Guiding Gates Doula

10/15/2026

Yes, I'm a labor doula, but the job I prep you for is minimal compared to the (sometimes) hard and lengthy postpartum period. Labor is a mere few hours compared to the months it takes for parents to transition after baby is home.

To help my clients plan for this stage, I've created a postpartum worksheet to get them thinking about common challenges and planning for solutions. It's best to run through these questions BEFORE baby arrives or an issue arises.

10/12/2026

If you don't quite believe me when I tell you most OBs have never seen women give birth vaginally, unmedicated, and undisturbed, watch this!

If you find it hard to believe hospitals are about money, watch this!

How do you beat this messed-up system? See a midwife, have a home birth, or get a doula.

Dr. Stu Fischbein is not your regular OB. He's worked the field and has been calling out the issues for years.

“The medical model sees birth as a problem, the midwifery model see...

10/09/2026

Oh man, aren't you glad we don't live in the 19th century? Eeek!

Well, if you're a woman in the 21st century and facing an induction, click on my blog to get some great tips on making it a better experience.

P.S. Nearly 40% of U.S. mothers are asked to induce labor!

https://www.guidinggatesdoula.com/hampton-virginia-doula-blog/an-insiders-guide-to-inductions

09/26/2026

📣Doulas, sound off!📣

I recently came across a practice that thoroughly shocked me: doulas charging a referral fee to another doula when sending clients she has no availability for.

I have never heard of this.

One particular doula stated she puts in the work to have these clients come her way and would like to be compensated. I kinda get that, except as a doula, you're not really putting in work to "catch" clients. They literally just call you after finding you on Google, and you say, "Nope, I'm not available." So what work am I paying for, exactly?

By refusing to give potential clients my name (or that of any other doula), you're, in essence, limiting their options and ultimately hurting the birthing community. What's most heartbreaking is that some clients are looking to use insurance. So, when she can't take a client, she shuts down their ability to use insurance.

Why can't we collaborate? Why can't we agree that there are plenty of pregnant women in the area? Why can't we work toward the same goal of improving birth outcomes?

This isn't about my trying to find clients the easy way. Trust, I hustle to get my clients, and I plan to keep doing so. I'm also not looking to take an ungodly amount of clients a month. I typically take no more than two.

In my last area, there were about twenty of us taking a specific insurance, and when a client reached out and we weren't able to take them, we'd simply share the info of available doulas. It was no sweat off our backs. No gatekeeping to be seen!

Was that a unique experience?
Am I in the wrong for thinking it should be a free exchange?
What's common in your area?

09/21/2026

Let's talk about these little tools that help big time!

I take my kneeling pad to every birth and it's saved more than just my knees. Midwives, nurses, dads, and moms find comfort on it. I've even had moms give birth while kneeling on it. 😉

And the stool is fantastic for creating pelvic asymmetry and helping baby find their way down. It's also great to have a seat on when I need to stay low because my client is on the ball or the floor.

09/11/2026

In my first two years as a doula, I never missed a birth. However, I missed eight in the following three years. 🫠

Why? Well, it could be for a few reasons:

✅I started taking more clients who had already given birth, and their labors tend to go a little faster than a new mom.

✅I changed my prenatal sessions to include more labor education and comfort measures. This helped my clients feel much more confident.

✅I stopped stressing about feeling like I had to manage their labor experience and began to leave the decision of support up to them.

✅I became better at identifying active vs. early labor.

While I'm always a bit disappointed to miss a birth, I love knowing that my clients could do it without me. These clients have had accidental home births, births that barely made it to the L&D room, or clients who had no need for my physical presence. And all that is good with me! I only want my clients to feel in control and satisfied...with or without me!

09/07/2026

I'm proud to say that Mary Immaculate also loves doulas! When a hospital welcomes us and wants to work closely with us, it's a clear sign that they are committed to improving labor experiences and outcomes.

Please share!

09/04/2026

These are the texts I LOVE waking up to!

I got to sleep and not worry about my client. But what I love the most is knowing that the woman behind the text has everything under control and isn't panicking. She's communicating with me, but isn't relying on me to "fix" anything or give her guidance. Of course, sometimes it's needed, but every now and then I get a client who has me for "just in case" because she's freaking got this!

Oh, it does help that she's a third-time mama!🤣

08/31/2026

In a few weeks, I'll be moving to Montgomery, AL.

While I'm excited for what this means for my husband and family, I'm also very sad.

I built up an amazing business in VA over the past four years. I connected with so many birth workers, had lots of clients (some repeats), and was in the top Google results. But now, I start all over.

A new place where I am no one. I remember trying to get my foot in the door in CO, where I first became a doula. Then, I had to do it again in VA. I hate feeling like an outsider. Will I be welcome? How's the birth scene? How will I find clients? Will I ever show up on Google?

I'm sure I'll figure it out. I'm a military spouse; you can't tell me I can't. We are used to building and rebuilding, but honestly, I'm getting tired. I've got just a little bit of resiliency left in me, so I'll give it another go.

Just coming on here to say, here we go again; this sucks. 🤷‍♀️

08/28/2026

I absolutely love it when my client's mom tells me this in the middle of labor!

Truth is, I've always existed. Doulas were sisters, mothers, aunts, grandmothers, and friends. We still are, but when birth was brought into the hospital and was presented as something medical, waiting to get fixed, we got pushed into the shadows. Slowly, we stopped talking about the magic and power we possess. We lost the passed-down wisdom from our sisterhood.

𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒔, 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒆𝒔!