Duneland Doulas

Duneland Doulas We are passionate about caring for, educating & enlightening you through pregnancy, childbirth & postpartum recovery.

We hope to empower you by making you feel safe & cared for while taking off any burdens by helping as much or as little as you want.

02/14/2026

You’re doing a great job 🤍

Alright let’s talk about big babies..we hear sooo often that you had a scan done and your baby is “measuring big” so you...
02/11/2026

Alright let’s talk about big babies..

we hear sooo often that you had a scan done and your baby is “measuring big” so your provider wants to either induce early or schedule a c section.

Did you know that ultrasounds can be wrong by an entire pound in either direction? Typically with a margin of error around 10-15% meaning an 8 lb estimate could mean the baby is actually between 6.8 and 9.2 lbs, with inaccuracies growing closer to term and often overestimating very large babies or underestimating smaller ones. While useful for trends, ultrasound weight estimates aren’t precise and shouldn’t solely dictate delivery decisions like early induction.

The general risk of having a macrosomia (over 8 lbs 13 oz) baby is around 8-10%.

Most common risk with big babies is shoulder dystocia. Shoulder dystocia occurs in roughly .15-3% of all vaginal deliveries, but the risk increases to around 14-20% for infants weighing more than 10 lbs. The percentage of babies born over 10 lb is very low, typically around 1% in the United States and globally. Some sources describe such births as “rare”. 

The top cause of macrosomia babies are women with gestational diabetes. They face a significantly increased risk of having a large baby with some studies showing risks as high as 20-40% or more, compared to 7-13% in non-diabetic pregnancies, depending on blood sugar control; effective management through diet, exercise, and monitoring can reduce this risk to near-normal levels.

If your doctor is scaring you about the possibility of a shoulder dystocia, I would ask them how they resolve it if it were to happen. Their answer is very telling! Remember it is never too late to switch providers if you don’t feel confident in their ability to resolve shoulder dystocia (which can ALSO happen in 6 lb babies too).

01/27/2026

Imagine if we flipped the script! What if people talked about hospital birth the way people talk about home birth? Sounds crazy doesn’t it?!

Believe me when I say that most home birth moms have put tons of hours of research into their decision and don’t need you giving your input. Birth is such a mental game and we need all the POSITIVE vibes we can get. Home birth isn’t inherently dangerous. And it can be absolutely beautiful, peaceful, and healing.

Just fun and games here in this reel. 😉 We support you delivering wherever YOU feel comfortable: home, hospital, hotel, minivan, beach, garbage dump…. (Okay maybe not that last one. 🤪)

Congratulations to Laine on becoming Postpartum Doula Certified! 🥳
01/22/2026

Congratulations to Laine on becoming Postpartum Doula Certified! 🥳

01/21/2026

(Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) but maybe you’ve been misinformed about the risks?

Let’s start with the facts & data.. 🤓

VBAC success rate is 60 to 80%

Chance of uterine rupture is rare.

A chance of uterine rupture after 1 cesarean is .40-.70%
A chance of uterine rupture after 2 cesareans is 1.36%.

Chance of uterine rupture with a cesarean: this percentage does not exist. They cut open your uterus on purpose. One is controlled & one is not.

Risk of hemorrhaging from cesarean 13%
Risk of hemorrhaging from vaginal birth 4%

Risk of uterine rupture for first time mom 0.007%

When your provider tells you the risk of a uterine rupture with attempting a VBAC significantly increases… they never seem to tell you the actual percentages, that even though the numbers double it’s still very low and rare..or the risks of having consecutive cesareans, so that you can make an informed decision. 🙃

Can a VBAC have risks? Sure. But do the benefits outweigh the risks? That’s up to you to decide, but you should never be feared one way or another by only receiving half of the information.

The VBAC link is a great resource for information on VBAC’s.

Looking for birth stories to share! If we haven’t shared your birth story yet and you’re interested in sharing, please s...
01/20/2026

Looking for birth stories to share! If we haven’t shared your birth story yet and you’re interested in sharing, please send us a message with your story & a couple photos 🫶🏼

Getting closer to your due date, over it, everyone is sending you the “is baby here yet?” texts, your provider is pushin...
01/20/2026

Getting closer to your due date, over it, everyone is sending you the “is baby here yet?” texts, your provider is pushing a membrane sweep, induction, cervical checks..you get a cervical check just to find out you’re not dilated at all and ream of disappointment or are 3 cm and get excited… just to find out a week later you’re still a 3 cm with no signs of labor? Sound familiar?

We understand how frustrating those last weeks of pregnancy can be. You’re uncomfortable an everyone is making you feel pressured that your baby should be here by now just because they gave you a “guessed” date of arrival.. well…

1. Everyone’s cycles are different. different lengths and different days of ovulation. your due date goes by the first day of your last period.. but that’s including the you have a 28 day cycle and ovulate on day 14. Did you know only 5% of women give birth ON their due date?
2. When your babies lungs are fully developed, it sends a signal to your body to start labor called the “fetal to maternal signal.” This signal is made of pulmonary surfactant, which acts as hormones to trigger an inflammatory response in a mother’s uterus, signaling that the lungs are mature enough for air breathing and initiating labor. This process involves fetal lung macrophages migrating to the uterus, activating pathways that lead to uterine contractions, essentially telling the body, “I’m ready to be born.”
3. 60-70% of women deliver within 10 days of their due date. 10% by 38 weeks 5 days, 25% by 39 weeks 5 days, 50% by 40 weeks 5 days, 75% by 41 weeks 5 days and this is ONLY if they ovulated on day 14 of their cycle. Only 5% of women actually go past 42 weeks.

First time moms and women who had embryos take longer to implant were more likely to have longer pregnancies/go past their due date.

Things you can do to prevent some of the frustration.. go for a walk, keep yourself busy, go into pregnancy planning to go past your due date and be pleasantly surprised if you don’t, and tell people a birth “month” instead of the exact date.

comment below what day you went into labor! ⤵️

01/19/2026

🤷🏼‍♀️

01/17/2026

Doulas don’t replace dads.

Does your husband want to sit in the corner because he gets queasy? Cool.

Does your husband want to be involved but unsure what to do to help? Great!

Does your husband know exactly how to help you but wants a backup so he can eat, use the restroom, and sit down for a minute here and there? Fantastic!

We are not here to replace dads in the labor room. Sometimes we hear, “I don’t need a doula, that’s what my husband is for!” And believe me, I said the exact same thing. But there is just so much a doula can do ALONGSIDE your partner.

And guess what? After birth… it’s often the DADS singing our praises. 😉

Let’s hear them! 🫶🏼
01/12/2026

Let’s hear them! 🫶🏼

10/17/2025

If I don’t laugh, i’ll cry. 😂

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Valparaiso, IN
46383

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