Certified Birth Doula and Certified Body Ready Method® Pro, Liz Daher holding mug at desk

faqs

Common Questions

I’m a natural-born questioner (it used to be my job!), so I absolutely love helping my clients find the answers they’re looking for. Guiding you through your questions and helping you gain clarity is one of my favourite parts of my work. Below, you’ll find my answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about doula support. My hope is that these insights help you feel confident in choosing the services that are the best fit for your needs.

Get in Contact

A Quick Note

The information provided here, and everywhere else on this site, is for educational purposes only and should never be considered medical advice. For personalized medical guidance, always consult with your healthcare provider.

General FAQs

A doula is someone experienced in childbirth who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to families before, during and after childbirth. Doula support is not a new or trendy concept—it's a time-honored tradition that spans centuries.
I like to think of a modern doula as your birth best friend. Someone who knows a lot about pregnancy, birth and postpartum, who will stay by your side throughout the journey; who will honour, respect and advocate for your wishes; and someone who will tailor their support to your unique needs and circumstances.
A doula does not perform clinical tasks, diagnose medical conditions, offer second opinions, or give medical advice. We do not make decisions for our clients, and we don’t project our own values or goals onto our clients.
Doulas are trained and experienced in providing a wide range of non-medical comfort measures to help you cope with the demands of labour and co-create a memorable birth and postpartum experience.
No matter where you plan to give birth—whether at home, in a birth centre, or in a hospital—you can absolutely benefit from the education, support, and comfort a doula provides. The support I offer as your doula is different from that of your midwife or OB, and works in partnership with your care team to ensure you feel empowered and supported throughout your birth experience.
While your medical provider focuses on the clinical aspects of your health and your baby’s wellbeing, my role is centered entirely on you—your emotional and physical support, your comfort, and your experience. Because I am not responsible for clinical tasks or medical oversight, I can dedicate myself fully to your needs and ensure you have the continuous, personalized care you deserve.
How wonderful! YES, absolutely—your birth partner and doula form a dynamic team, working together to create the best birth experience for you. While your partner brings a deep, personal connection to you, your doula offers expert knowledge, experience, and objectivity. Together, we can provide well-rounded support that neither of us can offer alone. With me as your doula, I’ll make sure both you and your partner feel supported, connected, and empowered throughout the entire journey.
Statistically, studies have shown many tangible benefits to doula support, including shorter labour duration, decreased risk of caesarean, and reduced use of pain medication and labour augmentation.
The benefits of birth doula support also extend into the postnatal period, with many new parents reporting better feelings about themselves and their baby, and higher rates of breastfeeding. Assistance from a postnatal doula can increase self-confidence, lower the risk of postpartum depression, and increase overall satisfaction.
You can find more details on the research (and many other common doula questions!) here and here.
Great! I fully respect your choices and will support you no matter what. I’ll help you gather all the information you need so you know what to expect and work with you on techniques to manage your labor. Keep in mind that there’s usually a gap between requesting the epidural and when the pain relief kicks in—this can vary depending on your situation and the birthing facility. During this time, I’ll be there to support you, helping you cope with labor sensations until the medication takes effect. And even after the epidural, my support continues—I’ll be there to offer practical help, from deliberate positioning to emotional reassurance to protecting your informed decision making, ensuring you feel supported every step of the way.
If your labor leads to an unplanned cesarean, I’m here to support you every step of the way. My role doesn’t stop when you head into the operating room—when circumstances and hospital policy allow, I can be right there with you. If I can’t be in the room, I’ll be waiting for you, ready to offer support during those first hours after your baby arrives. I can stay with you as you recover from surgery, so your partner can be with your newborn, or we can switch roles until you feel ready to reunite with your baby.
Whether it’s a planned or unexpected cesarean, I’m there for you. I’ll help with feeding, offer emotional support, and assist with whatever you need as you adjust to life with your little one. For a scheduled cesarean, we’ll spend time together beforehand to discuss your preferences and ensure you feel as informed and confident as possible. Throughout the entire process, I’ll be there to support you and your partner, making sure you never feel alone.
This is a question for your insurance provider, and it's always worth asking—don’t assume! In some cases, doula support is covered through a healthcare spending account or flex dollars arrangement. Increasingly, insurance plans are including doula services explicitly, so be sure to look for it by name as well. If you don’t see it listed, ask anyway! Many of my clients have successfully had their doula fees covered, so it’s definitely worth checking with your provider to see if you’re eligible.

