Type of Doula and focus of care: Full Spectrum Doula Care (providing care to people across the full spectrum of pregnancy and postpartum experiences, including abortion, adoption, surrogacy, miscarriage and stillbirth). My primary focus on sexual safety, evidence-based care, consumer empowerment, informed consent, perinatal loss, education and counseling. Additionally, I bring a strong focus on anatomy and physiology as well as kinesiology to both the education and doula components of my work.

General structure of Doula services: My services are designed for flexibility and comprehensive support. I believe strongly in providing continuous support that fits your unique needs. Generally, this means providing 3 prenatal visits to discuss birth planning, coping strategies, bodywork, movement, education and logistic for the birth. I attend your birth until you and your baby are settled, and then provide 3 postpartum visits which includes breastfeeding support, new parenting and newborn care strategies. Every person has unique needs, however the tools that I bring to a birth are Rebozo comfort techniques, massage, acupressure, reiki, TENS unit, providing support for partners, and educational support. I see my role as supporting each family member rather than replacing a family member in your care team.

I have over 13 years of experience and have spent time developing friendly relationships with care providers across the spectrum of care. Outside of attending births, I teach childbirth education, provide coaching, bodywork, and counseling services. My goal is that you feel emotionally safe and unconditionally supported throughout our time together, no matter the circumstances.

Additional projects/non-doula services: I also provide education, counseling, coaching and bodywork services. I teach private and group Childbirth Education Classes and workshops. I teach evidence-based information with a focus the spectrum of what is physiology, body mechanics, the range of normal- all without prioritizing one type of birth. This comprehensive series is equivalent to taking four classes in one (birth prep, coping strategies, newborn care and breastfeeding/chestfeeding) where participants leave with a deeper trust and appreciation of their body, unique coping toolbox, understanding their options, feeling confident and ready for birth and life with a baby. I am also a Spinning Babies Parent Educator.
The Peterson Body-Centered Hypnosis Method is a unique form of counseling which provides a combination of birth education, counseling and hypnosis for individuals addressing their physical and emotional changes during the transition into parenthood. This is ideal for those individuals who have had a challenging first birth, traumatic sexual history, and specific concerns about their transition into parenthood, or who are looking for a more in depth and person specific approach to preparing for life transitions.
Lastly, I am a massage therapist with a focus on myofascial and body balancing. This has particular use pregnancy! Creating balance in the body before birth can: create a more comfortable pregnancy without the common aches and pains, help breech or transverse babies settle into a head down positions, support an easeful delivery with optimal baby positioning. I also offer postpartum massage to help integrate your birth experience, and relieve some of the new parenting aches and pains. (Your baby is welcome to come along!)
Holistic Childbirth office is located in Fall Creek. Through my office space, Cayuga Medical Center and Cornell University, I teach the community about birth education, and birth options in the finger lakes region. In 2014, I gave a TEDx talk on Sex and Birth which you can watch here.

Why are you a Doula? Like many doulas, my own pregnancies, losses and birth experiences compelled me to this work. When I was pregnant with my son in 2006, I worked in health care and felt pregnancy and birth was something I could easily navigate, since I was already an insider to that world. I quickly learned that I was wrong. I felt overwhelmed with my choices, not sure how to find the best options for me. I felt frustrated with how much about pregnant bodies, birth and parenting went undiscussed in our society, leaving new and vulnerable parents to wonder if their experiences are normal. I was equally frustrated at how little there was exploration in the root cause of a health concern, which left me with little understanding for my own unique body needs. Not one to pass up a chance to explore and talk about something that isn't often talked about, I went back to school for birth education, perinatal counseling, doula certifications, and massage therapy. In my capacities of educator, massage therapist and doula, my goal is to help parents know that what they are experiencing is normal, help them connect into care that helps them understand their body's needs, provide them evidence-based information, help them receive nonjudgmental support, all while feeling safe, empowered and satisfied with any type of birth. Over the last 13 years, I have attended close to 300 births and taught over 800 couples.

