Frequently Asked Questions

Doulas provide informational, emotional, physical, and advocacy support through:

• Prenatal Visits: Personalized consultations to write your birth plan, practice natural pain management techniques for birth, prepare for the postpartum recovery period, and address any of your pregnancy questions or concerns! Doulas can provide or connect you to childbirth education classes that are right for you!
• Continuous Labor Support: Physical and emotional support during labor, whether at home, in a birth center, or in the hospital. (Studies show that continuous labor support leads to better outcomes for mom and baby!) Also, help with birth advocacy to ensure your birth plan is respected and voice is heard during childbirth.
• Postpartum Recovery: Tips and assistance with caring for your newborn baby boy or baby girl, support for successful breastfeeding, and helping new moms navigate the postpartum period with care and understanding.

Besides your wedding day, the day you give birth is one of the most important days in your life! Hiring a doula and taking childbirth classes are examples of investments you can make into preparing for this big day! How much a doula costs depends on where you live, the expertise of your doula and the services they offer. Most doulas should be able to accept HSA/FSA payments, or may offer scholarship programs as well. Click here to learn more about payment options at Gentle Heart Doula Care!

I prioritize making my services accessible and affordable to all moms in our community, whether you have insurance or not. Here are a few ways you might be able to easily pay for my doula services:

1. Have it gifted! Add a cash fund to your baby registry, or create a crowd funding registry (for example, Be Her Village)
2. Use HSA/FSA funds!
3. Submit itemized bill to your insurance for reimbursement! Check with your specific insurance about their reimbursement policies for doula support.
4. Pay with Medicaid! I can accept Sunflower & United Healthcare medicaid plans.
5. Create a payment plan to make payments in the amount and frequency of your choosing!
6. Apply for Choose What You Pay Scholarship program! 10% of every purchase goes towards a scholarship fund for other moms in our community.

Kansas moms can pay for doula support using their state Medicaid insurance! This includes Pregnancy Coaching or Basic Birth Support packages

Additionally, these moms can choose to purchase optional add-on services like Birth Photography, Fresh 48 Photography, or my childbirth advocacy e-course!

No, doulas are not only for first-time moms! While many first-time moms benefit greatly from the support, tips, and birth preparation that a doula provides, doulas are also incredibly valuable for moms who are expecting their second, third, or even fourth baby! Every pregnancy and birth experience is unique, and having a doula can help ensure that each labor and childbirth experience is positive and well-supported, whether it’s your first baby or your fifth.

Repeat mamas often choose to hire a doula because they want this birth experience to go differently than their last one, their partner needs some extra support, or because they want to treat themselves with an even better birth experience! Whatever your reason is, hiring a birth doula is the right option for you if…you want a doula!

Absolutely! Your husband is a valuable member of your birth support team, as well as your doula. Having both can create a well-rounded birth team for your pregnancy, labor, and childbirth!

While your husband provides emotional support as your loving partner, a doula offers specialized care as a trained birth professional. A doula complements the support your husband provides by offering expert guidance, reassurance, and practical assistance. Many new fathers afterwards express how glad they were to have that extra guidance and reassurance from their doula during the birth experience! Doulas can also provide practical support by offering the dad-to-be breaks to eat or take a nap, and coaching or reminding them of comfort measures you practiced in childbirth classes or prenatal education visits.

I support unmedicated or natural births, hospital births with an epidural or without an epidural, home births, birth center births, water births, c-section, etc…basically, all types of birth! The only type of birth I will not attend is a “free birth” where no medical assistance (midwife or OBGYN) is planning to be present.

Travel for Births: I include travel to support births up to 1.5 hours away from my location. This includes (but is not limited to) the following cities in South Central Kansas: Wichita, Andover, Augusta, El Dorado, Derby, Rose Hill, Udall, Mulvane, Haysville, Clearwater, Winfield, Maize, Goddard, Belle Plaine, Bel Aire, Valley Center, Park City, McPherson, Newton, Hutchinson, and Yoder.

Travel for Perinatal Visits: If you live over 30 minutes away from where I’m located, we will do prenatal visits virtually or at a local business in Wichita. This can all be discussed and decided upon at your free introductory meeting!

Travel for Postpartum Support: Postpartum support is limited to locations within a 30 minute radius from Wichita.

Travel for Photography: Fresh 48 Photography is limited to locations within a 30 minute radius from Wichita.

Great question! Birth photography is documentary-style photography captured of your labor and birth experience. This photo session ends within the first hour after baby’s delivery. During this golden hour, you can expect candid photos of your first moments meeting baby.

Fresh 48 Photography is designed to allow you time after baby’s birth to shower, change, and dress baby. These photos can be more posed, or simple lifestyle portraits of your new family together.