Sara Skiles, a certified doula in Wichita, KS, and the owner of Wichita Doula, LLC, never knows exactly where she’ll be on any given day or what plans she’ll have to reschedule. She might be called to attend to a client in labor at any time of the day or night. She might be teaching a childbirth class to an anxious young couple expecting their first baby. Or, she might be walking them through the steps of giving their new baby the first bath and swaddle at home. Sara could even be at home with the kids, texting several sets of parents simultaneously as she helps them sleep coach their older babies and toddlers.
As a Wichita doula, childbirth educator, newborn care specialist, and pediatric sleep consultant, Sara is always ready to step in and be a source of calm and steady support and education for the challenges of new parents from pregnancy to preschool.
What is a Doula?
A doula is a non-medical professional support person who works with families during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. While they do not deliver babies, give medical advice, or perform clinical tasks such as fetal monitoring or cervical checks, they are the perfect complement to the care of your OB-GYN or midwife.
Unlike a typical OB-GYN or midwife, your doula is just a text away. You don’t need to make an office visit or leave a message with questions. Instead, they’ll text you to let you know if what you are experiencing is a normal part of pregnancy. If something is outside the normal range, they’ll indicate if you need to go to the hospital and be seen.
While your OB-GYN typically only arrives on the scene when you are ready to push, labor for a first-time parent can easily take 12 to 24 hours! Your doula is at the bedside the whole time and can even help you labor at home first. “How to know when to go to the hospital in labor” is an important question for almost all expectant parents. Your Wichita doula helps you decipher this in real-time.
What’s the Difference Between a Birth Doula and a Postpartum Doula?
A birth doula assists the parents with questions, guidance, and birth planning during pregnancy; and physically attends the birth to provide coaching and support. A postpartum doula helps the parents after they bring the baby home from the hospital, typically coming either for a few hours a day or overnight. The new parents can eat, shower, sleep, and learn about infant care and postpartum health. They also get to breathe a sigh of relief when the doula walks in! Sara Skiles also owns The Wichita Baby Company, a night nurse agency in Wichita, staffing pediatric nurses, newborn care specialists, and postpartum Wichita doulas to provide overnight infant care to exhausted parents.
About Wichita Doula
Sara has been a Wichita doula since 2013. She quickly realized that the 24/7 on-call lifestyle and managing the back end of the business all by herself was unsustainable. So she brought on a team of highly qualified and experienced birth and postpartum doulas. Today, Sara has nine incredible women serving families throughout the Wichita metro area. They are available for birth support at Wesley Medical Center/Birthcare Suites, Ascension Via Christi, and any of the area’s local birth and midwifery centers. In addition, they are available for private in-home childbirth classes, daytime or overnight postpartum support, and sleep consulting for ages 0-7.
Sleep Help for Exhausted Parents
Speaking of sleep consulting, our Wichita doula, Sara, is also a certified pediatric sleep consultant! She guides exhausted parents through her virtual sleep consulting firm, The Baby Is Asleep. Her areas of specialty include:
- Frequent night wakings in babies and toddlers
- Nap strikes
- Early morning wakings
- Sleep regressions
- Toddlers and older children battling bedtime.
Wichita Doula
Follow the Wichita doula, Sara, for lots of advice, guidance, and support on Instagram!
Wichita Doulas aren’t the only Fairy Godmothers! Your child can have their fairytale adventure with one of my Royal Princess or Imagination sessions! Click here to see more, and let’s chat!
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