Testimonial: "Kate is dedicated to evidence-based birth for her childbirth class and her doula care. By focusing on the biology of the birthing process, Kate helped me to realize that my body had everything it needed to manage labor and give birth naturally. Much of her class focused on the biological purpose of pain in labor and how to manage that pain, which helped me to feel much less intimidated by labor. I especially her dedication to the evidence, when I had to make choices around induction. Kate’s guidance gave me the confidence I needed to trust my body, my baby and my ability to make choices for my birth.

Kate always worked with a high-degree of professionalism as a childbirth educator and doula. She created a safe space in her class for us to share our fears and dreams related to childbirth and parenthood. Kate respectfully pushed us to explore our options for labor and helped us to visualize what kind of birth experience we wanted. I know my husband appreciated that Kate paid equal attention to the spouses in the class as to the moms. He felt the class prepared him to be a better birth partner and to understand what labor would be like for me. As my doula, Kate constantly checked in with me in the weeks leading up to and after my due date to provide any support I needed. When I was finally in labor, Kate worked extremely well with the nurses and midwives in the hospital to ensure that I had the birth experience I had envisioned for myself. In the weeks following birth, Kate encouraged me to get together with other new moms and also connected me with her former clients in my neighborhood. Her encouragement helped me to form a network of other new moms, which has been incredibly helpful as I’ve grown into motherhood

I cannot say enough good things about Kate as a childbirth educator and doula. She put me at ease in a way that none of the books I bought about pregnancy and birth did. Kate often used humor to make light of the fact that my inner mammal self would help me throughout the birthing process and that biological perspective was extremely comforting and empowering for me. I had an amazing labor experience, due in large part to understanding and appreciating (thanks to Kate) what was going on with my body and mind throughout the process. I will naturally look back fondly on the birth of my first child and Kate will always hold a prominent place in that cherished memory."- CM, 2015

Training/Certification: I received my childbirth education certification in 2008 through a rigorous program with the Childbirth Education Association of Metropolitan New York. My Doula certification, received in 2008 is through DONA International. My postpartum Doula training, completed in 2009, is through A Mother is Born. My birth counseling certification, completed in 2010 is through The Peterson Birth Method. I completed both Reiki and perinatal acupressure training in 2013. HearthPath Reiki I and II certification was completed in 2016. I trained as a massage therapist in 2017 at the Finger Lakes School of Massage. In 2018-19, I became a Spinning Babies Parent Educator and Aware Practitioner, and Mayan Abdominal Therapy Practitioner.

Fee Structure:
Virtual Support: $750 for 3 prenatals, virtual support throughout your birth and 3 postpartum visits. This is available to anyone, anywhere.
Those local to Ithaca:
Prenatal and postpartum visit fee (6 visits total from 30 weeks to 7 weeks postpartum): $700.*
Birth fee: sliding scale starting from $750-1100 which includes on call time, labor, birth and immediate postpartum support.**

Total service includes 3 prenatal visits, the birth, and three post-partum visits. Services can include the pre/post only or both pre/post and birth together for full support.

* The pre/post fee is due upon hiring me as your doula.
**The birth fee is due at the first postpartum visit. If I am unable to attend your birth and there is no backup, this fee is waived. If a back up comes instead, you pay me this fee, and I will pay the backup. If you chose not to call me for the birth, my full fee ($1700) is due at our first postpartum visit. (In my 13 years as a doula, having a back up is a helpful reassurance, but rarely needed).

Postpartum Support is a range from $32-40/hr.

Connect with Kate:
Facebook Holistic Childbirth
Email: kate@holisticchildbirth.org

Kate Dimpfl

Business: Holistic Childbirth

Contact Information:
Tel: 917 613 7865
kate@holisticchildbirth.org

Website(s): Kate Dimpfl Holistic Childbirth