Early Labor

Please send me a text message when early labor begins or if your water breaks. This will allow me to prepare for when active labor starts. We know that sometimes it can be hard to differentiate ‘end of pregnancy’ sensations with early labor.

If you really aren’t sure, I’d encourage you to wait until daytime hours to reach out just so that I can preserve as much sleep as possible. But I also totally understand that false alarms are normal and part of the process. I would rather receive a false alarm than miss your birth!

Active Labor

I typically arrive during active labor. This looks different for each person and birth story, but we tend to look for the following signs:

• if checking dilation: 6cm or greater

• if not checking dilation: strong, consistent contractions that you can’t talk or walk through for at least one hour. Usually these contractions are 3-4 minutes apart. If you have a history of precipitous births, we may need to join you sooner.

I do need 1.5 hours notice to arrive to your birth location once you ask us to join you. Often we’re able to reach you much sooner, but 1.5 hours allows for traffic, distance, and weather conditions.

Contacting Us

A text message is the best way to contact me both during the day and at night. Phone calls tend to wake up my cosleeping toddler and husband!

Monet: 719-360-1125
 
I almost always respond immediately to text messages regarding birth. If for some reason you don't receive a text response within 10 minutes, please call my number.

Back up number: 719-339-3059 (Monet’s husband, Ry)

Back up number: 719-237-6200 (Monet’s Backup, Lexi)

Induction or Cesarean Birth

If you are having an induction or cesarean birth, please let us know as soon as possible when a birth/induction day has been selected.

We generally arrive at the hospital one hour before a scheduled cesarean birth. Please update us once you check in and let us know if everything is on schedule..

During an induction, we ask that someone updates us during the process. Inductions can sometimes take as long as 48+ hours. We usually come once active labor has been established (greater than 6cm).

Long Births

In the event of an exceptionally long birth, Monet might swap out with another doula/photographer to allow you to have a rested and refreshed birth worker. If labor has stalled, I may make the decision to rest at home until labor progresses again. This is always a shared decision we make with our clients and their care team. I have no limits on how long we’ll support/document a birth, but I do have policies in place to make sure that we are rested and safe to drive home.

Backup and Emergency

Due to the unpredictable nature of birth, I strive to always have a backup available in the event of a birth conflict, sickness, or the need for rest. Monet works closely with Alexa Faye. In the rare event neither Monet or Alexa is available, we have a trusted team of backups that are both trained doulas and birth photographers. Monet will edit and deliver all images regardless of who attends the birth.

After Birth

We stay 1-2 hours after birth. Many providers will complete the newborn exam during this timeframe, but some homebirth and birth center midwives perform the newborn exam closer to 3-4 hours postpartum. If you’d like the newborn exam to be documented, you can always ask your midwife if it can be done before I leave. Some families find these images meaningful while other families prefer to have longer uninterrupted skin to skin time. The choice is entirely up to you! But in order to be available for our families during the unpredictability of labor, we do leave at 1-2 hours postpartum.

Images

I will send you 10 preview images within 24 hours of birth. Please feel free to share any of these images with your friends and family on social media. I love for you to share!

The remainder of your gallery or birth film will be hand-edited by Monet within 6 weeks of birth. These images will be delivered in a password protected gallery. You will be able to download the high-resolution images directly to your computer. Your birth film will also be delivered via the same password protected gallery. Please make sure to download the images & film and back them up.