2023 Reviewed

22 births

11 additional babies born with Amy as doula (and not included in following stats)

18 hospital births, 4 home births

16 vaginal, 6 Cesarean (3 planned, 3 unplanned)

3 VBACs (vaginal birth after Cesarean)

11 unmedicated, 11 epidurals

13 with midwives, 9 with OBs

7 inductions

Smallest baby: 5 lbs, 9 ozs

Biggest baby: 8 lbs, 9 ozs

Longest gestation: 41 weeks 1 day

Shortest gestation: 36 weeks

First birth: 7

Second birth: 10

Third birth: 4

Fourth birth: 1

Shortest labor support time: 0 hrs (client was COVID+ and baby came before midwife arrived)

Longest labor support time: 31.5 hrs

Average labor support time: 10.5 hrs

Location of births: Baptist Health Lexington 2, Home 4, Norton 1, Norton Women’s and Children’s 1, UK 14

Individual provider who caught the most of my clients’ babies: Megan Sharp, UK Midwife Clinic (4 babies)

Practice whose providers caught the most of my clients’ babies: UK Midwife Clinic (9 babies)

Professional development: Recertified as a DONA doula

Here are some interesting facts from 2023:

• One baby born on his due date

• Lots of “early” babies- only 6 babies came after their due date

• Missed two births- one client had COVID and provider didn’t even make it to her birth, one had baby about 45 min after she called me to come

• Popular baby names: Benjamin (3) and “Josie” (2 Josephine, 1 Josie)

• Alphabet babies- only letters of the alphabet not used in a baby’s first or middle name were Q, S, U, Y, and Z

No grand or wild thoughts come to mind when reflecting on 2023 clients and their births. You could even say that the year was a little boring which was due in large part to having a doula partner with whom to share the work. Last year, I attended 32 births (and did all of the prenatal and postpartum support as well). In 2023, I only went to 22 births. It felt so incredible to have Amy Jessie supporting not only our shared clients, but also me as a partner and friend.

One trend this year did seem to be breech babies. We had a lot of clients whose babies were breech pretty late in pregnancy and some who were still breech at birth. Some clients opted for ECVs and others opted for c-sections. There also seem to be more and more clients with blood pressure issues, either gestational hypertension or preeclampsia. I wonder if other doulas and providers have noticed this.

One sweet personal connection this year was that I was able to support a dear client during the birth of their third baby after having been with them for their first baby’s stillbirth and their son’s live birth. Then, I got to attend the birth of the OB who supported them for the first two births. Both the client and the OB hold very special places in my heart and I’m glad that I got to be by their sides as they welcomed their daughters. And when I attended the OB’s birth, I also got to see my 50th provider deliver/catch a client’s baby. I’ve now seen 53 different providers in action at the time of birth with many others who’ve been a part of the labor process. I think having worked with such a variety of providers is one of the greatest benefits to my clients. The knowledge I’ve gained from watching them practice helps me provide solid informational support and advocacy for birthing people and their families.

Thanks for continuing to support my work as a doula. Looking forward to supporting five repeats (so far) and incredible new clients in 2024!

2020 Reviewed

21 births

15 hospital births, 6 home births

20 vaginal, 1 Cesarean

1 VBAC (vaginal birth after Cesarean)

14 unmedicated, 7 epidurals

9 inductions

15 with midwives, 6 with OBs

Smallest baby: 5 lbs, 9 ozs

Biggest baby: 9 lbs, 1 ozs

Shortest labor support time: 3.5 hrs

Longest labor support time: 34 hrs

Average labor support time: 13 hrs

Longest gestation: 41 weeks

First birth: 10

Second birth: 9 (6 repeat clients!)

