Thank You for Your Interest in Our Organization

Thank you for your interest in our organization. Mother & baby Matters, Inc. is a comprehensive maternal-infant home care agency, meeting Department of Health licensure in Virginia, and founded in 1991. We individually tailor our services to meet the unique needs of each family, and have particular expertise and experience with multiple births and difficult delivery situations. Our highly professional associates include doulas (the word doula is Greek for “one who mothers the new mother”) who are all experienced, compassionate mothers who have been extensively trained in breastfeeding, infant health, postpartum recovery including depression, and sibling adjustment. Our associates also include specially trained labor support doulas (also called childbirth assistants), RN maternal-infant specialists, childbirth educators, board certified lactation consultants, Tender Loving Caregivers and Family Care Assistants. Mother & baby Matters recognizes trained doulas who have received training and certifications through CAPPA (Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association), DONA (Doulas of North America) and our affiliate organization, DINOVA (Doula Institute of Northern Virginia). Each of our programs maintains professional practice standards in accordance with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Our entry-level position is the Family Care Assistant (days) or Tender Loving Caregiver (overnights). The FCA or TLC provides a helping hand to families on a short-term basis. They assist families experiencing a variety of situations and can provide prenatal assistance, newborn and sibling care, and light household support. FCA's & TLC's must attend a training prior to case assignments and must have Infant & Adult CPR and first aid training. There is also a materials fee to cover the cost of a handbook, business cards, and tote bag.

Our labor support/birth doulas are required to attend a training program offered through a recognized doula organization, such as Doulas of North America, (DONA), International Childbirth Education Association (ICEA) or Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association (CAPPA). An apprentice program is available to those pursuing certification.

The postpartum doula focuses primarily on providing guidance and support during the period of adjustment to motherhood. Hired doulas need to complete a DINOVA training session, which includes areas such as breastfeeding, infant health, postpartum recovery including nutrition and exercise, postpartum depression, and sibling support.

Doulas are expected to pursue doula certification through a recognized national organization and complete within a year. Support and mentorship is provided by Mother & baby Matters, Inc. Also, there are four required meetings and additional seminars held throughout the year that associates are encouraged to attend.

Our RN associates provide focused teaching and support visits that may concern areas of newborn care, breastfeeding and general adjustment to motherhood or parenting.

Associates are hired as independent contractors. As an independent contractor you are in charge of your own schedule, and set your own hours with your clients allowing for maximum flexibility in a job. However, you are responsible for filing your own taxes and social security, and not eligible for benefits. Minimum requirements include CPR certification, first aid training, and negative TB tests as well as professional liability insurance, which you are responsible for updating on an annual basis.

If you wish to pursue a career path working with Mother & baby Matters, Inc., please complete and return the enclosed application, along with a copy of your resume. The office will contact you to arrange an interview time once your application is reviewed. If you have questions please don’t hesitate to call us. We look forward to hearing from you.

Once again, thank you for considering a position with Mother & baby Matters.

Sincerely,

Gerri Levrini, RN, MSN, CNAA

President

GL:pjo / Enclosures

REQUIREMENTS AND TRAINING

All Mother & baby Matters associates are required to maintain annual current CPR training in infant, child and adult, as well as TB testing and professional liability insurance. Doulas, Family Care Assistants and TLC Caregivers are also required to have First Aid training.

Postpartum Doula: The postpartum doula associates must be experienced mothers and are required to participate in a basic Doula training program. The training is based on practice standards that are essentially an extension of hospital postpartum care and include breastfeeding curriculum from Lactation Education Resources. Once they pass a post-exam, they receive field experience by going on "buddy visits" with a more experienced doula. Doulas are also required to attend quarterly meetings and seminars as well as pursue certification as a postpartum doula through a recognized Doula organization.

Labor Support Doula: The labor support staff members are trained under the Doulas of North America (DONA) or Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association (CAPPA) curriculum and are required to become certified as labor support doulas.

Family Care Assistants: Mothering experience preferred. Training includes general orientation to basic baby care, bottle sterilization and feeding, universal precautions and hand washing techniques, healthy food preparation, household support and sibling care.

