Birth Doula
Birth doulas have been shown to improve pregnancy and birth outcomes for birthing persons and babies including reducing unnecessary surgical birth and higher apgar scores for baby after birth. These are just a couple of examples. Essentially, a birth doula is your informational, physical and emotional support person throughout pregnancy and childbirth.
Birth doula packages include the following:
Schedule a free call to discuss which package is right for you.
- 1-4 prenatal visits to connect, build your birth plan, and prepare you for birth.
- Me at your birth providing pain reduction, advocating, and generally supporting you through the birth process.
- 1 postpartum check-in visit to make sure you go into parenthood with the information and support you need.
- You can now choose to have a seasoned photographer at your birth in addition to your doula.
Schedule a free call to discuss which package is right for you.
Package Options
Basic: This package is best for someone who isn't looking for a lot of support during pregnancy. Many folks who have previously given birth choose this package.
- 1 Prenatal visit
- Me at your birth
- 1 Postpartum visit
Standard: This package is best for first time parents or if you are wanting a totally different birth experience from your last one. We go deep into birth prep and creating a birth plan.
- 4 Prenatal visits that include nutrition, lifestyle, movement and birth plan coaching along with help for your partner on how they can best be involved in the birth process.
- Me at your birth helping with pain relief, advocacy and emotional support.
- 1 Postpartum visit where we can talk about your baby's birth, I can help with breastfeeding and baby care questions as well as your healing.
Birth Doula & Photographer: Add an experienced photographer to either of the above packages
- Basic + Photographer
- Standard + Photographer
- Either package gets a minimum of 100 edited images in addition to birth doula services
- Provided by an additional person so that no moment is missed and your doula can focus on her roll supporting you
What is a Doula?
In general, a doula is someone who provides emotional, informational, and physical support during pregnancy, labor and birth. At Birth Your Way, we provide these services through a trauma informed, reproductive justice lens. Our three pillars are:
-Wellness: I have general advice and resources regarding pregnancy nutrition. I can also give specific exercises and lifestyle advice personalized to you to ensure your most comfortable pregnancy and smooth birth.
-Education: Prenatal visits include birth planning, getting to know one another, pain reduction techniques, what the progression of birth looks like, and anything else that might come up that needs to be worked through before your baby makes their big debut.
-Support: We spend time during the prenatal visits talking about how you can advocate for yourself and how it might look if I step in and advocate for you. I can help ensure your birth wishes are honored by advocating for you, assisting with pain reduction, giving on the spot information and space to process what's going on and any interventions being suggested, and supporting your partner to ensure they are as involved as the two of you want them to be.
-Wellness: I have general advice and resources regarding pregnancy nutrition. I can also give specific exercises and lifestyle advice personalized to you to ensure your most comfortable pregnancy and smooth birth.
-Education: Prenatal visits include birth planning, getting to know one another, pain reduction techniques, what the progression of birth looks like, and anything else that might come up that needs to be worked through before your baby makes their big debut.
-Support: We spend time during the prenatal visits talking about how you can advocate for yourself and how it might look if I step in and advocate for you. I can help ensure your birth wishes are honored by advocating for you, assisting with pain reduction, giving on the spot information and space to process what's going on and any interventions being suggested, and supporting your partner to ensure they are as involved as the two of you want them to be.
Financial Commitment
At Birth Your Way we recognize that households with lower incomes and high financial strain are at higher risk for pregnancy and birth complications. With that in mind we've developed a payment structure that considers your financial situation. Wes use the Green Bottle Method to determine each client's financial commitment. This is illustrated below. We also have payment plan options, can accept HSA and provide a copy of your invoice to submit to your insurance for possible reimbursement.
A note about medicaid
It is being projected that medicaid will begin paying for doulas for those who qualify for coverage in the fall of 2024. This benefit will not be retroactive, so can not pay for services rendered or payments made before the start of the doula medicaid program. Birth Your Way is committed to staying up to date on the progress of this program and updating this as soon as new information is given.
It's important to know that I can support you no matter how your birth goes. This includes any and all medical intervention including csection as well as situations where baby is born sleeping. You deserve support no matter how your birth goes.
Serving Central Ohio
Centered in Ashville
Megan Neal
Owner of Birth Your Way
Doula, Childbirth Educator & Reiki Practitioner
Megan is our childbirth educator, birth & postpartum doula, reiki & relaxation massage practitioner, and placenta worker. Her background is in massage therapy, and has studied with several certifying bodies including Body Wisdom School of Massage, Birth Advocacy Doula Training, Spinning Babies, Sleep Wonders, Reiki for Birthworkers, and the Association of Placenta Preparation Arts. She also keeps her BLS & NRP certifications up to date.
Megan has experienced her own hospital birth and unassisted home water birth. Her passion for supporting maternal mental health stems from her personal experience with postpartum depression and anxiety, and her mission is to help prevent/minimize symptoms, and provide support to those suffering.
Megan has experienced her own hospital birth and unassisted home water birth. Her passion for supporting maternal mental health stems from her personal experience with postpartum depression and anxiety, and her mission is to help prevent/minimize symptoms, and provide support to those suffering.