About Lea

Lea Grundy

prenatal, labor, birth & postpartum support

A little bit about me: I'm a certified labor, birth & postpartum doula. I'm a mom of two grown sons, both delivered by natural childbirth at Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley with a midwife in attendance. In my “other life”, I’ve also worked for many years running political organizing campaigns, both in California and nationally. As a child, I grew up in a community where childbirth was celebrated and where families taking care of each other’s children was the norm. In adulthood, I kept to those traditions, supporting many friends & family

members informally during birth and postpartum over the years. It took a long time for me to figure out that there was an actual name for what I was doing with this birthwork, but I finally got it: it’s called being a doula! I've supported people delivering babies at home and in hospitals, some going "all natural", others using a wide variety of interventions. Whatever way a birth plays out, for me there is no greater privilege and joy than to be allowed to witness the birth of a new human being and the creation of a new family as that new person comes into the world.

What I Do As a Doula

My commitment to you is to be there with you every step of the way through your pregnancy, birth and those first amazing and intense days of new parenthood.

Services include:

Prenatal Support & Planning: Resources for developing your own birth preferences or plan to match your vision for your birth, education about labor positions and comfort measures, well pregnancy tips & resources, referrals for helpful services such as chiropractors or acupuncturists, and preparation for the postpartum period. - 3-4 prenatal sessions.

Labor & Birth: Constant calming, caring presence for you, your partner and anyone else on your birth team. Hands-on physical & emotional support including massage, nutrition/hydration, suggestions for movement & position changes, reminders and affirmations, supplies from my doula “bag of tricks”, and advocacy in the hospital setting as needed. - From the time you call me until a few hours after you have a baby in your arms.

Immediate Postpartum: After your baby is born, I’ll come visit you at home to see how you’re doing, check in on how nursing is going, and share memories from your birth. - 1-2 postpartum visits.

Ongoing Postpartum Support: Hands-on help with baby care and baby care education, lactation support, “extra hands” so you can rest and recuperate, meal-planning, shopping and cooking, light housekeeping, errands & support caring for older children. - scheduled in 4 or 6-hour shifts

If you need someone to hold your hand while you labor, hold your baby while you shower, or hold your confidences when you need a listening ear - I’ll be there. If you need a resource, an advocate, a companion, a sister, or a friend - I’ll be there.

Fees:

Prenatal Prep, Labor/Birth & Immediate Postpartum - $2,000
Ongoing Postpartum - $45/hour
Sliding scale really, truly available - just ask me!

Naomi Tesorero Herz July 2021 (1)_edited