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This month, CCCN highlights Doula support for Families and peer support for birth workers. Join us in reflecting on our first Coffee Connection of 2022!
CCCN Coffee Connection co-host and CtP Program Director Zabrina Cox spoke with local birth and wellness professionals about ✨doula support and resources on the Central Coast.✨
We were joined by local doulas Teresa Gibson, CLD, from SLO Doula Connection, Alexandria Porter, CLD (DONA), from Birth Within Doula, and Alexandra Klein, CLD, from SMV Doula Collective. We also heard from Nikki Taylor, Student Midwife and Apprentice with Kinship Midwifery and Pure Birth.
A B I G thank you to the CCCN Team, including #cccninterns, our co-host, guest speakers, #cccnmembers and event host Rock and Roll Diner for coming together and making this a highly enjoyable and attended event!
About Teresa Gibson, CLD with SLO Doula Connection
Teresa Gibson is a Certified Labor Doula with SLO Doula Connection. SLO Doula Connection's Mission is "to provide you with a listing of our well-trained Doulas Members, who have agreed to a consistent Code of Conduct and Scope of Practice. These Doulas work for you on your support team and act collaboratively with your chosen medical care providers. Doulas are available at all levels of experience for birthing women on the Central Coast area of California, with their corresponding fee range*."
Teresa is also a Certified Postpartum Doula and Spinning Babies Parent Educator. She is also known as Doula Teresa.
About Alexandria Porter, CLD (DONA) with Birth Within Doula
Alexandria Porter is a Certified Labor Doula (DONA) and owner of Birth Within Doula. She is also Certified Lactation Counselor (ALPP) and Le Leche League Leader. Alexandria is trained in Spinning Babies and wants to look for education and skills to help birthing families have easier birth and breastfeeding experiences.
She has a passion for combining breastfeeding support and doula work together. She enjoys doing prenatal education about breastfeeding with her clients as well as discuss barriers that they may have to overcome during pregnancy and postpartum. She provides breastfeeding support prenatally and through postpartum. She currently, runs The Doula Circle, a peer support group for local doulas on the central coast.
About Alexandria Klein, CLD with SMV Doula Collective
Alexandria Klein is a Certified Labor Doula with SMV Doula Collective. "SMV Doula Collective was created out of a deep desire to help birthing people in the Santa Maria Valley as they go through one of the biggest transitions of creating a family. Our hope is that the SMV Doula Collective will help families easily find the Doula that is the best fit for you, your preferences, and your journey."
About Nikki Taylor, Student Midwife and Apprentice with Kinship Midwifery and Pure Birth
Nikki Taylor is a current Student Midwife and Apprentice at Kinship Midwifery and Pure Birth. She values how doulas in a home-birth setting are amazing emotional support systems for clients. The midwives that she works with love working with doulas in the community.
Here are a few highlights from this month's Coffee Connection:
Nikki Taylor was able to highlight the differences between doulas and midwives. Primarily, midwives are medical providers that provide qualified, professional medical care. Midwives take the place of an obstetrician in an out-of-hospital setting who generally work with low-risk clients in California. On the other hand, doulas provide invaluable emotional, physical, and informational support for their clients.
Accroding to Healthlaw.org, "California intends to include doula services as a covered preventive benefit under Medicaid. The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is currently working with stakeholders on implementation efforts, and will need to submit a State Plan Amendment to CMS. Benefits were initially slated to begin on 1/1/2022. This was been pushed back to 7/1/2022, and pushed again to 1/2/2023." Read more about the program and status for California at healthlaw.org
Covered benefits for doula and lactation support will start for TRICARE in April 2022. Learn more about the program and how to become an in-network provider here.
If you are interested in learning more about D O U L A S and their role in the community, we encourage you to check out our recent blog post post All About Doulas.
*Insurance may or may not cover all doula services.
For more information, we invite you to visit our CCCN Member Directory to view our local doulas and to read more information about them! If you have questions or need additional help, feel free to comment or reach out to us via email.
Did you have doula support? Or are you interested in finding a doula that is right for you? Please share in the comments and tag us @centralcoastchildbirthnetwork to share!
Coffee Connection Highlight authored in collaboration with:
Morgan Jamati, CCCN Intern
Zabrina Cox, CtP Program Director
Sources: