Hi there!

Here’s some helpful info as you prepare for a consultation with a heart tones doula.

First of all, we’re so glad you’ve reached out and gotten connected with a Heart Tones doula. We are a team of dedicated, caring, skilled birth + postpartum doulas who can’t wait to support you as you welcome your new baby.

At some point before your meet + greet, take some time to peruse the information below. This will give you a good idea of the services we offer and how doulas + partners make an amazing team for you, the birthing person! If you have questions that aren’t addressed below about what a birth doula or postpartum doula is, how we support you, or anything else, be sure to check out our FAQ page.

our service offerings

Birth doula support

All of our birth doula services include the following:

Before your birth

Free consultation with Beth (owner of Heart Tones Birth Services) to learn more about our company. This is also a chance for you to tell Beth about yourself, your plans for your birth, and what you’re looking for in a doula, so she can match you with the best doula for your needs.
Free meet-and-greet with your prospective doula to get to know each other and see if it feels like a great fit. Partners/birth support people are very encouraged to attend this meeting.
2 in-person prenatal visits. During these visits, your doula will:
- Discuss your hopes, fears and plans for your birth
- Teach you techniques to cope with discomfort
- Discuss ways your partner/birth support person(s) can help during labor
- Do hands-on practice of laboring positions, massage techniques and guided relaxation
Up to 2 additional prenatal visits can be purchased
Unlimited access to our ever-growing lending library

During your birth

Unlimited phone, text and email support from your doula throughout your pregnancy and early labor
Your doula will be on-call 24/7 from 2 weeks prior to your due date until the baby is born. This could be up to a month of time depending on whether you go over your due date.
Your doula will provide continuous support throughout your entire labor and birth, including backup doula support for long labors (24+ hours)
Your doula will stay with you up to a few hours after birth to make sure your baby is eating (either body or bottle feeding), you and your partner/birth support person(s) have had something to eat, and you’re ready to rest and bond with your new baby

After your birth

Your doula will provide a detailed labor timeline of when key events happened in your birth
Your doula will provide 1 postpartum visit after your birth, during which they can:
- Discuss your birth and help you begin to process the experience
- Help you with basic baby care such as baby wearing, diapering, feeding and soothing
- Help with light house tidying, simple meal prep, or other tasks to take some of the stress out of adjusting to life with a new baby
Up to 2 additional postpartum visits can be purchased. If you’re interested in ongoing postpartum doula support, you can read more about that here.
Access to SLC Parenting Friends, which is a group for past + current clients of Heart Tones Birth Services and Birthsmarter. This group has a Signal chat and also has regular in-person meetups.

Postpartum doula support

Many parents spend countless hours preparing for the birth of their baby, reading books, taking classes, and imagining their optimal birth. However, lots of parents find that they don't feel as prepared once the baby has arrived and throughout the "fourth trimester" (the first 3 months of baby's life). They may have questions, need help around the house, need referrals to specialists, or just need emotional support and someone to listen and tell them that they are doing awesome! This is where a postpartum doula can be invaluable.

Childbirth Education

Heart Tones Birth Services’ founder Beth Hardy teaches childbirth education for an award-winning company called Birthsmarter, which offers unbiased, inclusive, game-changing pregnancy + parenting classes, support groups, and curated resources for the next generation of families. You can see our calendar of upcoming in-person classes here.

How doulas + partners make an amazing team

Doulas and partners are a match made in heaven! Your partner knows you best, including how you cope with stress, what type of comforting touch you like, how to make you laugh, and what to say when you want to cry.

Your doula knows birth best, including how to help labor progress, how to manage discomfort, ways to move and positions that will feel good, and hands-on techniques that will bring relief.

As your doula, our role is to support both the birthing person and the partner, to make sure you both know your options, and to make sure you both feel 100% supported. That might look like tag-teaming with your partner to give them a chance to rest, eat, or take a break. It might look like reminding your partner of ways they can physically support you during a contraction. Or it might look like your doula reassuring your partner that the intensity they’re seeing you experience during labor is totally normal and that you’re doing amazing.

Here’s what Joe, the partner of one of our past clients, had to say about working with a Heart Tones doula:

“Before the process began I was vaguely aware of what a doula was, but didn't really understand the point. However, having a doula present was something my wife wanted and this seemed like the time to be supportive, so I went with it. When it came time to head to the hospital, our doula met us there immediately. She set about transforming the space from sterile to comfortable and warm. The nurses immediately took to her, which I took as a good sign. So far so good. Then the fun part ended and our doula went into beast mode. We had a 36 hour marathon of pain and sleeplessness and I don't know what I would have done without her. She kept us fed, grounded and sane. She was the liaison between us and the hospital staff so I never had to feel like I was bugging anybody. She was amazing.
There was one moment in particular as my wife was getting an epidural during a particularly painful contraction. Our doula took my wife’s head in her hands and maintained eye contact at a time when I had absolutely no idea what to do. That 30 seconds alone would have been worth any price she asked. I'd recommend a Heart Tones doula to anybody asking. I really don't know how you would do it without them.”

We hope the information shared on this page has been helpful as you prepare for your doula consultation. During the consultation you’ll be getting to know you prospective doula (or a few doulas if you’ve been matched with more than one). Don’t hesitate to ask lots of questions! This is your chance to see if it feels like a good fit.