Questions & Answers
Questions & Answers
General
▸ How do I stay up to date with Brood offerings and new course releases?
You can sign up for our newsletter here, and follow us on Instagram here!
▸ I would like to work for you! How do I apply?
You can find our careers page and our application form here!
Courses
▸ Who created these courses? How were they produced?
These courses were built by our co-founders, Emma Devin, who is a full spectrum doula with a decade of experience supporting hundreds of families. Emma used their extensive training, knowledge, and expertise to collect and share the most up-to-date and inclusive information possible. Once compiled, the content was reviewed and edited by our Clinical Advisory Board, a diverse panel of healthcare professionals, birth workers, counsellors, and parents.
▸ How long does each course take to complete?
All of our courses are self paced, meaning you can stop, start, and go back as much as you’d like. While they vary in size and density, the courses each have an average of 26 course material handouts, and 14 short videos.
▸ I have questions about my purchase — who should I connect with?
You can contact us here!
▸ How long do I have access to my online course?
Two years.
▸ How do I send a purchased course as a gift?
To gift one of our courses, be sure to go to the courses page and click GIFT NOW. This will take you to a specially designed page where you can purchase a course for a loved one. For example, this is the page for our Pregnancy, Birth and Right After course – where you could click GIFT NOW.
▸ Why are these courses only offered online?
Our goal was to keep this information as accessible as possible to all families. By putting the information online, it means no matter your geographic location, timeline, learning style, or budget — you can learn with us.
▸ How do I print the documents in this course?
Simply save the documents to your computer and print them from there!
Doula Care
▸ What exactly is a doula?
A doula is a care worker trained in providing non-judgemental, unbiased, informational, and hands-on support for new families in the perinatal period. From prenatal knowledge, mental and physical prep for labor, to advocacy and partner support in the birthing space, to helping you with baby care basics and light housekeeping in postpartum, doulas are there to make the expansion of your family feel as smooth and supported as possible.
▸ What’s the difference between a birth doula and a postpartum doula?
A birth doula’s care is focused primarily around your labor and the time directly before and after, whereas a postpartum doula will step in once your baby has arrived and can keep supporting your family for months afterward. Every birth doula’s package is a little different, but they generally will offer 1-3 prenatal and 1-3 postpartum visits, on top of attending the birth. Birth doulas also often offer their own resources, tools, and specialties to support your family in the birth space and beyond. Postpartum doulas can be booked for as many shifts as you need, and can customize their care to suit your family’s needs.
▸ What’s the difference between a doula and a midwife?
There’s a lot of crossover in these two fields, as both doulas and midwives can provide emotional support, evidence-based education, and family advocacy to birthing folks and their communities. However, midwives are medically trained and equipped to deliver your baby, and will primarily be focused on the health of the birthing parent and their baby. Doulas, on the other hand, are there to provide extensive care for your whole family, including helping you around your home as you adjust to having a new family member.
▸ How long do people normally book postpartum doula care for?
We’ve had families book anywhere from 1 shift to 6 months of full-time care! The length of your contract all depends on what works best for you and your budget*. There’s no minimum or maximum when it comes to booking care, although we do prioritise families who are in their first 3 months postpartum. If you’d like help deciding on how much care you may need, feel free to reach out and we’d be happy to share some insight!
▸ How do I know if I’ll want day shifts or overnight shifts with my postpartum doula?
This depends on a lot of factors and will be different for every family, and many folks book a mixture of the two. Some things to consider include:
- Will you have a partner or support person home with you full time for the first few weeks? If not, at what times will you be solo?
- Will you be healing from a c-section birth, or do you have mobility barriers?
- Do you have a history of postpartum anxiety or depression?
- How confident do you feel with baby care basics?
- Are there folks in your community who will be helping out? What are their schedules like?
As always, feel free to contact us if you’d like some help deciding on what type of care is best for you.
▸ How does payment work?
For birth support, we split the cost into two instalments, so you can pay for half your doula’s package when you book, and the other half at around 36 weeks gestation. For postpartum support, we invoice every Friday for that week of care. All invoices can be paid by e-transfer to hello@broodcare.com or credit card.
