Birth Doula Services

What is a birth doula?

A birth doula is a trained professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to their client(s) before, during and shortly after childbirth to help them achieve the healthiest, most satisfying experience possible.

Karen San Andres, Reg PT, has been in the field of pelvic health physiotherapy care since 2009 and began offering physio-birth doula services in Jan 2022. With extensive knowledge of musculoskeletal and pelvic health, combined with her background in psychology and health coaching, and topped with her passion for empowering her patients to feel safe and confident, the transition to birth doula felt like a natural next step.

Birth Doula scope of care includes:

1. emotional, physical, educational and coaching support before, during and after your birth
2. one prenatal meeting at your home with you and your partner
3. birth plan review and preparation
4. text, phone or email support throughout the last 4 weeks of the pregnancy,
5. attendance and completely unbiased support through the entire Labour and Delivery,
6. text, phone or email support for 4 weeks postnatally and
7. one postnatal home visit

Birth doula services are separate from physiotherapy pre-, peri- and postnatal assessment and treatment. As such, these birth doula services may or may not, be covered under your extended health benefits plan.  It is up to each client to check with their insurance provider for possible coverage. Karen can only commit to birth doula services a few times a year, commitment to your birth is subject to availability. Please contact the clinic if you are interested in more information or booking a consultation for birth doula services.