Doula-Doula

I booked a "natural labor encouragement massage" with a doula tomorrow. 

For those who don't know, doulas are like a hippie's helper before, during, and after pregnancy.  They are not nurses or midwives; they just provide a host of services for the preggo and post-preggo population.  And I joke that they're for hippies because, well, it's mostly granola types who trend toward doula services.  I don't really think of myself as such a granola type (since as a college friend of mine once said, "I'm not a hippie!  I shower everyday and I hate the smell of patchouli!" -- and that's always been my definitive definition); however, I suppose I border on hippie.  Hippie-adjacent, I guess you could say.

Anyhoo, one service they offer is a "39 week special" which is a massage that combines certain essential oils with specific pressure point focus that is supposed to naturally encourage labor to start on its own.  They boast an 85% success rate that after your massage, you'll naturally go into labor within 2-5 days.  A student initially told me about the service a few months back -- she too is a mother and she'd taken advantage of such a massage with her second pregnancy and she swore she went into labor exactly 48 hours after receiving the massage.

I was, and still am, a bit skeptical because, well, when you're at least 39 weeks pregnant, you could go into labor at any point, so the 2-5 day promise seems a bit like a given anyway.  But, I figure: Why not?  It can't hurt to try and, as Jerry argued, if nothing else, a massage would be a nice, relaxing activity which is maybe something I should take advantage of and enjoy right now anyway.  So, I booked it.  It's not cheap, but it's really no more expensive than a regular 60 minute massage, and I figure if it does work, it's worth it.

My mom arrives this afternoon, so she can stay home tomorrow morning with Norah, and I guess I'm gonna go get my doula on, yo!