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| Birth
Doulas |
Doulas
Preserve the memory of Birth
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| | Prenatal:
Assistance in preparing your
personal birth plan.
Emotional
support During Labor:
Staying by mother's side, promoting
relaxation,
and offering physical and
emotional comfort. Communicating with
other family
members and clinicians,
translating "technical information".
Providing
breaks and support for the
father/partner when need. Offering an objective
perspective as well as an
"extra pair of hands". Taking photos
or videos
if desired.
Postpartum: Creative closure of birth
experience.
Support in adjusting to
new parenthood. | |
- Doulas
provide emotional and physical nurturing that empowers
women and their families
to enjoy birth at their own comfort levels.
- Doulas
enable expectant fathers and partners to share the birth experience
with confidence
& a sense of clarity, knowing that their presence is essential.
- Doulas
respect the unique quality of each labor and birth, reflect the desires
and wishes
of the mother, and remain a constant source of warmth and encouragement.
- Doulas
facilitate a more relaxed, nurturing experience for the woman/couple
by offering
the following:
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Services
Provided by Linda Worzer
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- Initial
interview at no cost
- Prenatal
visits (in person and by phone)
- Arrive
during labor. If hospital birth, you may be met either at home or at the hospital
- Knowledgeable,
practical and reassuring support during labor, birth, and the initial postpartum
period
- Assistance
with initial breast-feeding experience
- A
follow-up visit postpartum
- Telephone
support postpartum
- Experienced,
nurturing labor doula care.
- Referrals
to labor and postpartum doulas.
- Continuing
education for experienced doulas.
- In-Services
for hospitals, birthing centers and other interested professionals.
- DONA
Approved and CAPPA Approved Labor Doula Training locally each year.
- Linda
will travel to your location to provide training.
Email Linda or call (972) 699-3921 |
Fees |
- $500
total fee includes services listed above
- Fees
may increase when additional services are requested
- Sliding
scale and bartering are available for those with financial concerns
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Philosophy
of Birth |
My
philosophy of birth is that Birth is a normal, physiological event in a woman's
life that has the potential to be the experience of a lifetime. Through education,
support, and nurture, most women can have a satisfying and fulfilling birth
experience.
My role in the experience of birth for a woman and her
partner is to listen to her
desires and individual preferences - especially
those that reflect her uniqueness
as a woman, doing my best to enhance the
integrity of the memory of birth for her.
A woman's birth is truly her
own - her wishes and desires are paramount. As a
doula, I am a guest in the
hospital, birth center, or home. It is not my place to
alter, amend, or to
interfere with the policies that may be in place or with
relationship my client
has with her caregivers. My role is to serve. I have worked
at all Dallas
area hospitals. I know from experience that it is possible to have a satisfying,
fulfilling, & empowering birth experience at virtually any hospital,
birthing
center or at home.
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Linda
Worzer, BME, IBCLC, RLC, CD (DONA), AAHCC, is a:
Charter member of DONA, a
DONA-approved Doula Trainer,
CAPPA Doula Trainer, Certified Professional Doula,
International
Board Certified Lactation Consultant and
Certified Childbirth Educator.
She has attended approximately 500 births as a labor assistant.
In
her 29 years in the field of Maternal-Child health, she has co-founded
the
first doula organization in Dallas County;founded Cesarean Awareness
and
VBAC of Dallas; and served as a La Leche League Group Leader as well
as La Leche League
Texas Area Council Administrator, and served on the
DONA International Board
of Directors, as well as an advisor to CAPPA.
Linda and her late husband
are the parents of four children. |
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Letters
of Reference:
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"
…I feel I am uniquely qualified to recommend Linda Worzer as a labor assistant/doula
as I have utilized her services from two different perspectives: both as an obstetrician
and as a childbearing client.
. . .She was uniquely competent at discerning
what words of encouragement were most empowering and uplifting for me . . . I
recommend (her) as a uniquely qualified and gifted doula who is a true asset to
her community." - Renee L. Woods, M.D.
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"I
have known Linda Worzer since 1979 when I had my second baby . . .At the
time
she was a LaLeche League Leader and I attended her group meetings. . In 1994,
I co-founded an organization called Attachment Parenting International. I
have always felt inspired by Linda's example that one person can truly make a
difference in this world, and her courage and devotion has been a motivation to
me and so many others." - Barbara Nicholson, President, API
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"Linda
Worzer is a jack-of-all-trades in the childbirth world in Dallas/Fort Worth
as
she is childbirth educator and doula extraordinaire. She has named the Best Doula
in Dallas 1999 by Readers of Dallas Child Magazine. She only provides consumers
with update information. She is available to attend the couple during the birth.