Third birth: 1

Fourth birth: 1

Location of births: Baptist Health Lexington 1, UK 9, Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center 1, Frankfort Regional Medical Center 2, Norton Women’s & Children’s 1, St. Joe’s East 1, Home 6

Individual provider who caught the most of my clients’ babies: Sarah Hood, Home Sweet Home Midwifery Services (4 babies)

Practice whose providers caught the most of my clients’ babies: UK Midwife Clinic (7 babies)

Professional development: Became an NRP Provider (Neonatal Resuscitation Program) and started childbirth educator training with Birthing Advocacy Doula Trainings

2020 ended up being my busiest year yet. It started off beautifully, with my first repeat client giving birth at home (her first baby was born at a hospital) under the care of a midwife. Three more babies came before the pandemic, with one being born the week before everything started shutting down in KY. I had planned off call time in April due to a spring break trip (that got cancelled), so thankfully I was not dealing with the initial insanity caused by frequently changing hospital policies and had time to prepare for the possibility of supporting clients virtually. Thankfully, I was able to support ALL of my 21 clients in person. I had one client switch from hospital to home birth because of the pandemic, but others considered it.

My clients’ induction rate went down to 43% (9 of 21) after last year’s 50%. Not surprisingly, my longest continuous support time of 34 hours was at an induction. Even though I tell clients to expect inductions to last days, it’s hard to wrap your head and body around what that feels like until you’re in it; exhaustion is typically a huge factor in the process. Out of the nine inductions, there were only two that I would consider elective (although I don’t know that that is how they were labeled by the providers).

Some other stats that I want to highlight are that one of my clients had a VBAC (100%) and that six were born preterm (2) or early term (4). Both of the preterm births were originally planned home births, but transferred to hospital care- one for hypertension/preeclampsia and the other for imminent preterm birth at 35wks 1day. Not surprisingly, I had a COVID exposure at one birth (that I know of). The hospitals stopped rapid testing at some point and unfortunately, we found out that a client was positive two hours after baby was born. Thankfully, I did not get infected and the mom and her baby are healthy! Also, I had a Leap Day doula baby this year! He was born at 12:48am on February 29, 2020.

The year was hard for lots of reasons, but I feel that it was the one in which I’ve grown the most as a doula. It no longer feels difficult to share confidently about my value when talking to potential clients; I’m really good at doula work. Thank you to the providers and nurses who provided over-the-top excellent care to my clients during some seriously stressful times. Thank you to the six families that allowed me back into their birthing spaces this year and to the fifteen others who welcomed me for the first time. You all have provided some of the brightest moments of 2020!

2018 Reviewed

Hello friends! 2018 was my first full year as a birth doula. Check out some stats about the births I attended:

11 births total

5 with midwives, 6 with OBs or family practice doctors (all at hospitals)

7 vaginal, 4 Cesarean (1 with OB was planned, 3 others were in midwifery care)

1 vaginal breech birth (family practice doctor)

Smallest baby: 5 lbs, 8 ozs

Biggest baby: 10 lbs, 5 ozs

3 inductions

Shortest support time: 6 hrs

Longest support time: 31 hrs

Most popular first initial of baby’s name: E

Gestational age range: 38 weeks - 40 weeks, 3 days

Any other stats you’d be interested in hearing about? I really love looking back at birth data! I’m on call for a client right now, so who knows, a last minute babe could sneak in tonight.

In addition to these births, I completed a mentorship with Birdsong Brooklyn (I’m actually doing it again this year because it’s THAT GOOD). I also took an amazing solo roadtrip to the Catskills of NY for Advanced Birth Doula training with Carriage House Birth. I feel like that long weekend took me to a whole new level as a doula. So much of doula work is mental work, and the trainers of Carriage House helped me uncover a lot that I continue to work on to improve my doula practice. I also become a DONA certified birth doula (that’s the CD(DONA) credentials after my name) and completed my training to become an Evidence Based Birth Professional.

I’m grateful for my family’s continued support (especially my husband and mother-in-law’s) and for the growing doula community in Central Kentucky. We’re a pretty stellar group of folks! Here’s to the end of calendar year 2018, but also to the continuation of growing and learning for all of those who support birthing people and their families in the Bluegrass. Cheers!