Vermont Birth Doula Services
Your birth experience matters
Birth is a life-changing experience.
How you’re cared for during it shapes how you move through the moment, and the story you carry with you afterward.
Feeling informed, respected, and not alone can make all the difference, whether you’re birthing at home or in the hospital.
You can’t control how birth unfolds, but you can feel grounded and confident in the experience you’re having.
My Approach to Birth Support
Birth asks a lot of you—physically, emotionally, and mentally. That’s why it matters who you surround yourself with.
I’m Emily Piazza, a Vermont-based birth doula, registered dietitian nutritionist, and mom of three.
Giving birth myself was deeply transformative. With the steady support of a doula, my own births felt empowering and grounding, and they left me in awe of what our bodies are capable of. Experiencing that kind of care firsthand is what drew me to this work.
Those experiences shape how I support others—not by directing your birth or deciding what’s best, but by offering calm, responsive presence so you feel supported in your choices and connected to your experience every step of the way.
Birth isn’t about doing everything “right,” it’s about feeling supported through whatever unfolds.
Birth can be unpredictable.
It may move faster than you imagined, or feel like it’s stalling entirely.
It can feel empowering, or unexpectedly difficult.
Plans may unfold as hoped, or shift in ways you never anticipated.
Even when things “go according to plan,” there are moments of intense sensation and emotion.
This is where continuous doula support matters.
My role isn’t to manage your birth: it’s to remain present so you don’t have to navigate these moments alone. Care that adapts to what’s happening, honors what matters most to you, and helps you stay connected to your experience, even when it’s intense, unfamiliar, or different than you expected.
Working Together
I offer full-spectrum, personalized doula support. This means I work with people of all genders, body sizes, family structures, and identities, and offer care across a wide range of reproductive experiences. This includes uncomplicated births, medically complex births, pregnancy loss, stillbirth, abortion, and termination for medical reasons.
We’ll get to know each other during pregnancy, build trust over time, and move through birth as a team—so when things feel intense or uncertain, you’re supported by someone who already knows you.
Some clients work with me for birth doula services only, and others choose to couple it with nutrition support for more wholistic support.
Individual Childbirth Preparation
We’ll prepare for birth both physically and emotionally with two in-home prenatal visits. These visits are a space to talk through your hopes, concerns, logistics, and postpartum needs—while also practicing comfort measures and discussing informed decision-making.
Between visits, I’m always available for questions, reassurance, and thoughtful, evidence-based resources.
On-Call Support (Begins at 38 Weeks)
As you near the end of pregnancy, support becomes more responsive and flexible. I’m on call day and night, ready to join you at home or the hospital when labor begins.
A trusted back-up doula is also on call in the rare case of illness or emergency so you are always supported.
Continuous Labor Support
You won’t be alone when labor becomes intense, uncertain, or overwhelming.
I provide continuous support for both the birthing person and their partner throughout labor and birth.
Support may include:
Encouragement and emotional grounding
Positioning and movement (trained in Spinning Babies®)
Massage and counter pressure
Water therapy
Food and hydration reminders
Support during medical procedures
Help navigating informed decision-making and self-advocacy
Photos are available upon request, always with respect for your space and preferences.
Postpartum Support
Those first hours and weeks after birth matter.
I remain with you immediately after birth to support bonding with your baby, assist during any repairs, help with latching and feeding, and gently support your transition into parenthood during the first two hours. Photos are available upon request.
Once you’re home and beginning to settle in, we reconnect within the first two weeks for a postpartum visit. This time is for debriefing your birth, processing the experience, and talking through the physical and emotional shifts of early postpartum. I’ll also help connect you with additional resources or providers if needed (and bring you a nourishing meal to support your recovery).
Beyond our visit, you’ll continue to have access to me via text for questions, reassurance, and support. Additional postpartum doula care is available if scheduled separately.
Additional Ways Work Together
Loss & Bereavement Birth Doula Support
Some births carry both love and grief.
For families navigating pregnancy or infant loss, I offer compassionate, gentle doula support provided by donation
This care is centered on honoring your experience and loss with dignity, presence, and respect.
Virtual Birth Planning & Birth Story Processing
This service is ideal if you already have a close support person who will serve as your primary labor companion, but you want a little extra support.
This offering includes:
A 2-hour consult
1:1 virtual personalized birth planning
A 1-hour birth story processing session
This option provides clarity, emotional preparation, and space to integrate your experience without full in-person doula care.
Locations Served
I support hospital and home births throughout northern Vermont, including Chittenden, Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille, and most of Washington and Addison counties.
I travel to UVM Medical Center, Porter Hospital, Northwestern Medical Center, Central Vermont Medical Center, Gifford Medical Center, and Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital.
I’m familiar with the realities of both rural and hospital-based birth and strive to offer care that fits the community you live in.
Investment
I believe doula care should be accessible.
My full spectrum doula services are $2,000
If this investment feels out of reach, let’s discuss payment plans, barter, cash discounts, or scholarship opportunities.
If you’re in a position to pay it forward, your contribution helps make doula support accessible to another family.
Some services may be reimbursable through the BCBSVT Better Beginnings Program. Other insurance plans may offer reimbursement as well.
Finding the Right Fit
If you’re still building your birth team or exploring your doula options, I recommend checking out Vermont Birth Network, Vermont’s community of perinatal professionals and a helpful resource for finding doulas, midwives, and other providers that align with your values.
Finding the Right Fit
If you’re still building your birth team or exploring your doula options, I recommend the Vermont Birth Network, Vermont’s community of perinatal professionals and a helpful resource for finding doulas, midwives, and other providers that align with your values.
Schedule an Interview
Choosing a doula is deeply personal. If you think we’d be a good fit, I’d love to connect. All my birth clients begin with a free 30 minute virtual meet and greet to make sure we’re a good fit and I am available for your birth.
Schedule an Interview
Choosing a doula is deeply personal. If you think we’d be a good fit, I’d love to connect. All my birth clients begin with a free 30 minute virtual meet and greet to make sure we’re a good fit and I am available for your birth.