UPDATE July 2021
Amber and Melinda have been fully vaccinated for Covid 19 since February 2021. We are routinely wearing masks in the hospital setting, and whenever meeting with clients who are unvaccinated. With clients who are also fully vaccinated, we may opt to remove our masks dependent on client preference. We continue to take precautions to avoid sickness of all kinds by staying away from sick individuals and washing hands regularly as we have always done. We are happy to meet with clients in their home or through zoom based on client preference. All interviews continue to be done by zoom. If you have any questions about our policy or protective measures we are happy to speak with you individually.
UPDATE April 19, 2020
We’ve been working hard to stay up to date on changing hospital policies and best practices surrounding the COVID19 Outbreak. All of the doulas on our team will be wearing masks whenever they are working with families, and washing hands frequently. We are staying physically isolated as much as possible. We are here for you through virtual platforms and ready to connect and provide support. We are increasing the frequency with which we check in on our clients. There is much we can do to provide guidance, information and emotional support through this format. While we can’t hold your hand through the computer screen- we can still talk you through contractions and the challenges of postpartum. You’ve got this! We are here to walk alongside you in this journey.
A message from Calm & Confident Founder and Owner, Melinda Ferguson:
We want you to know that we are monitoring the development of the COVID-19 outbreak in our area and taking safety precautions to help prevent the spread of illness to our clients, their families and the team at Calm & Confident. We understand that people are very concerned and this is a fast changing situation. Our doulas are typically taking standard health precautions, and we want to let you what these are to help you be well informed. We are also taking some additional steps to help reduce the spread of this illness in our community.
Here is what we are doing at Calm & Confident Doula Care- Doulas will not be able to attend to clients who are showing signs of potentially contagious illness- cough, fever, etc. Additionally, our doulas will not be working in homes where family members exhibit such symptoms. We ask you to be in good communication with your doula if you or family members are not well. Most of the doulas on our team are working with multiple clients and must take care to not be exposed to illness that they could pass on to others. Similarly, your doula will not be able to come provide support in labor or postpartum if they are ill themselves, have family members who are ill, or may have been exposed to the corona virus. It is also allergy season and the symptoms associated with seasonal allergies- sniffles, sneezing, itchy watery eyes, itchy throat and/or tongue, nose & sinus pressure, etc are not the same as COVID19 (shortness of breath= chest & lung issues, fever, and cough that sounds like lung issues).
We recognize that when you choose your doula, and over the time that you are working with them, that you've come to rely on them to be there for you. If your doula is unable to provide support, a backup doula will be made available to you if at all possible. The doulas at Calm & Confident have been chosen to be on the team because they are excellent doulas- they work well together as a team to provide back up support for each other. I have the utmost confidence that if you receive support from a back up doula they will do everything they can to be just as helpful as if you had your primary doula caring for you and your family.
Back, L-R: Amanda Phillips, Aijanae Young, Lisa Calavetta, Melinda Ferguson, Amber Hohl, Leialoha Hurwitz, Annie Gaines, Manon Banuelos; Front, L-R: Judi McGee, Raechel Pendergraft, Rebekah Gilley, Shaina Kirsch, Angie Doulas, Milla Blindauer; Not pictured: Jasmyne Bryant, Tiffany Renee, Kayla Olson, Amethyst Beach
All of our doulas are expected to thoroughly wash hands upon entering your home, joining you at the hospital and after touching bodily fluids, and to cover their cough.
I've instructed our doulas to shift all interviews and prenatal visits to an online format for now. They will contact you directly about how to make this happen. Additionally, postpartum in person visits- both as part of the birth doula package and as postpartum doula support- will be shifted to only *as needed*. If you are struggling and really need an in person visit from your doula, they will come to be with you. If you can make do for now, or a phone or Zoom consultation will suffice, please go this route instead. I leave such decisions to be made in consultation with your doula directly. We are conscious of the difficulty of social isolation in the postpartum period normally and these announcements by our government officials to stay home and stay away from people make the isolation even more difficult. Let's stay connected virtually. Together we can get through these crazy times. We at Calm & Confident Doula Care want to support you and keep everyone safe!
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to me or your doula directly.
Sincerely,
Melinda Ferguson
Owner, Mentor, Doula
Calm & Confident Doula Care