In the world of baby care, doulas are raising the standard for labor and postpartum support.
Our team of professional doulas have been trained and certified with the highest standard of care for labor and postpartum clients. Standardized care is important to not only improve the quality of service for families receiving doula services, but to keep our care expectations consistent throughout the agency.
Why is standardized care important?
Consistency is key.
Flexibility is important, and our team of doulas work together to support a client’s busy schedule. Industry standards keep all our doulas on the same page, ensuring each of our clients are getting consistent and exceptional care. When you have a labor doula on call, you’ll always have a backup that is familiar with your family’s birth plan. Without standardized care, it would keep us from meeting the expectations of our clients and their birth team communicating effectively.
There are so many different parenting styles and newborn care techniques to choose from, most of which are passed down through generations and can become outdated. The standards of labor and postpartum care keep doulas interacting with families completely judgement free, only using safe and modern newborn care strategies. Our doulas are well versed on up to date childbirth education curriculum, lactation, the postpartum period and more. Standards in our certifications empower us to fully support families, providing them with resources to answer the questions they have about their child’s health and development. Without the elevated standard, it would leave a lot of doulas unequipped to handle the unique needs of our clients and how to navigate the uncertainties of delivery and newborn care.
Standardized care sets us apart.
Families choose our team of doulas because we provide credentials they can trust.
We certified with Prodoula, the leading agency that supports doulas in their journey to provide families all over the world with exceptional support and non-medical newborn care. The Prodoula standard is so elevated in the industry that they require doulas to regularly re-certify in various elements. These certifications keep us updated on innovative birth and postpartum options for families in our area.
Lone Star Doulas are raising the standards in standardized doula care.
Our staff compassionately and professionally helps support your family as you welcome your newest addition.
Wouldn’t it be great to have an extra set of hands to help you with newborn care and little tasks around the house while you focus on your postpartum recovery?
You can!
A postpartum doula gives new parents the opportunity to settle into their home with their new baby feeling stress free and confident. This trained baby professional helps parents with every element of baby care with the family’s parenting style of choice as a framework for newborn care practices.
Postpartum Recovery
Newly postpartum moms are cared for and comforted as they relax and recover in the difficult days ahead. Self care is an important element of the postpartum recovery process. Having a doula at home encourages mothers to devote time each day to self care, making their transition home stress free. Parents have an amazing newborn care resource available to answer questions they have or give them some extra confidence as they get the hang of baby care and their new routines.
A doula is there to help you develop a feeding and sleeping schedule, bias free and encouraging the parenting style of your choice. If you are breastfeeding, your postpartum doula can help you learn all the breastfeeding basics and how to make your breastfeeding journey a positive experience. Access to a doula means a variety of modern parenting resources at your fingertips and you can be confident that your family is fully prepared to bring home baby.
Sibling Care
If you have older children it can be intimidating to bring home a new baby. Your doula can help care for your older kids or take over baby care so parents can spend some quality time with their other babies. Especially during breaks from school, a postpartum doula can be the extra set of hands to keep a new mom calm and collected. When you are able to divide your time, there is typically less sibling jealousy and negative behavioral responses to the introduction of a new baby. A doula encourages bonding between parents and baby and their big brothers and sisters.
Meal Prep
Your doula is there to help nurture your entire family and facilitate the transition home with a new baby. While balancing a newborn care routine and household tasks, making dinner plans can be the furthest from your mind. Your doula can help you plan and prepare meals that will boost your energy during the postpartum period and help your body recover. Some extra help in the kitchen will keep your family’s meal routines on track and settling down to new baby life seamlessly.
A postpartum doula is an expert in all things comfort and baby.
Having a postpartum doula is the extra peace of mind for new parents, keeping them fully prepared and supported as they welcome the newest addition to their family.
Finding the postpartum healing resources that are right for you can be exhausting.
It’s no mistake that placenta encapsulation has been around for centuries as an effective way for new mothers to recover postpartum. The placenta is a powerhouse of important hormones that helps women bond with their newborn, improve lactation supply, creating oxytocin and banishing postpartum depression. Containing stress-reducing hormones, many women also experience more energy and less fatigue
During the initial phase of postpartum healing, your uterus slowly begins to shrink back to normal and with the help of hormones your body naturally produces. Consuming encapsulated placenta helps your body heal, in an all natural way.
In home encapsulation is raising the standard for placenta processing in the United States.
Processing placenta requires a sterile environment and professional handling to ensure a safe and effective finished product. When your placenta is processed in your own home, the organ never leaves your possession and you can be sure that your home is clean and safe. If you want to be actively involved in the process, you can engage in the process by watching and asking questions you have as they arise. Or you can sit comfortably in the other room and be confident your placenta is being handled by a trained and certified professional.
Not only is your encapsulator a specialist in their field, they also have extensive experience with postpartum recovery, newborn care, breastfeeding and more. While your placenta is being encapsulated, you can ask your specialist about questions and concerns you might have about your first few days home with your newborn.
