What is a doula?
According to Merriam Webster, a doula by definition is defined as:
a woman experienced in childbirth who provides advice, information, emotional support, and physical comfort to a mother before, during, and just after childbirth
But we believe a doula can be more than that.
Our philosophy and support practice resides in our belief that women are powerful and birth is a sovereign, transformative experience.
If you desire an empowered, positive birth, we stand by you in that journey.
What makes birth positive or empowered?
An empowered, positive experience might include:
• You entering the birth room understanding the natural and powerful process your body/baby endure during labor/birth.
• You feel safe and supported by your care team during your prenatal, birth, and postpartum experience.
• You feel confident in your comfort management plan, with breathing techniques, Hypnobirthing tools, etc.
• You know your evidence based options and feel confident asking conversing with your care provider regarding his/her recommendations.
• You leave your birth experience knowing that you made decisions aligned with your values and that you honored your intuitive guidance.
We are committed to helping you prepare for your empowered experience and enter the birth room fearless, knowledgable, and feeling totally supported in your experience.
While studies show that a doula can lower cesarian birth rates up to 50%, decrease labor time by 25%, and lower epidural admission by up to 60% – we believe YOU hold the keys to the birth you desire, and we support you in preparing in every way possible.
If you’d like to explore how we might support you, we offer a safe space for considering all your options.
How could a doula support me?
Prenatal Support & Education
We are Hypnobirthing and Evidence Based Birth trained educators who passionately help moms prepare for their positive birth. No matter what kind of birth you’re interested in planning, we have the tools to help you prepare!
Labor & Delivery
While your care provider tends to your health and your partner takes care of the warm & fuzzies, your doula is a constant companion, providing non-medical physical and emotional support throughout active labor & birth
Postpartum Care
As a holistic birth practice, we believe postpartum is a precious time for you and your family to transition into a new family dynamic and we offer support in many ways to support this special season.
What type of care could I have?
We believe the most important aspect of an Empowered Birth is an educated family. In this package, we will support you preparing for birth, with your partner, with birth ed classes, virtual support, and postpartum support.
Support Package includes:
• Self-Paced Hypnobirthing Class (virtual)
*See Hypnobirthing page for details
• Four (4) prenatal virtual calls between 15-38 weeks
• Postpartum preparation consultation (30-45 mins)
• Lactation support & postpartum follow up support, if desired
• Fear Release Hypnosis Session for you and your partner (50 mins)
• Two (2) virtual postpartum appointments
**This package does not include birth attendance.
_________
Investment: $555-$1111
*This package is completely virtual
**Sliding scale is based on what your family decides – no proof of income is required.
Includes:
• Two (2) prenatal visits
• Five (5) weeks of on-call service
• One (1) postpartum visit and one (1) check in
• Birth plan preparation
• Lactation guidance & local professional referrals
• Postpartum preparation consultation (30-45 mins)
• Consistent presence during active labor & birth, no matter how long it takes
• Co-doula support
We are a co-doula model so you will meet your backup doula.
• Hypnobirthing resources
• Comfort touch during labor + aroma therapy
• Snacks & meal provided for birth & postpartum, dietary preferences considered
• Resource of support network (see our partners page)
_________
Investment: $2150-$2550
*Sliding scale is based on what your family decides – no proof of income is required.
**Additional postpartum services available upon request + availability
Includes everything from Beautiful Birth Journey:
• Two (2) prenatal visits
• Five (5) weeks of on-call service
• One (1) postpartum visit and one (1) virtual check in
• Birth plan preparation
• Lactation guidance & local professional referrals
• Postpartum preparation consultation (30-45 mins)
• Consistent presence during active labor & birth, no matter how long it takes
• Co-doula support
We are a co-doula model so you will know the backup doula attending your birth.
• Comfort touch during labor + aroma therapy
• Snacks & meal provided for birth & postpartum, dietary preferences considered
In addition, includes:
+ Self-Paced Hypnobirthing course: 8 hours of instruction + bonus practice material
+ Hypnobirthing resources + 1-1 private fear-release session (30-45 mins)
+ Birth debrief (50-90 mins)
_________
Investment: $2350-$2750
*Sliding scale is based on what your family decides – no proof of income is required.
**Additional postpartum services available upon request + availability
During labor, we offer comfort touch, aroma diffusion, and any other calming support you can imagine for making your birth more comfortable.
As hypnobirthing trained, holistic doulas, we believe mothers should have continuous care. So there are no additional cost if your labor exceeds a certain time.
Rates are based on a sliding scale and we do not require proof for what you’d like to pay on our sliding scale. We want to work with what’s best for your family.
Additional Services
Postpartum Care
We have an expert team of postpartum support to assist with lactation, newborn basics, and the overall life transition with a new baby.
