Austin Doula Works
Local childbirth education, photography, and doula services
Professional doulas, childbirth education, newborn support & photography services in Austin, Texas.
Doulas are trained childbirth support professionals who have dedicated themselves to informing and easing the childbirth experience. Austin Doula Works brings together a community of certified doulas in Austin to provide a myriad of childbirth-related services. Our doulas offer birth doula support, postpartum doula support, childbirth education, newborn care education, and a host of birth-related photography services.
The Austin Doula Works website also serves as a resource for the community of Austin birthing people to utilize as they research the various aspects of childbirth. You can find information here about placenta encapsulation, prenatal yoga, and everything you’d ever wanted to know about what a doula is and does. We hope you’ll find these resources helpful and informative on your personal journey of childbirth.
Our team of Austin doulas and photographers
We’re building a team of local doulas and photographers in Austin. Each service offered by Austin Doula Works is meant to help connect birthing people and new parents with the local professionals they are looking for. Our goal is to gather professional listings and informational resources on a whole host of childbirth-related services into one convenient platform.
If you’re an Austin doula or a professional photographer in the Austin area and would like to join our team, we look forward to meeting you! We will be adding new service pages to the website each week as we grow organically with the demands of the community as they arise. If you’d like to add a topic to our list of childbirth services or have your own business featured on the site, please get in touch. We are also recruiting local bloggers and business owners who have experience in childbirth related topics such as breastfeeding tips and sleep training.
Austin Doula Services
A Birth doula offers informational, emotional, and physical support to birthing people from the prenatal period through the fourth trimester. Our experienced Austin doula services connect expectant parents with the childbirth professionals they are looking for.
A postpartum doula service can be a vital resource for newborn parents. Postpartum doulas offer newborn care in the first 90 days after new parents bring the baby home. They offer newborn care and guidance while supporting your transition from the hospital back home.
Birth Doula Services
While relatively new in the US, the idea of utilizing a childbirth support professional to assist birthing people through the journey of childbirth has been catching on quickly. Many insurance providers are beginning to cover birth doula services and Medicaid is even starting to cover childbirth support services in some states. Our birth doula service page serves as a continually expanding resource to answer all of your questions about birth doulas and how they work to support you through childbirth.
A birth doula will meet with birthing people multiple times before labor to go over childbirth education topics and develop a personal connection. They will then go on-call in the weeks before your due date so that they will be available to support you at birth when your baby decides to make their big entrance to life. Doula support at your labor can be either in-person or virtual. After the birth, your birth doula will meet with you to help you process the birth and get accustomed to the huge life transition you are going through.
Postpartum Doula & Newborn Support
A postpartum doula is like a lifeline in the turbulence of life as a new parent. Whether it’s breastfeeding tips, sleep training guidance, or something as simple as holding the baby for a while so you can take a mental health break, certified newborn care support can be a lifesaver. Postpartum doula packages are becoming a popular gift for new parents since nothing is as valuable as the gift of time!
Sleep will inevitably be in short supply in the first few months after childbirth. A postpartum night doula can make a world of difference. We hope you will use our postpartum doula services page as a resource to help you connect with a newborn care specialist in Austin and to help answer all of your newborn care questions. We continually update the page with new information and tips to keep it useful for the birthing community of Austin.
Childbirth Education & Newborn Care Classes
Our team of Austin doulas offer a wide range of childbirth education classes. The courses offered range from breastfeeding 101 to sleep training to newborn care and beyond. As our team grows, we’ll be offering these courses to purchase directly from our site. If you’re a childbirth educator and doula in Austin, please reach out and let us include your courses in our childbirth education curriculum.
Childbirth Education
We are not born knowing how to take care a car or even how to take care of ourselves. So why would we imagine that we just inherently know everything there is to know about creating a baby from our own bodies? Childbirth education classes give you access to hundreds of years of research and practice distilled down to just a handful of hours. They’ll leave you feeling informed, prepared, and confident that you have the tools you need to bring about the best labor outcome possible on your unique childbirth journey.
Newborn Care
Newborn care classes will teach you the basics of what every baby needs and how you can maintain your sanity while you fulfill those needs. Is bed sharing safe? Is attachment parenting right for you? A certified newborn care educator can answer all of your questions. Learn the right way to swaddle, to burp, and to safely let other people hold the new baby. Newborn care is about getting you ready with the necessities so you can feel confident when your baby arrives.
