Hanne Smith

Hello, and congratulations on your pregnancy!

As a mother myself, I know how beautiful and empowering pregnancy and birth can be, and I feel privileged to support parents during this sacred time.

Birth Doula Services:

My overall goal as a DONA certified birth doula is to assist each woman in having the best birth experience possible, given her personal preferences and the circumstances of her own individual labor and birth. I’ve been told that I bring calm confidence into the room with me, and that women and their partners feel supported, safe, and better able to flow with birth when I’m there.

One of my goals is to really understand the preferences and concerns of each birthing mother & partner. During 2 -3 pre-labor meetings with parents, we jointly explore preferences related to physical and emotional comfort, and we share information about pregnancy, comfort measures for labor & birth, acupressure points for comfort & baby positioning, baby care, hospital or home birth procedures, complementary care providers, role of the doula, etc. This sharing helps to prepare mothers and partners for birth, and it also helps me to see how I can best support them.

During labor we use comfort techniques that work for the mother, and change them up as necessary. The support and information that I offer varies according to the moment-to-moment needs of the mother and her partner, and always, I keep the mother’s over-all preferences and goals in mind.

After birth, I stay with the new family until they are settled in and ready to rest. Then I usually visit 2-3 times in the first days/weeks after birth. This is to check on breast-feeding, baby care and mother’s adjustment, and also to debrief & congratulate!

I support women wherever they choose to birth – at home with a midwife, or in the Trail and Nelson hospitals. When working for the parents and alongside medical care providers, I do my best to find a balance that is both supportive of the parents and respectful of the medical staff. This adds to the harmony in the birthing environment, and is helpful to the mother and her partner.

Childbirth Education:

I teach the childbirth education classes at Selkirk College in Trail, and am also a certified instructor for the Hypnobabies hypnosis for childbirth classes. I can fill you in on the content and ‘flavor’ of these two forms of childbirth education, so feel free to contact me with any questions you might have.

Many of the parents I work with take childbirth education classes of one kind or another, and those who don’t can get what they need through a combination of reading, videos, and private sessions with me. Occasionally parents who aren’t having a doula or taking group classes will hire me on an hourly basis to teach a custom class just for them - this is a good option when life & work schedules are challenging, and/or when parents need information on specific areas.

Rates:

In the past I charged a flat fee for assisting with birth, plus 2-3 visits pre-birth visits and 2-3 post-birth visits. However, since the time needed to fully support birth plus pre- and post-birth visits is gloriously variable, it seems appropriate to introduce a sliding fee scale of $450 to $720. $450 will cover up to 15 hours of my time, and if that’s enough time for your birth and visits, then that’s all you’ll pay. For births & visits that run longer than 15 hours, I’ll charge $30/hr up to a maximum of $720 (24 hrs). When the time associated with births & visits exceeds 24 hrs, I will stop counting hours and you can stop counting dollars. My commitment to you – and to every woman - is to stay with you throughout the whole birth and for as long as you need me.

I’m also committed to providing doula care for those who can’t afford fees, and I volunteer for one or two births per year through the Kootenay Doula Group Volunteer Support Project. Information about the Volunteer Project is available on this website.

Oh and – there is no charge (or implied commitment) for an introductory visit. If you would like to meet me to discuss my services and your desires for birth, I’ll be happy to come to your home. This will allow us to see if I’ll be a good fit for you. If so, we can continue from there.

Area of service:

I support women who are living/birthing anywhere within 1.5 hours drive of my home in Rossland – so this covers parents who are birthing in the Trail and in the Nelson hospitals, and also those who choose to home birth within that 1.5 hr radius.

Website and contact information:

My personal website has full information about my doula services and childbirth education offerings. I’m available by phone and email, and will welcome your inquiries.

Availability:

I am now dividing my time between Rossland, BC and Corvallis, Oregon, spending several months at a time in each location. In 2018 I will be in Rossland (and available to serve our wonderful Kootenay families) during the months of May to November. Parents can easily contact me by email or Skype when I am out of area - we can always get to know one another that way, before meeting in person 🙂

With very best wishes to you, your partner, and your growing child,

Hanne Smith
www.riverofbirth.com
(250) 362-7767 (Rossland landline)
smithhanne@gmail.com