▸ Where can I access my schedule?
In our care portal! You can access your schedule, care notes and profile by login in with your email here.
▸ What if I decide I need more or less postpartum care than I booked?
We will always do our best to accommodate changes to your schedule, while ensuring our doulas maintain as much work as they need to make above living wage. When you book with us, we’ll send you our postpartum contract which includes our cancellation policy. While we can’t guarantee our team will have the availability to accommodate added shifts, we will always do everything in our power to get you the level of care you deserve.
▸ What happens if I’ve booked postpartum care but my baby comes early or late?
We understand that babies arrive on their own schedule and no one else’s! We’re used to making adjustments based on your arrival timeline. Just keep in touch with us as you near your due date, and we’ll always do our absolute best to accommodate your shifting needs.
▸ How do you choose which postpartum doulas to pair with each family?
When you reach out to book a postpartum doula, we’ll ask you some questions to get a better sense of your family and the care you’re seeking. Based on your answers, we’ll connect you with a doula(s) that we think would be a good match based on:
- Availability
- Vicinity
- Any relevant experience in similar lifestyle, culture, identity, or practice
- Relevant care specializations
- Any other preferences you’ve shared with us
▸ Can I interview multiple birth doulas?
Absolutely! In fact, we encourage you to meet with multiple birth doulas to get a better sense of who you feel the most comfortable and confident with. Our meet and greets are complimentary, and you can chat with any doulas with availability around your estimated due date.
▸ What is a Brood Foundations Visit?
If you book postpartum care prenatally, we offer one complimentary Brood Foundations Visit with your postpartum doula(s) at around 36 weeks gestation. This visit is about 2 hours long, and takes place in your home (or over Zoom if you’re more comfortable with that.) It’s a chance for you and your doula(s) to get to know one another better, for them to learn their way around your home, and for you to share any pertinent information and preferences regarding your postpartum care.
▸ Can I gift doula care to a loved one?
Absolutely! We love seeing folks support their friends and family this way – and we know from experience it’s one of the most valuable gifts you can give a new family. Contact us here and we can chat with you about the options!
▸ What are your Covid-19 policies?
You can find our Covid-19 policies here. These are based on the most current Information and local guidelines, and are updated regularly.
▸ What’s the Agency Fee for?
The Agency Fee is a one-time payment that helps us provide you with best-in-class family care. This includes the pairing and scheduling process, finding backup doula support in case of illness or emergency, and the collection and maintenance of our extensive resource collection, found in our Family Portal. The fee also allows us to provide our doulas with ongoing mentorship, further training, and informative workshops to make sure the care they provide is always up to date and top notch.
▸ Do you offer doula care outside of Vancouver and Victoria?
While we do often care for families who live outside of the Lower Mainland and Victoria, our geographical boundaries depend on our roster of doulas and where they live. If we do not have a doula available near your home, we charge a small fee to cover any commute over an hour each way. If you’re curious whether your neighbourhood is accessible to our team, feel free to contact us!
▸ Do you offer other birth services, such as lactation consultations, placenta encapsulation, or sleep consultations?
We currently do not offer any services other than birth and postpartum doula care. However, if you’re struggling to find practitioners, feel free to reach out to us and we can send you some recommendations. Alternatively, if you’re a family currently in care, you can find lots of suggested resources in our Family Portal.
▸ Do you offer financial assistance?
One of our core beliefs is that every family deserves unbiased, trauma-informed, and inclusive care that is both affordable and accessible. To make this goal a reality, we’re currently working on setting up a Brood Equity program. This will offer queer, trans, Black, Indigenous, and people of the global majority families financial assistance in accessing birth support. Keep an eye on this space for the launch of that program, and in the meantime, feel free to reach out to us if financial barriers are keeping you from accessing care.
* If finances are a barrier to you in accessing care, feel free to contact us and we’ll always do our best to ensure you get the care you deserve.
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We work and live on the unceded and occupied territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations. Since time immemorial, the original peoples of these lands have cared for their families and communities. We are committed to honouring their teachings, legacy and their sovereignty.