Susan Geissler

Birth Philosophy

Expertise, calm, and encouragement – these are the gifts I bring to doula work.

I am completely hospital based in my doula work.  I chose Rose because of its consistent excellence in labor and delivery services, and because I am welcome always on the labor deck as part of the team, which includes parents, the doula, and the nursing and medical staff.

I know one thing for sure. There is no best way to have a baby. I focus on keeping Mom positive and not fear based, and couples really appreciate that.

I am pro natural childbirth: I am highly experienced in supporting couples that clearly want un-medicated labor, as well as those that would like to wait and see how things go. Each couple needs a combination of physical, emotional and informational support to get through the tough and sometimes lengthy challenges of un-medicated labor. I work creatively and collaboratively as each unique labor evolves, providing support based on parental preferences.

I am pro epidural: About forty percent of my clients are planning epidurals at the outset. What a great time for this choice! Advances over the last ten years have increased the safety of this procedure and have reduced dramatically the practices of episiotomy, forceps, and vacuum delivery which used to go hand in hand with epidurals. I will support you to stay active in labor until you are ready for the epidural and will support you in your decision.

I am pro Cesarean: Most parents want to avoid a Cesarean, but sometimes it ends up being the safest way. I have never worked with a couple who had a Cesarean that regretted it or second guessed the reason or process of determination. That says a lot for the effort that everyone puts in to safely move towards a healthy birth.

Expertise

I have over twenty years experience as an educator and doula. My love of babies goes back to my earliest memories and my love of birth goes back to the first birth I attended at age sixteen. Over the years I have provided labor support to hundreds of couples and still haven’t seen it all. Each birth I leave I am amazed and enthused about new life.

Congratulations on your pregnancy and good luck in the coming weeks and months as you become a new parent!