CURRENTLY NOT ACCEPTING CLIENTS UNTIL 2026
BLISSFUL EMBRACE DOULA SERVICES
Emily Preston, Certified Birth Doula
Please contact the Southern Utah Birth Village for current list of practicing Doulas
Serving Southern Utah:
Washington and Iron counties
Please contact me for service outside of these areas.
ABOUT ME
Hi, I'm Emily and I am so glad you’re here!
A few things about me:
I absolutely love birth work! My Great Grandmother, Zella Lester, was a Traditional Midwife in Central and Northern Utah during the 1950s and early 1960s until her untimely death in 1962. No doubt her spirit is what guides my own desires to be involved in birth work. My ultimate birth work dream is to eventually become a Traditional home-birth Midwife and open a freestanding birth center here in Southern Utah!
I have been married to my amazing husband, Brayden, for almost 10 years. We live in Enterprise with our three wild and rambunctious boys.
I have had one hospital birth and two homebirths.
My first was a planned homebirth but after over 22 hours with very hard contractions Brayden and I made the decision to transfer because I had become so exhausted and only dilated to 2cm. Finally, after 30+ hours of labor, a transfer, plummeting blood pressure from epidural and talk of emergency cesarean, he arrived vaginally. 6lb 12oz with the sweetest little squished nose (heart eyes everywhere).
When I became pregnant with my second son I still wanted my empowering homebirth. With an amazing support team I had a very healing homebirth in a peaceful environment after only 15 hours of labor. This little brother weighed a full pound more than his big brother at 7lbs 12oz!
Baby boy number three was also born in the comfort of my home. I labored for 16 hours (8 hours of active labor). He was born surrounded by his dad and 12 other women. He was perfect at a healthy 7lbs 3oz.
I became a birth doula because I believe in the innate primal ability of women to do precisely what our bodies were designed to do, grow and birth babies. I want women to know they can in a world were we are constantly told we can’t. Our society has become so obsessed with “problem solving” that we treat birth as if it is a problem to be “fixed” when in many cases, if left perfectly alone, women would have no problem at all.
Physiologic birth means allowing your body to go through labor under its own innate power. It is the optimal functioning of childbirth, and is a safe process that includes labor, birth, and the first hour after birth for both you and your baby. Healthy birth does not routinely require medical intervention. Characteristics of healthy labor, birth, and the first hour after birth are:
Your labor starts and progresses on its own.
The process is supported by physical and psychological factors that promote effective labor.
Labor results in a vaginal birth with normal blood loss.
You and your baby stay together after birth, with the baby remaining directly on your skin.
Breastfeeding begins right away.
More info on physiological birth at Our Moment of Truth
I completely understand necessary intervention for legitimate concerns or complications; there is certainly a time and place. However, my ultimate goal is to help women through birth with as little intervention as possible, with as much knowledge as possible and with full informed consent to any intervention presented.
By dedicating time to educate yourself and prepare for birth, you enhance the likelihood of achieving a natural and intervention-free delivery. This proactive approach offers both you and your baby the optimal opportunity to embrace the birth experience you were naturally designed for.
WHAT IS A DOULA?
A birth doula, as defined by DONA International, “is a trained professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to a mother before, during and shortly after childbirth to help her achieve the healthiest, most satisfying experience possible.” Some people think a doula is the same as a midwife, with a technical or medical type roll. This, however, is not the case at all.
Normally a doula is hired by an expecting couple to provide one-on-one physical, emotional and informational support during labor and delivery. But they also provide education about routine interventions, a resource list of local natural women’s care professionals, initial breastfeeding support and lastly, advocacy. Doulas attend births at the expecting parents chosen location i.e., home, birth center or hospital.
Doulas are trained to support all types of births but especially physiological birth; allowing the body to go through labor under its own innate power, with little to no intervention. They employ various comfort techniques, offer emotional support, encouragement and reassurances that can alleviate pain throughout labor. A doula will also help the mother move into a variety of positions that help progress labor into the delivery stage of childbirth. They will also bring food, ice chips, water and provide assistance when walking to and from the bathroom. A birth doula is a support person through and through.
What are the limitations of a birth doula?
Doulas do not perform any clinical tasks or diagnose conditions. Nor do they make any decisions on behalf of their client, unless explicitly asked to do so. They also do not pressure their client into accepting or declining procedures or into making certain choices; they solely support the family’s decisions, birth plan and birth goals. A doula absolutely does not take over the role of the laboring woman’s partner. Instead, she helps him to understand the process taking place. She shows him how to help his laboring wife in the most effective ways possible and reminds him to take a break every once in a while, or to grab a bite to eat.
What is the evidence on doulas and are they really worth it?
Randomized controlled trials have shown that women who have doulas during labor are more likely to have spontaneous vaginal deliveries and positive birth experiences. They are less likely to need an epidural as the calming effect of the doula’s presence increases the mother’s own natural pain coping hormones (beta-endorphins) making labor feel less painful.
The presence of a doula has shown to increase oxytocin production in the mother reducing her stress reaction, fear and anxiety and increases contraction strength and effectiveness. And finally, having the continuous support from a doula drastically decreases the odds of needing a cesarean section, especially in induced labors.
If the goal is to have as natural and normal a birth experience as possible, with little to no intervention then,
YES, a doula is most certainly worth it.
More Evidence on doulas can be found at Evidence Based Birth
WHY GO NATURAL?
Our bodies were designed to give birth. Birth, in most cases, is not an emergency. When the birth process is not influenced or interrupted with unnecessary interventions we reduce the rate of complications significantly.
Recovery after natural birth is night and day different than recovery from medicated birth. During labor you are able to move freely, feel where the pushing needs to happen, less likely to push for hours and less likely to tear.
As great as an epidural can be for an exhausted momma, there are side effects and they can negatively affect baby. Milk supply can be hindered by medications during labor. Many moms think they can't breastfeed or don't produce milk; when in reality the hormones that support breastmilk production could have been hindered by the use of high dose medication like an epidural.
Your hormones are able to balance much better after natural birth than with a medicated birth. This can help reduce the likelihood of having Baby Blues and Postpartum Depression (PPD).
I prefer taking a more wholistic approach to life in general and birth is one of the things I think we need to go back to our roots for. If you have knowledge about birth and the birth process you will be so much more confident in the decisions you make.
Knowledge = Confidence
INVESTMENT & PACKAGE OPTIONS
Birth Doula Package
$800
Virtual Package
$650
Previous Clients
$625
Last Minute Call Out
(Where labor has already started, if I am currently available & not on call for a contracted client.)
$525
What's included?*
We will meet 3 times during your third trimester to discuss your birth plan and preferences. I will also share resources to help empower you to make informed decisions. I am on call for you 24/7 starting at 37 weeks until the onset of labor. I will remain with you to support you throughout labor until birth. I typically stay for 1-2 hours after birth to help establish breastfeeding, if necessary. I will return to your home for 2 postpartum visits within the first four weeks to discuss your birth and my services.
*Please note: A deposit of $400.00 ($300.00 for returning clients) and a signed contract are required to reserve your due date, with the full balance being paid by the beginning of your 37th week of pregnancy.
Additionally, payment plans are available on a case by case basis. I would love to talk about these options with you.
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