M.'s first prenatal meeting

I had my first prenatal appointment with M. this morning. M. is in her 3rd trimester, and pregnant with her first child. She's living with her husband and dog in a very picturesque part of town, in a cute little house. Before the birth, they're planning to move into a new house, in one of the suburbs of Jerusalem.

M. called me up a few weeks ago, after she found my name on the internet. She wanted to know all about my services as a doula, and how I would be able to help her with a natural birth.
I told her how I feel about birth, that is it a natural process, and that I am trained in methods such as reflexology, shiatsu and massage that can help her get through the birthing process. I also explained that I see my role first and foremost as a calming presence at the birthing scene.
We set up an initial interview meeting, and M. and her husband decided to hire me for the birth.

So today was the first official prenatal meeting, and the second time I went over to M's cute little house. Together we filled in the client questionnaire, which has questions about general health and the pregnancy, and also how she views my role as a doula.
She told me that her husband would be her main support, and she wants me to support them both, to be an adviser, and also to write down the details of the birth such as at what time the waters broke, at what time she started pushing, and things like that.

I think that M. is very well prepared for her birth. She has read books like Ina May's Guide to Childbirth and Birthing From Within. Both are books that talk about natural birth, and are very empowering and informative.
It is not often that I get clients that have read up on birth so well. Usually they read the more standard pregnancy book which name I won't mention here because I don't want to give them any publicity.

Because M. is so prepared, it didn't take us long to put together a birth plan, something that often takes me more than 1 prenatal meeting. This means that we've got all of the next prenatal meeting to do something else. We are considering a nice prenatal massage.

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