Yes, of course! And you will have the opportunity to have a face-to-face call with them to get acquainted in advance so that no matter what happens, you’ll have a familiar face supporting you when your big day comes.
A typical postpartum shift is all about meeting your unique needs, offering a combination of physical, emotional, and informational support to help you adjust to life with your baby. I’ll be there to guide you through self-care tips, assist with newborn care—like feeding and soothing—and help with light household tasks to make sure you’re not overwhelmed.
Beyond the hands-on support, I’ll provide evidence-based advice on postpartum recovery, baby care, and anything else that’s on your mind. If needed, I’ll connect you with specialists or resources to make sure you feel supported in every way. Most importantly, I’m here to listen to your thoughts and feelings, help you process your birth experience, and provide emotional support during this huge transition. My goal is to ensure you feel heard, understood, and equipped to take on this new chapter with confidence and peace of mind.
At this time, I only offer daytime postpartum care. I would be happy to chat with you about your overall needs during this tender time, and discuss how daytime support might be incredibly meaningful for you. However if you desire nighttime support, I will happily connect you with overnight postpartum doulas or a night nanny.

Body Ready Method® FAQs

BRM® is an approach that uses whole-body functional techniques to support people during pregnancy and beyond. It can help with things like balancing the body to support the baby’s optimal position, easing prenatal aches and pains, addressing pelvic floor issues, providing core support to prevent abdominal separation and diastasis recti, optimizing the body for a more efficient birth, and promoting a smoother postpartum recovery.
BRM® follows the principle of specificity, which means training the body in ways that directly support pregnancy, birth, and recovery. These are huge physiological processes, and it's important to give the body the right kind of support instead of just sticking to a regular routine. Through a 5-pillar method, BRM® helps the pregnant and birthing body gain balanced strength and mobility, reducing aches and dysfunction while also supporting a more efficient birthing experience. When the body is supported in ways that prepare it for pregnancy and birth, it’s set up for a smoother postpartum recovery.
As a Certified BRM® Pro, I support people during pregnancy who want to feel strong, balanced, and resilient in their bodies. I work with birthing people who want someone by their side to suggest positions and provide hands-on techniques that create space and balance, helping the body work naturally through the birthing process. After birth, I support those in the postpartum phase with simple, effective tools to aid in recovery and restore balance. I also collaborate closely with other perinatal professionals to ensure my clients get the support they need to feel empowered throughout their childbearing journey.
Before our assessment, I’ll send you some questions to help me understand your background and any specific concerns or goals you might have. This gives me a better sense of how to approach our time together and tailor the assessment to you.
When I arrive, we’ll start with an overall alignment assessment. I’ll observe your body’s posture and movement patterns to get a sense of how your body is functioning. Depending on what’s needed, I may offer some hands-on guidance or assistance, but only ever within your comfort zone and with your full consent.
As we go through the assessment, I’ll explain what I observe and offer suggestions for different positions and movement techniques that can help prepare your body for labour. Some of these suggestions may be given on the spot, and others might come to you in a follow-up email, depending on what we’ve discussed.
If you're interested in further support—whether that’s continuing with BRM® tools, doula support, or anything else—we can talk about what options are available to you. There’s absolutely no pressure, though; I’m just there to make sure you know what’s possible and help you find what works best for you.
If you’ve chosen a BRM® package that includes multiple visits, we’ll build on the foundation we set during that first assessment at each subsequent session. Each visit will be tailored to what’s needed in that moment, taking into account any changes you may have experienced since we last met. Your goals may evolve throughout your pregnancy, and I’ll be here to adjust our focus based on how you’re feeling and what you’re hoping to achieve.
The Body Ready Birth workshop is designed to give both you and your birth partner the confidence, clarity, and hands-on skills needed to navigate labour with ease. You’ll learn how to move your body in ways that help your labour progress and how to open your pelvis effectively, with techniques that are personalized to how your body responds to movement. We’ll also teach you how to recognize the clues of where your baby is during labour, helping you make informed and intentional decisions as things unfold.
The workshop provides a solid foundation of birthing positions and hands-on techniques to increase comfort and strengthen the connection between you and your partner. These techniques are designed not only to help the labour process flow smoothly, but to also prepare your body to instinctively find the right positions during birth, thanks to the neural pathways developed through practice. By the end of the workshop, you’ll feel relaxed, at ease, and even excited about your upcoming birth, knowing exactly what to do, when, and why.
The workshop includes 4 hours of instructional time, as well as lifetime access to online pelvis prep classes and associated resources.