What is a doula?
Like travel guides in a foreign country, birth and postpartum doulas helpsupport new families through the life changing experience of having a baby!
Whether it’s a family’s first baby or their tenth, a doula can help make the birth and postpartum experience better.
Today, a doula is defined as set follows:
Doula is a trained professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to a mother before, during and after childbirth to help her achieve the healthiest, most satisfying experience possible.
The Association of Estonian Birth Supporters: www.doula.ee
Sessions with the client
are good to get to know each other and build trust. We can meet either in my yoga classes for expectant women or… would you like! We can work on your birth plan in both English and Estonian. You can ask whatever interests you or is still unclear, and I’m there to help you find all the answers. 🙂
Prenatal Visit
Informative and Hands On
Between 34-38 weeks I will offer you at least one or better two or even more important meetings at your home. During these meetings, I will work with you and your partner to collaborate on your vision for your birth. We will practically go through different birth positions and breathing methods that can offer the great release and necessery empowerment during the delivery. We will also discuss your feelings about pain medication, interventions, and practice the various comfort measures that we will utilize during your birth. At this time we will talk about when you want me to join you during your labor and what you can do during early labor with your partner to stay comfortable. These meetings should last about 1,5-2 hours, and at least one of them would preferably include both partners.
Baby Day Birth Support
Continuous Care
When it comes time for your labor and birth, I am with you continuously. This is the day that you have been preparing for and have been envisioning! Together we will work through your labour, coping techniques, positioning, massage, use of the bathtub and shower. When it comes to pushing, I am right by your side, supporting you through each and every push. And once the baby is here, I will help to facilitate the “Golden Hour”, the incredible bonding through skin to skin and establish breastfeeding.
Also I will visit you the next day to be sure that you are feeling comfortable, held and also well informed in either a birth hospital or your home.
Postpartum Visits and Support
Establishing Your New Normal
Post-partum is a time that is often overlooked when planning for birth. But this time is one that can be joyous and equally stressful. This visits typically takes place in your home between 1-6 weeks after birth and lasts around 2 hours. During post-partum visits we may take time to look back at the birth. What are the memories of that day that you cherish? What surprised you? Is there anything that didn’t go how you’d hoped? All of these pieces that we must process in order to help cement the birth story that we will remember forever. This visit is a time to honor your story in whatever way feels most comfortable to you.
In addition, if you’d like, I will cook you an ayurvedic recovery tea from several organic components. And as a lactation consultant with a UNICEF diploma I’m happy to support your breastfeeding. I can also work as a personal trainer for your pelvic floor and core muscles and help you recover from diastasis recti.
On the photo (up): Aale-Triinu with her 2nd child and 1st son, 2014.
Preparation and prenatal
Appointments: 1h/45€
Video calls: (Skype, Zoom, Messinger): 1h/30€
Payable by invoiceand also by Stebby credit
- Getting to know eachother. 🙂 I’ll be listening your visions, wishes and questions and will give answers, explanations, advices etc (usually lasts about 30-60 minutes);
- Personal yoga class / an individual program for regular balanced training;
- Helping to think through everything about becoming a mom (and dad) and about the labour;
- Introduction into Spinning Babies® protocols for releasing the muscular tentions and preparing for the physiological birth;
- Practicing birth positions and breathing techniques;
- Discussing the role of the father during labour;
- Nutrition counselling;
- Emotional support;
- Being an interpreter on the field of pregnancy and labour;
- Forming the draft of your birth plan (a document for medical personnel);
- Hospital bag checklist;
- The checklist about what would you need for your baby during first months. (Medical and other supplies, clothes, etc for a newborn)
- etc.
Time and place upon agreement.
Also possible via internet/video call.
Baby Day Birth Support
580 € (in the hospital and also one postpartum visit)
Birth support can be offered partially or fully also through video/phonecall. In this case the Baby Day full support is 420 €. 200 € prepaid latest on the 38th week and the rest after the baby’s birth or depending on our agreement.
NB! Also possible to have partial support per hour. E.g. if you would like to stay peacefully at home till the right time to go to hospidal, I’m gladly offering this support for you as many hours you need. In adition to these hours just 1 hour will be added for the proffessional readyness and absolute priority around the clock, answering phone calls and messages any time around the clock.
Payable by invoice
- Answering questions that may come up and helping to recognize the very 1st signs of the labor;
- Doula’s readyness and dedication around the clock;
- Guidance though supportive and comfortable positions, breathing, aroma therapy, massage, etc;
- Making herbal tea;
- Practical support and help with moving to the hospital;
- Both practical and emotional support during the labour and up to 2h after the birth;
- Breastfeeding support after the birth;
- One free postpartum vist during the next days (can be on any of these topics seen just below up to 2 hours)
- Free shorter consultings via sms and phone calls during 2 weeks.
