Childbirthing Classes and Doulas

You should look in to Loudoun Community Midwives in Lansdowne (Leesburg), VA. They deliver at INOVA Loudoun Hospital which is only 20 minutes from Centreville.

www.loudouncommunitymidwives.com

Hi, I.!

Congratulations on your pregnancy! I found a doula to be a big help with my second birth and wish I had had one for the first birth. I think you are very wise to seek a doula. They really can help a lot with getting you through some of the rough spots so you can achieve an unmedicated birth, and it is worth it! You will be awake and so will your baby!!
My situation was a little different from other posters, my spouse wasn't interested in doing Bradley classes and being a birth coach, so I really needed someone who would.
Her name is Cathy Bailey and I met her through a friend. Send me a message if you would like her #. She has attended births as far away as Maryland and DC. There are also childbirth classes at Prince William Hospital Wellness Center and I think Inova does offer them in Fairfax. NOW is the time to enroll in a class, in order to be prepared!

Best of luck!
J.

Congratulations! I can highly recommend my doula, Wendy Sewell in Reston. I just did a google search for Wendy Sewell VA and got a Maternity Center Doula document listing many doulas. I also liked the Physicians and Midwives practice in Alexandria. I gave birth using them at Inova Alexandria even though I live in Vienna. Friends have used midwives through Birthcare, I think. I have also heard good things about Inova Fair Oaks. I'm sure you'll have a good delivery there. Birth classes weren't very helpful for me, but many people around here swear by the Bradley method. The book Mind Over Labor really prepared me mentally for the birth experience. Enjoy your pregnancy and welcome to the US.

Many women have very positive experiences with Loudoun Community Midwives, who have privileges at Inova Loudoun. They have on their website their statistics on how many women have epidurals and c-sections, in the "In the News" section of their website.

http://www.lcmidwives.com/pdf/200804stats.pdf

Although Inova Fair Oaks has tubs for laboring, unless something has changed very recently, they don't have wireless monitoring, meaning you have to get out of the tub (and get cold and disrupted) for monitoring. Inova Loudoun has wireless monitoring that can be used in the tub, so you don't have to get out of the tub until it's time to push or unless there is another reason.

Take Bradley! Not only will it prepare you for all the stages of labor, what to REALLY expect, etc, it will also go over all the interventions so you are well-informed before you set foot in the hospital and know what they are REALLY all about and what the risks are. It will also educate your husband on the natural process of labor so he doesn't cave on you when you need his support the most while in labor.

My Bradley instructor, Wendy, is also my birth assistant and she's awesome!! Here's the full list of instructors in Virginia: http://www.bradleybirth.com/GetTeachers.aspx?statemap=VA and here is Wendy's Bradley page: http://www.bradleybirth.com/ndweb.asp?ID=W373

I am planning a home VBAC, so I only know home birth midwives, but I hear Birth Care is really good (they don't take VBACs like myself). They also do home births--I know a mama using them for her HB.

Also, Dr. Tchabo (if you want an OB--pronounced "cha-bo") is the best around for natural birth and for appreciating the natural process of labor--he's at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington.

I also highly recommend reading Henci Goer's "The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth"--FANTASTIC!!! Stay away from "What to Expect When You're Expecting"!!

Congrats and good luck!

Hi I.!

Congratulations on your upcoming birth! How exciting! I am glad you are choosing to birth naturally- as this is what your body was made for and is capable of! ;)

I am a doula based out of Ashburn, but I practice all over Northern Virginia. I have a lot of information on my website, www.celebratedbirth.com, and I would be more than happy to talk with you about choosing a doula. It is a very personal and intimate relationship- so you want to be completely comfortable!

The local chapter of Birth Matters VA is another resource that is extremely helpful: www.birthmattersva.org/loudoun. Are you considering a midwife? I would recommend the Loudoun Community Midwives if you haven't already chosen a care provider.

Let me know if there is anything I can help you with. Again- congratulations on your upcoming birth!

-M..

birth doula.
www.celebratedbirth.com.

Hi! Congrats on wanting a natural birth!! I took Bradley childbirth classes before my first was born and I found them very, very helpful. I'd love to recommend someone, but unfortunately I wasn't living in NOVA then. I've also heard great things about the Hypnobabies classes, but haven't tried them myself.
Everyone that I know in your are who has had a midwife birth has used Birthcare (www.birthcare.org) and I've heard nothing but great things.
I hope someone else can chime in with more personal experience! I hope you have a wonderful pregnancy!

Congratulations!
I also have to recommend Loudoun Community Midwives. We used them for our first birth and are using them again for this one (we are due in June). We hired a doula for both births - nutured beginnings in Falls Church - http://www.nurtured-beginnings.com/ and really love them.

As far as childbirth classes, we did Bradley for the first and it was very good and helpful but I felt like I needed more tools to help me relax. So this time we are doing hypnobirthing which I am really enjoying so far. Some resources for finding others who share your interest in natural childbirth are Birth Matters in Loudoun http://www.birthmattersva.org/loudoun/ and the Holistic Moms Network in Northern VA (many of our members are from Centreville - both my coleader and I live there too!) http://nova.holisticmoms.org/

Good luck with your choices and decision making!
L.