WHAT IS A DOULA?
Advocate. Coach. Supporter.
Doula, originally from the Greek for female worker, has evolved to mean a woman who helps other women - specifically in childbirth, by providing continuous physical, emotional, and informational support before, during and after childbirth.
ABOUT ME:
My name is Rae Johnson-Bundy - I’m a mother of two and a CD(DONA) Doula in Reading, Lancaster and Harrisburg. I am a former preschool teacher, YWCA youth director at the YWCA in Lancaster, and nanny to triplets.
I have a passion in helping people feel good about themselves, and as a doula I recognize birth as a key life experience that mothers will remember all their lives. I understand the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor. As a pre/post natal fitness coach, I can provide guidelines for developing, monitoring and modifying exercise for pregnant and postpartum women.
I have an Associates Degree in Early Childhood, and am a licensed instructor in all the Zumba® specialties - Aqua, Toning, Sentao, Gold, Step, Zumba Kids, Kid Jr. and Zumbini®. I received my group fitness and pre/post natal exercise certification through the American Council of Exercise (ACE). I also completed Prenatal & Postnatal Exercise Design Continuing Education Course through DSW Fitness and International Childbirth Education Association (ICEA). Currently, I am studying for my Lamaze childbirth certification exam.
4 Reasons YOU Deserve SUPPORT During Labor:
You enhance the emotional bond between you and your baby, and your baby’s health benefits.
A doula can assist, logistically, with ensuring your childbirth is unique, designing a birth plan tailored to your needs and values.
With fewer medical complications, interventions and on-site hospital staff, childbirths with a doula is often less expensive
You become a link in the chain of women helping women, worldwide!
Benefits of Prenatal Exercise:
The benefits of a well-designed pre-natal exercise program are numerous. Regular exercise increases cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, and flexibility for expecting mothers.
Research shows that women who exercise during pregnancy experience fewer common prenatal discomforts, including constipation, swollen extremities, leg cramps, nausea, varicose veins, insomnia, fatigue, back pain, and other orthopedic conditions (Clapp & Little, 1994: Artal, 1992).
Prenatal exercise can assist in curbing gestational diabetes and help prevent urinary incontinence, pregnancy-induced hypertension, diastasis recti, and deep venous thrombosis ( Hall & Brody. 1999; Yeo et al.,2000).