Continuous support around the clock.
Also possible via internet/video/phone call!
During early stages of the labor, the support is offered either via messages and/or phone calls or directly
at client’s home, if there is a need for that.
During midstage of the labor, the support is offered mostly at client’s home, and also on the way to hospital (in the car).
During mid- or late stages of the labor the support is continues either at client’s home together with the midwife – If the family chooses the home birth, or at the birth hospital.
If the birth hospital doesn’t accept doulas because of COVID, then the later stages of the labor, the full guidance and support is offered via telephone (+ headset). Don’t lose your support because of COVID! You’ll still find it deeply helpful to have your doula on the phone, breathing with you, also guiding you to breath with the sound that helps to open the pelvis and relax the muscles of the birth channel, etc.
One postpartum visit takes place at any place the fresh mom/dad will choose to, usually still at their home.
Postpartum Visits and Support
Appointments: 1h/45€ (the price is depending on the type of the session and can be also less or more)
Video calls (Skype, Zoom, Messinger): 1h/30€. Payable by invoice
- Lactation consultation;
- Helping in practical matters with the baby;
- Supporting in both, physical and emotional recovery;
- Understanding, releasing and healing the emotions about birth;
- Manual therapy in case of a diastasis recti;
- Establishing the personal training program;
- Ayurvedic postpartum tea for better healing;
- Bengkung waste wrapping i.e. belly binding (look at the picture below);
- Therapeutic vaginal steam spa at home;
- Birth Closure Ceremony.
The visit on the next day takes place usually in the hospital or at client’s home. Also possible via videocall.Other postpartum visits at home or whereever the fresh mom prefers. Usually 1,5-2 h at a time. Birth Closure Ceremony 4,5-5,5 h.
Photos of bengkung belly wrapping:
Contact doula Aale-Triinu: anjani1008@gmail.com
Doula Aale-Triinu Sonn about herself:
“As a Kriya Hatha Yoga instructor I started to give yoga glasses for expectant women in 2006. Through these regular classes and seminars I have offered preparation for natural birth for about 1000 women. Some of their feedback (in Estonian) can be read here.
After the birth of my second child in 2014 I started with my mom & baby classes.During 2017-2018, after the birth of my third child, I studied to become professional birth doula and lactation consultant in Estonia, in Põlisrahva Tarkuste Kool. Since 2018 I have supported more than 35 women directly in their childbirth (The feedback in Estonia here).Births I have assisted as a doula, have taken place both in hospitals and homes. I have also aided several natural and painless births, including water births and also c-sections (including planned ones).It is my heart wish to support families in the process of conscious birth and it’s my passion to make women feel like poweful goddesses during giving birth. 🙂Thanks to my yoga-related background I am now in the process of founding the birth school ‘Mindful Birth’ in Estonia. For years already I have encouraged families to use mindfulness also at the time of giving birth and found this as magically efective as the physiotherapy and body work, too.
From all of my heart I’m happily supporting the magic process of becoming mom/dad.
Photo: Aale-Triinu carrying her 3rd child, 2016.
Photo: Aale-Triinu carrying her 3rd child, 2016
Studies:
- 2022 Aug Mexican midwife Naoli Vinaver (Art of Birth) cources: “Mexican Postpartum and Temazcal Ceremony” and “Art of Birth with Mexican rebozo”.
- 2020 Feb Spinning Babies® 2-days Workshop (Teacher: Jennifer Walker. Spinning Babies® reduces unnecessary cesareans with a paradigm-shifting approach to physiological birth. Spinning Babies® goes beyond fetal positioning with our contribution to addressing all labor progress issues and resolves labor stalls with Spinning Babies® Three Levels Solutions℠).
- 2019 March Postpartum Swaddling (Teacher: Natalie Sanna).
- 2018 Oct Testing Diastasis Recti and establishing the individual training program and manual therapy of German midwife Angela Heller. (Teacher: Yola Garbers (Germany)).
- 2018 Sept Postpartum treatments: herbal massage, physiological belly massage, Savasana massage, herbal steam home sauna, healing tea, Benkung wrapping (Teacher: Natalie Sanna).
- 2017 Sept – 2018 June. Full Doula Programme – 450 hours (at Põlisrahva Tarkuste ja Rahvaravi Kool. Teachers: Karita Mikko, Ingrid Kaoküla, Elina Piirimäe, Ülle Lember, Küllike Lillestik, Riinu Verlin, Triin Värnik).
