Terms of Service

By agreeing to the Terms of Service, the client agrees only to the portion of the contract that is applicable to the services paid for. I.e. Only the birth doula portion of this Term of Service is applicable to clients registering for birth doula care. The entire Terms of Service is applicable only to clients who have registered and paid for both birth and postpartum doula care.

Philosophy of Care
Childbirth is unpredictable and can be challenging. We believe the best support is that which engages and prepares women and labour companions emotionally and informationally. Parents deserve support regardless of the path in which their new baby arrives. Our support is inclusive and compassionate. Care is LGBTQ friendly and embraces families of all walks of life!

Our Scope of Practice

What We Do:
The specific care we provide is unique to your personal preferences and therefore varies between clients.

As Birth Doulas
-Get to know your intentions for labour during our prenatal visits
-Advocate for your labour plans during labour and birth
-Provide basic breastfeeding and postpartum support
-Support birth partner during labour (take turns supporting mother so partner may eat, sleep, get fresh air, go to bathroom, providing guidance in moments when you don’t know how to help)
-Help with development of your birth plan if desired
-Provide well-rounded information about the advantages and disadvantages of medical support and labour procedures
-Offer non-medical alternatives for pain management (TENS machine, acupressure postures, stretches, breathing, birth ball, hot/cold press)

As Postpartum Doulas
-Provide hands-on education on infant and mother care (breastfeeding, bathing, diapering, calming techniques, preparation of formula if bottle feeding)
-Create a nurturing, restful atmosphere in which parents may eat, shower and nap
- Introduce parenting tips, helping parents to learn skills that will enable them to cope with their new responsibilities
- Screen for hurdles such as breastfeeding challenges or postpartum mood disorders
- Shop for groceries and prepare meals
- Help with housework such as light laundry, washing dishes, sweeping floor, etc
- Help initialize a routine for your baby and your family
- Refer you to another care provider should your needs exceed our scope of practice
- Other duties to be discussed with client at time of contract signing.

What We Do Not Do

As Birth Doulas
-Clinical tasks of any sort (vaginal exams, blood pressure readings, diagnosis, recommend treatments, interpret charts, etc)
-Make decisions for you: we provide you with information to help you to make informed decisions for yourself and will support and advocate for your preferences
–We will become familiar with your preferences for labour and birth and advocate for you. We can also help you think of questions for your caregiver, but will not presume to know what is right for you.
-Replace your partner: if you have a partner or birth support person that will be in attendance of the birth, we will work with their comfort levels to reinforce their role in the labour. A doula is no replacement for the love and history you may have with your partner.

As Postpartum Doulas
-Clinical tasks of any sort (blood pressure readings, diagnosis, recommend treatments, interpret charts, etc)
-Make decisions for you: we provide you with information to help you to make informed decisions for yourself and will support and advocate for your preferences.
-Replace your partner – if you have a partner or another support person that will be helping you in postpartum, we will work with their comfort levels to reinforce their role in your family. A doula is no replacement for the love and history you may have with your partner and family.

General Outline of Care

Birth Doula Package
Included in our care package is the following:
-Two prenatal visits (not including the initial ‘meet me’ visit)
-Attendance of the entire labour and immediately afterward for 1-4 hours
-Two postpartum visits
-Unlimited phone support
-Access to library of books, videos and labour support tools

Bonus Services Include (some limitations apply):
-One session of acupunctre with Mahaya Health (expires at 36 weeks pregnancy)
-Photo shoot with Negin Sairafi Photography (expires at 3 weeks postpartum)
-One manicure with Sunny Mummy Boutique and Spa
-One 30 minute theraputic consult with Maya Hammer

Postpartum Doula Package
Postpartum shifts will be booked with a minimum of four hours and a maximum of eight hours per day. Clients will specify the number of desired postpartum hours on their registration form. The availablility and confirmation of these working hours will be confirmed by their postpartum doula following the submitting of their registration form.

Overnight services are not specifically included in this contract but may be discussed if and when the parents require this additional care.

Payment

All Birth Doula fees are subjected to taxes. Clients may submit their payment online in full or submit postdated cheques including the initial non-refundable deposit of $250 and postdated checks for the remainder of the fee which are payable before their due date.

All Postpartum Doula fees are subjected to taxes. A non-refundable deposit of $240 is required to reserve postpartum doula care. Clients may submit their payment online or by cheque. The client will be invoiced every two weeks for any postpartum care that is not covered by the initial deposit.

Clients registering for both birth and postpartum doula care willbe subject to a non-refundable deposit of $490 and may submit their payment online or in postdated checks. Postdated checks will include the initial non-refundable deposit of $490 and the remainder of the fee will be paid off by the end of services rendered.

Birth and postpartum doula care will NOT be confirmed until payment is recieved.

All cheques should be made out to "The Nesting Place" and sent to:

The Nesting Place
c/o Amanda Spakowski
1253 Davenport Rd
Toronto, ON M6H 2H2

Cancellation and Refunds

For Birth Doula Care
If a client wishes to cancel birth doula care, 60 days notice is required to obtain any reimbursement. The amount reimbursed will be determined at the time of cancellation. The $250 non-refundable deposit and any services provided by the doula previous to the cancellation will be deducted from the amount reimbursed. No refund is provided for cancellations within 60 days of the due date.

For Postpartum Doula Care
Please notify your doula within 48 hours if you will need to cancel or reschedule a shift. If cancellation occurs less than 48 hours of a scheduled shift, no refund will apply.

If a client wishes to cancel the postpartum doula contract, 60 days notice is required to obtain any reimbursement. The $240 non-refundable deposit will be deducted from the amount reimbursed. No refund is provided for cancellations of the contract within 60 days of the due date.

FAQ

What happens if my doulas misses the birth?
If your doula is unable to attend your birth because of unforeseen circumstances, you may make use of your back up doula. If the backup is used in the unlikely event that your preferred doula is unable to attend, it is required that you pay the full fee to cover the backup doula’s services and time.

If your doula misses your labour because you do not call her or your labour is very fast, the full payment for doula services will be required.

Please remember, if you do not call your doula to attend your labour, please inform her of the birth so that she may provide the best postpartum care for you as possible.