Our support is very limited so if you are interested in postpartum support, you’ll want to chat with us up to 3 months in advance.
We offer all of our birth doula clients a postpartum consultation prenatally if they are interested in receiving postpartum support, and if you are considering postpartum care, we offer a discover call to explore the best options for your family.
Rate ranges from $36-$44
Birth & Newborn Photography
We offer birth photography, maternity, and newborn/family photoshoots as an add on or apart from having a doula.
• We offer a video + photography package (including 20-40 professionally edited photos) for $500
• Add on a photography package (including 15-30 professionally edited photos) for $350 to your doula package.
• If you are interested in having a dedicated birth photographer, apart from your doula team, we have partners who range in price from $1100-$1900. As your doula, we are happy to connect you with a birth photographer who will fit your budget and preferences.
Fear Release Session (Hypnosis)
As a Hypnotist + Hypnobirthing Instructor, Samantha will help you release any beliefs that might hinder you from having a the birth you desire.
In preparing for a peaceful birth, it’s especially helpful to remove sub-conscious beliefs that contradict your desired outcome. It’s been proven over and again how powerful this fear release session is to creating the positive outcome you desire.
In this session, we will first talk though desired outcome and intuitively explore known and unknown beliefs we want to bring into alignment with our conscious desires. Alignment is the purpose of developing a hypobirthing practice and the final step to achieving an empowering hypnobirth.
**This session is included in our birth-support packages. Partners are welcome to join.
Fear Release Session (60-90 mins): $145
Who We Support
Every doula is a little different. Here’s how we support you.
We believe in your power to birth your baby. Through the all-encompassing evolution of the birth journey, we’re here to witness and support you with the following beliefs:
- We believe in the perfect design of the body and that birth is one of the most powerful, natural events of a woman’s life. To that point, we are committed to helping parents discover a story outside of the medical birth narrative with evidence based information, so you may unearth your greatest feminine strength, guided by evidence-based information and sacred birthing principles.
- Our practice is committed to celebrating motherhood, from conception to postpartum, in a way that pulls from both traditional and modern practices of honoring mother AND baby in the holistic journey of pregnancy and birth.
- We provide family-centered birth and postpartum education (yes…supporting dads too!)
As a co-doula partnership (i.e tandem doula-care), you’ll be matched with your perfect set of doulas who will support your prenatal and postpartum experience with the insight and background only two doulas could offer.
If you’re ready to explore working together, let’s have a chat to see if we’re a match?
Testimonials
``She has a unique gift of making one feel empowered``
I will never get the love and compassion that I felt when Samantha walked through the doors of my birthing suite. It was the night that I was being induced and having her at my bedside brought me so much comfort and peace.
She has a unique gift of making one feel empowered, especially during one of the most sacred times of a woman’s life: childbirth.
I am very blessed that she was part of my birthing experience as a doula and a friend and highly recommend her.
``My experience with Samantha as my doula was amazing``
My experience with Samantha as my doula was amazing. She held my hand every step of the way in a process I was soooo scared of.
She eased my fears, and I felt extremely well informed.
On my birth day, she was there as my birth didn’t go the way I anticipated and she was the best support system. Would hire her again and again for my upcoming births! Thanks so much Samantha!
``As a husband and healthcare professional, I was skeptical at first...``
When my wife presented the idea of hiring a doula for the birth of our first child, I was admittedly hesitant. I wanted to be supportive of her journey through pregnancy, labor, and delivery, but the thought of inviting another person into this incredibly unique and intimate occasion felt overwhelming.
As a husband and healthcare professional, I thought I was more than equipped to provide the support and guidance my wife would need. The last thing I wanted was someone else occupying my role as the birthing partner.
Looking back, I am so glad that I put my pride aside by inviting Stephanie and Samantha into our lives. From our very first meeting, we both felt understood, supported, and informed. Their guidance gave us a sense of comfort and calm during what could have been, a very confusing and scary time. I cannot imagine what our delivery experience would have been without these two by our sides. The bond I share with my wife after delivering our son is stronger than ever, and I truly believe that these women are to thank.
Their diverse backgrounds and skillsets are unparalleled.
From professional photography to hypnobirthing, aromatherapy, nutritional guidance, massage therapy, and hands on training and education for both mom and dad, The Austin Doula’s provide exceptional comprehensive care. Stephanie and Samantha are absolute rockstars and we can not recommend their services enough!
``Nicole and Sam were amazing through the whole process...``
Nicole and Sam were amazing through the whole process, from birth prep, the Hypnobirthing classes all the way until labour they’re very caring, supportive, insightful and super helpful. Their energy and perspective around birth helped me reprogram my brain and have the most wonderful experience with a very fast, natural and healthy birth. I highly recommend their services to any mums who want to have a more natural birthing experience with all the care and support they deserve. Thank you ladies for making this such an amazing experience.