Placenta encapsulation is a powerful resource to combat postpartum depression and anxiety. If you’ve experienced symptoms of postpartum depression with your first baby, your chances of experiencing the same emotional distress nearly double with your second child. Most women who utilize placenta during their postpartum period, experience a quicker, more pleasant recovery with reduced or eliminated symptoms of postpartum anxiety or depression.
In home placenta encapsulation puts postpartum women in complete control of the process.
With some extra help getting yourself back on track with your postpartum recovery, your body can heal and recover more efficiently, offering new mothers a little extra peace of mind. Ask your doula team how placenta encapsulation can help you stay in control of your physical and emotional recovery during the fourth trimester.
Our compassionate staff is there to help parents transition home with their new baby and feeling confident, supported and healthy throughout the entire process.
The holidays are officially right around the corner!
If you’re looking to plan some fun activities with your kids during your winter break, there’s plenty of things to do in the Houston area to make your season a little brighter and a way more fun.
If you’re home with your newborn and you need some activities that are easy on your postpartum recovery, there’s also plenty of low-key holiday events for everyone in your family to enjoy.
We put together a go-to guide for local holiday fun this week, so suit up in your Christmas best and turn up the cheer!
The Texas Bowl
The Texas Bowl is a Houston post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division, FBS college football bowl game tradition that Houston families have been celebrating for over a decade. Sports during the holidays give families some uplifting spirit as they root on their teams as a family after eating a filling holiday meal.
It’s all about the pre-game parties, tailgating and team spirit with family and friends and there’s no shortage of all the above here. Get your gear ready, your game day recipes cookin’ and have some fun at this year’s Texas Bowl! The best tailgate decorations and spirit will be awarded by H-E-B judges roaming the stadium parking lot Team Spirit, Food Presentation (exclusive H-E-B pride is an absolute must) Originality and Hospitality in their search to crown this year’s H-E-B Tailgater of the Game! So get your thinking caps on and your crock pots going!
The Nutcracker at the Houston Ballet
The Nutcracker is an absolute Christmas classic and has become a tradition for many families to watch a Nutcracker performance together before their big holiday celebrations. The Houston Ballet puts on an incredible performance that will leave your little ones enchanted and anxiously awaiting Christmas morning. It’s a perfect way to get a little festive this week before the crazy travel and parties of the weekend.
The Festival of Lights
Moody Gardens hosts the area’s largest display of holiday lights in the Houston area that belongs on everyone’s list this month. The trail features millions of sparkling lights, live entertainment and tons of animated displays set to familiar Christmas tunes. There’s ice skating and a 100 foot long slide! This event is a crowd favorite and is an incredibly magical way to kick off the big holiday week ahead. There’s plenty to do here for the kids and parents, bringing this event to the top of our holiday to-do list every year.
Milk and Cookies With Santa
It’s not too late to get yourself on Santa’s nice list. The Children’s Museum of Houston is hosting a meet and greet with the big man in red himself, where kids can have milk and cookies and submit those last minute Christmas wishes. If you haven’t paid Santa a visit before he embarks on his big trip around the world, the Children’s Museum of Houston has the surprise for you! This museum also hosts different event for your little ones and fun interactive exhibits to explore throughout the year.
If you’re looking for some fun activities to do with the kids while they’re home on their holiday break, you don’t need to go far when Houston has you covered.
Visit some of these awesome local happenings in our area to start feeling a little more festive before all your big plans this weekend!
Have a happy and healthy holiday season from Lone Star Doulas!
This week’s #womancrushwednesday is Nina, a member of our Co-Owner Elizabeth’s family.
My household consists of myself, my two daughters, and Nina. Nina is my rock. She co-parents with me, reminds me of my self worth, and loves and cares for my children like only she could. Nina happens to be an AuPair, but to me she’s family. When people refer to Nina as “the AuPair”, I have mixed feelings.
Yes, she is an AuPair. But she is so much more than *just* an AuPair.
In the time since I’ve met Nina (less than a year) I’ve moved, been pregnant, gave birth, got divorced, and opened a second business. I was certain that so many major life events would intimidate her, and cause her to quit. One thing I’ve learning about Nina is that she doesn’t back down from a challenge, she conquers it. She chose to leave her home country to help my family transition through our daily life, even though my life situation wasn’t typical. She could have chosen any family, but she chose mine. If that isn’t humbling, I don’t know what is.
In a lot of ways Nina is similar to a postpartum doula. She is non-judgmental of my parenting choices and seeks to help me discover my own style of parenting versus pushing a specific style. She supports me through making decisions by letting me process my feelings with her. Most importantly, she’s dependable—I know she will be there when I need her.
There’s so many variations of normal in pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and parenting. Here at Lone Star Doulas we look forward to helping every type of family smoothly transition through every stage of life.
Contact us today to learn more about how our services can benefit your family.
