and even laughing. She was kind, she listened, she advocated and she relaxed us through labor right to delivery."