What is a Doula

What is a Doula?A Doula is a trained birth coach — a surrogate mother figure (without the baggage) who accompanies the couple throughout the entire labor and delivery process.  They offer what Doula Giuditta Tornetta calls a girlfriend’s PIE: unconditional physical, informational and emotional support.  

Physical comfort procedures used during labor can include massage, counter-pressure, gentle touch, and literally supporting the laboring woman’s body weight during a strong contraction.  Positioning and frequent position changes are proving to be helpful in labor progress.  Doulas often help mothers to squat or to assume other positions that require strong physical support.

Informational support is also essential when the labor goes from the comfort of the home to the hospital.  Often, as soon as the mother arrives at the hospital and is given a hospital gown, a transformation takes place.  The mother goes from a natural birthing mother to a frightened ‘patient.’  Medical providers intervene with strange machines and equipment, offering technological assistance that is somewhat confusing and frightening to the mother-to-be and her partner.  A Doula, with her knowledge of the natural physiology of labor and delivery, can explain suggested medical procedures and interventions and help provide the clarity expectant parents need when faced with medical decisions.

Emotional comfort is imperative if the mother is to feel safe and secure in the birthing environment.  A Doula’s unique role is to encourage the mother-to-be’s self-confidence, protect the sacredness of the process, and help her relax and focus on the natural rhythm and progress of her labor.

“My mission, as a Doula, is to help women remember their innate ability to give birth naturally, in a relaxed and meditative state.”

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Ms. Tornetta is a certified birth and postpartum doula, a certified lactation educator, a certified clinical hypnotherapist, a NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) practitioner, and a certified shiatsu therapist.In 1993 Giuditta Tornetta received a certification for Hypnotherapy. In 1995, she was initiated in Transcendental Meditation and harnessed both experiences through her work as a Doula.  She is the author of the best selling book Painless Childbirth: An Empowering Journey Through pregnancy and Birth.

Giuditta practices clinical hypnotherapy and a method of natural childbirth that uses hypnotic techniques to reduce stress and fear during labor and delivery, alleviating pain and making the birth experience positive and enjoyable. She also teaches infant mental, emotional, and cognitive health and development. . She has worked in hospital labor and delivery rooms, and home environments, attending and assisting with hundreds of births.

She focuses on infant mental health and pre-post birth bonding, where she uses guided meditations and visualizations to help women communicate and empower their babies before birth. As a lactation educator and postpartum doula, Ms. Tornetta helps couples settle into a natural routine once the baby comes home. Through education, compassion, practical as wells as emotional support, Doula Giuditta teaches new parents how to decipher the newborn’s vocal and body language.