Meet Alicia Pritchard of Truly You Birth Services in Glendale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alicia Pritchard.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Alicia. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
When I was pregnant with my first child 11 years ago, I fell in love with all things birth! I poured over information, created a plan with my husband, meticulously checked car seat reviews, took multiple classes, asked my doctor lots of questions, etc.

I went into that prepared, and ended up having a hard, but beautiful birth! I largely credit my support team for helping me create and maintain a positive birth experience. After experiencing birth for myself, I knew I wanted to help other women through their journey too! I had heard of these people called “doulas” before my birth. I didn’t hire one for that birth, but I knew I wanted to be one when it was over.

It was a long time coming, but I finally attended a birth doula training through DONA International in 2015 and assisted with my first birth shortly after; a client who was able to have a successful VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean)! Since then, I have furthered my training and attained certification through Stillbirthday as a birth and bereavement doula and been able to help many more families! Last year, I even added on birth photography services. I LOVE being able to preserve those lovely memories for my clients that might otherwise be forgotten!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Yes and no. I haven’t had any HUGE setbacks that I can remember, but it definitely has taken a lot of work….and followed a timeline that is much longer than I would’ve originally liked. When I was younger, I never ever thought I’d be an entrepreneur and certainly didn’t have any business classes under my belt! That means I get to learn all about registering a business, purchasing a domain, building a website, branding, advertising, legal etc. all as I go. It’s taken a lot of work, but has also been very rewarding.

Please tell us about Truly You Birth Services.
In general, birth doulas provide emotional, informational, and physical support to family during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. I meet with clients during pregnancy to provide information, work through fears and concerns, teach about relaxation techniques, provide references to books, professionals, etc. and discuss desires for birth and postpartum. I am on-call 24/7 from 38 weeks gestation until the baby comes. I stay with my client and her partner during labor and childbirth. During this time I am helping her support person know how to assist her, providing physical aid, giving ideas of different techniques or positions to labor in, helping my client and her partner work through emotions or questions that may come up during labor, etc. If the client has also purchased birth photography from me, I am doing this while curating beautiful photos of the most tender moments one might see on this earth. After birth, I provide basic breastfeeding assistance if my client wishes. I also meet with the family afterwards to check in, go over how her birth went, see if she needs any referrals to other professionals, and provide additional information she might need for her fourth trimester.

Through doing doula work, I have found a passion for helping women who might struggle with anxiety or nervousness when it comes to labor and childbirth. Having those struggles adds an extra facet to the process because the details and the worries can seem larger. I am a naturally detailed person and have a calming, peaceful personality. This passion has led me to begin specializing in learning what books and techniques help these women; the importance of planning for their postpartum experience and what to look out for in their 4th trimester to help them stay on top of their mental health. I am always continuing to grow in my knowledge, relationships with other professionals, and techniques for aiding these women in gaining their power through their fears.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I might have hired a mentor of some kind early on. It’s nice to have someone in your corner who has walked the path before.

Pricing:

• Birth Doula Services (Support Package): $600
• Birth Photography Services (Memories Package): $600
• Birth Doula & Photography Services (Support & Memories Package): $850

Contact Info:

• Website: www.trulyyoubirthservices.com
• Email: alicia.trulyyoubirthservices@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trulyyoubirth/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trulyyoubirthservices/

Image Credit:
For the first 2 photos with the woman in the striped pants, the credit goes to Love Audrey Photo.

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