Her presence has made many Dallas/Fort Worth couples' births a memorable experience
for both the mother and dad."
- Polly Perez, RN. BSN, FACCE, Author
of Special Women, Doula Programs, Brain Attack
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"…Our
experiences with Linda Worzer have been excellent in every respect. Her technical
knowledge and ability to teach are clearly outstanding. Her years of experience
are impressive and enhance the quality of her skills. Equal to her knowledge is
the human factor so essential for expectant and new moms. Linda has the ability
to calm, encourage, and provide a myriad of alternatives to those of us who need
it.
She spends numerous hours counseling on the phone . . .for those she labor
attends." - Sam and Cristi Ratcliffe | | |
"I
really felt I needed the empathy from a woman during labor and (Linda) was the
perfect person. She is so gentle - both physically and in demeanor. I distinctly
remember laboring at home and how calm and focused she was on my labor. She heated
towels in the crock pot for my back labor (which was so nice) She encouraged me
to eat, go for a walk, labor in different positions without being pushy or in
a hurry... my husband was there all the way through, but I felt more confident
in laboring at home with Linda there . . . I remember she used her hands a lot
- to rub my back, my arms, whatever. That was very nice. I have had 2 labor assistants
since we moved
(to another state) and would definitely have come back to you."
- Judie Otcheck | | |
"Having
a child is one of the most intensely personal things a woman experiences.
I
approached having my first child with no small measure of joy coupled with genuine
anxiety and outright fear. This was further compounded by the discovery that I
carried twins. My ob-gyn immediately shifted from a steady assurance that I could
deliver a child naturally to a 70% certainty of Cesarean. As we passed the six
month mark, she recommended bed rest, though there was no logical reason for this:
everything was normal. I began an all-out search to find someone who could help
me have my children with as little medical intervention as possible.
Enter Linda Worzer. We attended her birthing classes,
and within two weeks I knew I wanted her to be our labor assistant. She agreed,
and so began the most incredible months of my life. Linda was more than an instructor,
more than a doula. She contacted me multiple times a week to ensure I was alright.
She gave me sound dietary advice, which was critical in enabling me to carry the
babies AND eat, since they were rapidly inhabiting the spaces that my stomach
had once occupied. She checked on my emotional and spiritual well-being, asking
astute questions that respected my privacy, while helping me assess where I was
and how I was feeling. She became not only a counselor, but provided a ready-made
network of chiropractors, massage therapists, clinical therapists, etc. She was
a reference resource, helping locate information. She became, for those last few
critical weeks, a substitute mother with none of the drawbacks of a blood mother
because her boundaries were so clean and healthy. We owned the entire process,
but she was a critical element in all of it, since our discussions with Linda
enabled us to make coherent decisions and to think through the entire process.
We found a specialist who was willing to work
with us to have the boys with minimal intervention. I carried the boys past term
by several weeks, and with her assistance and the infinite faith of the doctor,
naturally delivered two healthy, whole babies at 7 lbs. 2 oz. and 7 lbs. 3 oz.,
respectively. Linda went beyond the call of duty, since this entailed being with
us twice. I was induced on a Friday, and there was no progress all day. We left,
and returned that Sunday and had them both just before midnight. She was there
for it all. I am immensely grateful for her willing participation in the beginning
of the greatest adventure of my life." - Lani J. Zielsdorf
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"Even
after participating in childbirth classes and finding a sympathetic physician,
it is easy to feel somewhat confused and vulnerable once in the hospital,
{A Doula} helps you stay calm, confident and focused, even in the toughest and
most prolonged labor. Before the birth, she's your sister, mother, friend and
teacher. After the birth, she's a great first admirer of your new baby!"
- A New Mother
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Honors |
Selected
Best for Families
Best Doula 1999
Dallas Child Magazine
Selected Best for Families
Best Doula 2001
Dallas Child Magazine
Selected
Best for Families
Best Doula 2002
Dallas Child Magazine Nominated
for Doulas of North America Doula Spirit Award 2000
Nominated for
Doulas of North America Doula Spirit Award 2001
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| Facts
About Doulas |
To
learn more about the medical benefits of having a trained doula, please go to
http://www.dona.org,
http://www.childbirthprofessional.com,
http://www.icea.org
| For
an excellent Birth Doula Comparison Chart, please go to:
http://www.mother-care.ca/CDchart.html
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updated
6-2008
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