- 2017 Oct – 2018 May. UNICEF’s Lactation Consultant – 40 hours. Teachers: Ülle Lember, Riinu Verlin.
- 2017 Feb – April. 32-hour course of of Babies Massage. (Physiotherapist: Marika Must).
- 2017 Feb. E-course of pelvic floor muscle. (Teachers: Katri Ristal ja Kaija Margumets (www.minaolenginaine.ee).
- 2016 July-Aug. Birth School at Estonian Midwife Center (12h, teachers: Ingrid Kaoküla, Iren Laidma, www.ammaemanduskeskus.ee);
- 2015 Nov-2016 Jan. Mom&Baby Yoga part 1 and part 2 (Teacher Natalie Sanna, Bliss Yoga Stuudio).
- 2006 Example yoga classes for pregnant women (Teacher: midwife Ülle Lember; www.paikesetants.ee);
- 2005 Course for Kriya Hatha Yoga Teachers. Yoga exercises for pregnancy.
Vaginal steaming – old time therapeutic procedure popular again!
In vaginal steaming — often described as a “facial” for the vagina — a woman sits over a bowl of steaming water infused with herbs. This procedure has been used in ancient medicine for centuries, but it has re-emerged in spas more recently over the last decade. Vaginal steaming has been used as a natural remedy for both psychological and physical balancing and cleansing the reproductive organs, including the uterus, cervix, and vagina. It is recommended specially with hemorroids and thus remarkably supportive after giving birth. But may have an effect of balancing womens menstrual cycles, too.
It also allegedly relieves:
stress
depression
hemorrhoids
infections
infertility
hormone imbalances
headaches
fatigue
digestive issues
generalized pain
However, it is important to know that in modern world is no true scientific evidence that vaginal steaming works on all the symptoms described above, still women describe great relief, deep rest and sense of recovery after the procedure.
How does it look like to have a homey steam spa for your vaginal health?
I bring everything you need for this procedure with me – different herbs, relaxing elements to make the procedure more meditative and the special handmade wooden seat, too.
You can prepare just a big towel and a blanket around you waste. Some candles and flowers may be cosy to have around you and silent relaxing music. I usually make also an ayrvedic drink to enjoy at the time of vaginal steaming.
- We’ll add about a cup of your chosen herbs to a basin of hot water.
- And let the herbs steep for at least a minute.
- You can remove your clothes from the waist down and wrap a towel around your waist and legs to prevent the steam from escaping.
- Sit directly over the basin. Some people prefer a special seat or so called throne for this (you can see one version of it at the picture :)).
Herbs often used alone or in combination include:
- mugwort
- wormwood
- chamomile
- calendula
- basil
- oregano
Postpartum Care & Birth Closure Ceremony
Traditional postpartum doula care focuses on nurturing, nourishing, honoring and celebrating the new mother. Our Postpartum Care sessions and rituals create a sacred space that brings healing warmth, relaxation, new awareness and deeper experience of self-acceptance to the mother. They facilitate healing and bring closure to the childbirth chapter of the woman’s motherhood story.
Birth Closure Ceremony
Childbirth is a significant Rite of Passage in one’s journey to motherhood. A Birth Closure Ceremony is a powerful postpartum healing ceremony that honors, nurtures, and supports the healing mother after birth.
Birth Closure Ceremonies incorporate a variety of physical, emotional and energetic healing modalities. They include a traditional ‘closing the bones’ ritual, and support a mother’s physical, emotional, and energetic healing that helps bring a sense of closure and peace, even years after she has given birth.
Whether a baby is born vaginally or by cesarean, if the labor was many hours, relatively fast, felt empowering or traumatic–there is a genuine need to recognize and honor the labor and birthing experience that a mother has undergone. This ceremony meets this unique and largely unmet need in our society.
This unique Birth Closure Ceremony utilizes an integrative approach, and therefore blends a unique combination of holistic healing techniques. This includes a ‘closing of the bones’ ritual, in which the postpartum mother is anointed, massaged, wrapped and ‘pulled together’ from head to toe in several cloths. This healing ritual is brought into combination with a variety of focused energetic clearing processes, a ritual herbal bath, somatic release techniques, energy work and guided healing meditations. Also warming and healing naturally sweet ayurvedic drink is offered. No two birth closure ceremonies are exactly alike, just as no two mothers or birth experiences are exactly alike.
Photos: Hanna Odras and personal photo archive
Contact doula Aale-Triinu: anjani1008@gmail.com
Contact doula Aale-Triinu: anjani1008@gmail.com