``What sets Samantha above is her ability to empower momma’s to have trust in their own body knowledge``
Samantha is an amazing Doula who provides excellent prenatal and postnatal support and education.
What sets Samantha above is her ability to empower momma’s to have trust and faith in their own body knowledge. That they have a “say so” in their care and birthing choices.
She has a special gift of individualizing care and support for momma, partner, and family.
We as a family are so thankful to have found Samatha who assisted and supported the delivery of my healthy, precious, first Grandaughter, Maybrie
``You need Samantha as your Doula for a wonderful birthing experience!!``
You need Samantha as your Doula for a wonderful birthing experience!!
No words can express how amazing Samantha is!! She is very attentive, caring, passionate, and knowledgeable. She’s happy to assist you in any way possible, along this beautiful (and sometimes ugly, messy, strange, etc) journey of pregnancy and labor. Samantha is a joy to be around, and will brighten your outlook, no matter where you are in your journey. A huge part of her services is Hypnobirthing! We went through the course and both my husband and my outlooks on childbirth was changed. She helped me sort through my past C-Section trauma. I had hope for a VBAC! And even more so, I had an understanding of childbirth and a confidence in myself! Hypnobirthing is everything. Huge bonus, Samantha takes video and photos of your labor/birth. I didn’t think I needed this extra service. But I cherish the beautiful shots Samantha took!
Some of my story: My 1st birth was a C-Section, all laboring in the hospital, and no extra professional support. The 2nd pregnancy, I immediately knew that I wanted the support of a Doula. It took a ton of convincing my husband to even be opened to the idea of a Doula. We finally started looking when I was around 29 weeks pregnant. I actually interviewed over 25 Doulas. And there are a lot of great Doulas out there. But when I interviewed Samantha, I was sold. And when my husband interviewed Samantha, he was sold even faster than I was! Turns out, we had an incredible Home Birth (bc of Covid-19), VBAC!
``I wish I could give Nicole and Samantha infinite stars!``
“I wish I could give Nicole and Samantha infinite stars! When I started my pregnancy journey, there was so much I did not know…Samantha Marvels has been an incredible resource for me! She is a true source of restorative insight and calming energy. We did a fear release session with hypnosis together and I immediately went from feeling anxious and worried, coming off of several sleepless nights, to feeling calm and secure. It only took a few minutes with her for me to feel comfortable in her presence and I knew immediately she deeply cared about me and truly was there to help me continue to grow and develop in my journey, to learn to let go. I feel so empowered and more ready to have the unmedicated birth experience I am wanting to have. I highly recommend doing a fear release session with her and taking her Hypnobirthing course. It is truly a transformative experience. Every woman deserves to be loved and cared for as they journey through pregnancy and birth and I could not recommend The Austin Doula enough for this!”
``She helped me realize my own strength, and I am forever grateful to her for her contribution to my birth.``
I worked with the Austin Doula and I cannot recommend Sam or her team enough. She was invaluable to my birthing experience. Her birth packages are comprehensive, and she even took beautiful birthing photos of my daughter being born that blew me away. Sam was always very responsive and communicative, from checking in on me for no reason at all to providing resources when I had questions or sharing her own experiences. She really put me at ease as a fretful first time mom. She has also helped connect me to other holistic moms in Austin, and she provides several opportunities to meet with other families and broaden your community through her Hypnobirthing class sessions.
Sam is a goddess of a doula who goes above and beyond. She helped me realize my own strength, and I am forever grateful to her for her contribution to my birth.
``I believe I had such a positive birth experience because of the class and her encouragement to practice hypnobirthing daily..``
Samantha was AMAZING at our birth. She arrived as I was in the thick of transition (I had a precipitous labor) and the second she got there, she pulled out all the stops- her presence was incredibly calming and relaxing for me- exactly what I needed in that moment. She also took photos and videos of the birth that I will cherish forever.
In addition, her hypnobirthing class was amazing. I believe I had such a positive birth experience because of the class and her encouragement to practice hypnobirthing daily.
Can’t recommend Samantha enough!
From professional photography to hypnobirthing, aromatherapy, nutritional guidance, massage therapy, and hands on training and education for both mom and dad, The Austin Doula’s provide exceptional comprehensive care. Stephanie and Samantha are absolute rockstars and we can not recommend their services enough!
``She was a great listener, she was caring, and overall so helpful throughout my entire pregnancy``
I absolutely loved having Samantha as my doula! She was a great listener, she was caring, and overall so helpful throughout my entire pregnancy. My husband and I were so grateful to have her on our team. I definitely recommend her to other mommas, you’ll be in great hands!