Tender Loving Caregivers: Mothering experience preferred. Training includes general orientation to basic baby care, bottle sterilization and feeding, universal precautions and hand washing techniques.

Lactation Consultants: Lactation Consultants must be Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC), have maternal-infant experience, participate in Mother & baby Matters training program, and attend quarterly meetings and appropriate seminars.

Registered Nurses: RN's hold licensure in Maryland, Virginia and/or DC from the state in which they practice. The RNs are hired as maternal-infant clinical specialists and are required to have background and experience in maternity nursing, participate in Mother & baby Matters training program and attend quarterly meetings and appropriate seminars.

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO BEFORE I ACCEPT CASES

WITH MOTHER & BABY MATTERS?

WHAT DO I NEED IN ORDER TO BE HIRED?

· Must complete employment application (& resume if you have one) & submit to our office

· Must have current Drivers License

· Must provide two reference letters on Mother & baby Matters' form

· Must show proof of eligibility to work in the United States (Passport, License, Green card)

· Must have reliable transportation

· Must have cell phone (with voice mail programmed & appropriate professional greeting)

· Must have email address (that can receive emails with attachments)

WHAT DO I NEED BEFORE I CAN GO OUT ON A CASE?

· Must have current Infant/Adult CPR certification

· Must have current First Aid certification

· Must have proof of negative TB test (within one year) or chest x-ray (within 5 years)

· Must purchase uniform item from Mother & baby Matters (range $14. - $25.)

· Must have “House” shoes (these are worn only in homes, not worn outside)

· Must have Professional Liability Insurance

· Must complete Orientation and do “Buddy Visit” with one of our staff members

POSTPARTUM DOULA STAFF:

· If a Postpartum Doula Training through DONA or CAPPA has not already been taken, new staff must attend a Postpartum Doula Training facilitated by Mother & baby Matters (typically held in October and May). This is a 3-day training and the cost is $200.00, which includes training materials. Portion of training cost may be payroll deduction, if cost is a hardship.

· New staff may begin working as “Doula-in-Training” after a short orientation, then graduate to Postpartum Doula after taking the training.

LABOR SUPPORT DOULA STAFF:

· Must show Certificate of Completion from a DONA or CAPPA-approved Labor Support Doula Training.

· Must provide information regarding number of births already attended (as Primary Doula)

Before coming in for an interview, please submit the following:
Application for Employment
Current Resume
When coming in for an interview, please bring the following:
Valid drivers license
Proof of CPR, if you’ve already taken it
Proof of TB testing, if you’ve already taken it
Any applicable Professional Certificates (DONA or CAPPA training, etc)
Green card (if not U.S. Citizen)
Passport or Social Security Card for identification purposes
Before taking the training, the following must be completed:
Reference #1 returned to MbM office
Reference #2 returned to MbM office
Authorization form for Criminal Background Check returned to MbM office
Registration form for Training submitted to MbM office with payment
MbM contract must be signed before training
Before being sent out on a case, the following must be completed:
All of the above
Proof of CPR (adult and child)
Proof of TB testing
Proof that Professional liability insurance has been ordered.

Start up costs for Mother & baby Matters staff:

For Doula level:

Varies (+/- $45.00) / CPR certification (from Red Cross, Comm. Centers, Hospitals)
varies / TB testing (from your doctor or county health clinic)
+/- $65.00 / Professional Liability insurance
$14.00 - 25.00 / Uniform Item
$50.00 / Orientation & manual
$150.00 / Doula Training & manual ($200 - $50 Orientation fee = $150)

For Doula-in-Training, TLC or FCA level:

Optional items for any level:

$36.00/year / DINOVA Membership
$15.00/seminar / Seminar registration fees (if DINOVA member)
$25.00/seminar / Seminar registration fees (if NOT a DINOVA member)

Personal items required:

· Cell phone

· E-mail address

· Street maps (for appropriate areas)

· Appointment book or calendar

· Disposable non-latex (or non-allergenic) gloves

· Hand sanitizer

· Hand lotion (preferably unscented)

· "Inside house" shoes

· Portfolio binder (to show clients)

· Back up paper towels (in case client does not have any – you shouldn't use client's regular towels in kitchen or bathroom)

** REPRINTED FROM MOTHER & baby MATTERS (previously MOTHER'S MATTERS) 1994 Newsletter Issue

Mother's Matters Newsletter

Spring 1994

A Day in The Life of a Doula

Today I traversed the Washington beltway two times. I showed a new mother how to use a breast pump. I reassured an anxious couple who have a fussy, colicky baby. I did some emergency child care for a client who needed to run to Toys-R-Us to replace a lost Barney for her heartbroken four-year-old. Even though I got spit up on twice, I didn't take it personally. You see, I am a doula.