Sleep Training
Sleep training your baby is the key to rebuilding a healthy relationship with your own sleep schedule. A sleep training class will quickly get you up to speed so when your baby is ready to start a sleep routine, you’ll be ready with a plan of action. The techniques you’ll learn in sleep training classes are as much about training yourself as they are about training your baby. You’ll find that the payoff of getting your nightly routine back is well worth the effort.
Breastfeeding 101
Breastfeeding can be a source of great stress in the life of a new parent. From correct latching to safe milk storage, the basics of breastfeeding well worth the time spent on a breastfeeding 101 class. You’ll learn how to troubleshoot issues as they arise and how to be sure you have all of the pumps and other essentials you’ll need to breastfeed successfully. With a little investment of time to learn the basics, you can be ready to breastfeed your new baby with confidence.
Additional Doula Resources
Though Doula services continue to gain popularity among most parents, some may not understand what Doula means. So what is Doula? What do placenta encapsulation and prenatal yoga entail? The following highlights details of what these statements mean concerning doula services.
Placenta Encapsulation
The proposed health benefits of consuming dehydrated placenta during the postpartum period are numerous. They include potential reductions in postpartum depression and increased levels of available breastmilk. Our doulas offer placenta encapsulation services immediately after your child is born so that you can access those benefits as quickly as possible.
Prenatal Yoga
Yoga can be an excellent source of exercise and anxiety reduction throughout you pregnancy. Specialized prenatal yoga classes are offered in Austin to help guide you through safe variations of yoga poses dependent on your current trimester. Prenatal yoga classes are also a great way to meet and connect with a community of pregnant people in your neighborhood.
What is a Doula?
On our “What is a Doula?” resource page, we go into depth answering all of the most frequently asked questions about doulas and many other aspects of childbirth. A sampling of topics covered includes water births, VBACs, birth plans, and even the difference between a doula and a midwife. We do our best to regularly update this page with more information to keep it relevant to the current Austin doula community.
Doula Support & Covid
The Covid 19 virus has impacted doula care and the way services are being provided to birthing people. The scope of the impacts varies based on the current levels of the virus and the region in question. Consult with your doula to learn about the most up to date restrictions in your area and for your preferred hospital.
Hospitals may at times limit the access doulas have to their facilities to reduce the number of people in the room and to preserve PPE. These limitations have spawned a new branch of doula service called a “virtual doula”. Be sure to inquire with your doula to learn more.
Austin Photography Services
The phases of pregnancy, childbirth, and life with a newborn can be so full of preparation and anticipation that it can be hard to remember to slow down and enjoy the journey. Austin photography services are an ideal way to record moments along your path so you can remember this incredible time in your life when you built an entire human with your body.
Maternity Photography
Maternity photography can be a fun event for the whole family or a more intimate, personal experience. Either way, it’s a great way to create some memories of a special time in your life. You can go to a studio, have a maternity photoshoot at your home, or even head out into nature for a more free-spirited photography session.
Your Austin maternity photographer will guide you through poses that flatter your uniquely beautiful pregnant body. They can also suggest props and outfits that highlight and enhance the curves of your belly. Be sure to choose a maternity photographer who you enjoy and can connect with so you’ll remember this experience with as much joy as you feel for the maternity photos that come out of it.
Birth Photography
Childbirth can be an intense emotional rollercoaster. Birth photography allows you to record your labor so you can remember the beauty of the journey and fill in the gaps that you might otherwise have forgotten. Your doula can help you process your birth experience while you look through your birth photos.
Your professional Austin Birth photographer will go on call in the weeks before your birth, just like your doula. In fact, birth photographers often are doulas themselves! Your birth photographer may even offer a package that includes a birth video with live scenes interspersed with still shots and all set to personalized music.
Newborn Photography
Newborn photography usually happens in the comfort of your own home with the whole family taking part in the festivities. One certainty of the time after your baby arrives home is that you will be inundated with requests for pictures. A newborn photoshoot will let you create dazzling photos that you can share with your family and friends.
Your Austin newborn photographer will come to your home prepared with all the professional photography gear needed to capture breathtaking newborn photos. Newborn photography packages generally vary in price based on the number of photos you receive.