In Greece, the woman who comes to the home to help the mother through the early postpartum period is called doula by the other children. The word doula literally means "handmaiden". At Mother's Matters, we translate doula to mean "one who mothers the new mother". Doulas, also called postpartum caregivers, come into the home of the postpartum couple and give hands-on help and guidance. Our skills range from helping with breastfeeding and postpartum depression to bathing babies, cooking, and entertaining older siblings.

Many couples are lucky enough to have a mother, mother-in-law, or loving sister nearby to play the doula role. Often in our transient and mobile culture, these relatives live too far away to come to the house every day to give the hands-on help new parents need. The father is often a marvelous doula, but if he is new to fatherhood, he needs support, too. New fathers are doubly stressed with having to return to work soon after the baby is born to keep food on the table and the bills paid.

In his book Touchpoints, pediatrician/author T. Berry Brazelton discusses the stress- inducing & unrealistic

expectations placed on new parents in the United States. These include the myth that mothers instantly "bond" with their babies; twenty-four hour discharge policies at hos-pitals; and the pressure on fathers to instantly master the role of supporting the new mother and baby. To provide contrast, Brazelton describes the family life on the Japanese Goto Archipelago where a new mother is "expected to stay in bed, wrapped in a quilt, for one month after delivery. Her baby is wrapped up next to her. For one month, grand-mothers, aunts and relatives come in and take care of her. She is expected to do nothing but feed her baby and to recover…"

It is not just non-industrial societies that allow a postpartum recovery period. In most countries in Europe, a postpartum caregiver comes to the home for a week as a matter of course.

In my work as a doula in the high-powered Washington area, I have seen the overwhelming expectations we place on families taken to an extreme. The myth that a woman can handle her own recovery and attach to her new baby in forty-eight hours seems to be compounded by the guilt she feels if she's not mastering it all "fast enough". I cannot count how many times my clients have said things like, "I'm usually very productive at work. I usually handle stress really well. This should be easy. Why am I falling apart?" I try to reassure them that adjusting to new parenthood is like nothing they have accom-plished before in life, and that it is a time to be extra gently with oneself. The postpartum period contains feelings of chaos and uncertainty. Indeed, sleep deprivation, hormone changes, and becoming a slave to the whims of a newborn, can make even the most confident, high-functioning women and men feel completely inadequate. For-tunately, these feelings are short-lived. Support, pamper-ing, and a sense of humor help the new parents to see that their experience is universal.

The intensity of the first postpartum weeks makes it very difficult for clients to believe that things will get better in a very short period of time. That is why we doulas encourage our clients to take a one - day - at - a - time approach. One client panicked whenever her new-born cried. She felt like a terrible parent if she couldn't immediately identify and "fix" the problem. I reassured her that as she got to know her baby, she would come to understand whether he was crying because of hunger, a need to be held, or because he was tired and just needed to "decompress". I then encouraged her to hold and comfort him, but to try to stay relaxed when he cried. By doing this, she would communicate serenity to the baby (which has a calming effect), and protect her own sanity. Within twenty-four hours, this mother had found several ways to comfort her baby, and had a higher tolerance for her newborn's natural crying.

The incremental, one-day-at-a-time approach is especially important with breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is natural, in the sense that it is a physiological reflex, a wondrous dance of supply and demand. But it takes time for the let-down reflex to react to baby's demand, and getting one's milk supply going can be frustrating and nerve-wracking. During this early time, the doula can reassure the mother that her milk will come in, and that it is all right to rest between feedings. She brings meals, snacks, and drinks, and shows the mother how to position baby at the breast. All of this tender care keeps the mother calm, relaxed, and in the present.