You deserve someone in your corner
who is only there for you.
Orlando Birth Doula | Emily Santi
Certified birth doula serving Central Florida. All births, no judgment, just support.
So What Does a Doula Actually Do?
Great question. A doula is not a midwife. Not a nurse. Not someone who delivers babies or makes medical decisions.
A doula is the person who stays.
While the medical team rotates in and out, while your partner is trying their best but also kind of freaking out, while everything is loud and intense and moving faster than you expected, your doula is right there. Continuously. From active labor all the way through to the other side. Holding your hand, reminding you to breathe, advocating for you, helping your partner feel useful, and making sure that no matter what happens in that room, you never once feel alone.
That is what I do.
Wait, Do I Even Need a Doula?
Maybe you are thinking — I have a partner, I have a doctor, I have a birth plan. I've got this.
And maybe you do! But here is what the research actually says. People with doulas have shorter labors, lower rates of c-sections, lower rates of interventions, and higher rates of birth satisfaction. Not because doulas are magic, but because having a calm, knowledgeable, continuous presence in the room changes everything.
Your doctor or midwife is there to deliver your baby. Your nurse is managing your care. Your partner loves you more than anything, but has never done this before either. A doula is the one person in that room whose entire job is just you.
Your comfort, your confidence, your experience. Nothing else.
Here Is What You Actually Get When You
Hire Me to be Your Doula
We do not just show up on birth day and wing it. Before your birth, we meet three times — yes, three whole appointments just to make sure we are ready.
We go over your birth plan, your hopes, your fears, your questions, your medical history, everything. I come with evidence-based resources and a zero agenda. We talk through all of your options so that when the time comes, you feel informed, prepared, and confident — not like you are making decisions in the middle of a contraction for the first time.
From 36 weeks, I am on call for you 24/7. When labor starts, I come to you. I stay through active labor, through the birth, and for at least two hours after your baby arrives. Comfort measures, position changes, breathing techniques, massage, advocacy, communication with your medical team — whatever you need, whenever you need it, for as long as you need it.
And if you are also booking birth photography with me, the two together are something really special. I am not switching between roles. I am just someone who shows up for you completely, with every skill I have, for the whole thing.
I have been doing this for seven years. I have attended epidural births and unmedicated births, c-sections and VBACs, home births and hospital births, and everything in between. I have been in rooms where everything went exactly to plan and rooms where nothing did.
What stays the same every single time is this — I show up, I stay, and I care. Whatever happens in that room, you will not be alone in it. That is my promise.
What About My Partner?
This is the one I hear most. "My partner doesn't think we need a doula."
Here is what partners say after the birth every single time without fail— that was the best decision we ever made.
Because here is the thing about partners. They love you enormously and they want to support you but they are also experiencing one of the most intense things they have ever witnessed and they have no idea what to do with their hands. A doula supports your partner too. I show them how to help, give them a role, and make sure they feel like part of the experience rather than a bystander to it. They get to be present — really present — instead of spending the whole labor quietly panicking.
Everyone wins.
But I'm Getting an Epidural. Do I Still Need a Doula?
Yes. A thousand times yes.
I support every kind of birth. Epidural, unmedicated, c-section, VBAC, hospital, home, birth center — all of it. The type of birth you are planning has absolutely nothing to do with whether you deserve support.
An epidural does not mean you stop needing someone in your corner. Labor can stillbe long. Decisions still get made. Things still come up that nobody warned you about. And you still deserve someone there who knows what is happening, can explain your options, and can hold your hand through every single part of it.
I don't judge how you birth. I just care that you love your experience. And I will do everything in my power to help you have exactly that.
Words from the families
I've had the honor of supporting.
ELISA, BIRTH DOULA CLIENT
“Emily was so completely dedicated to me and my family that she was there every step of the way. I am forever grateful for her patience and commitment to her profession and to us as her clients. It truly says a lot about the kind of person she is.”
LINDSAY, BIRTH DOULA CLIENT
“You'd be hard-pressed to find another doula like Emily. She is truly there for YOU, without dogma. I was scared to birth alone and wanted to be intellectually, emotionally and spiritually prepared. Emily supported me from start to finish, throughout the entire perinatal experience. She listened to my wants, needs and fears. Labor is WORK and she was at my side every step of the way. Emily works from the heart with wisdom I've seen in a rare few. You can feel it.”
Day-of or all-in.
Two ways to work with me. Both include me showing up completely.
DAY-OF DOULA
For the mama who feels prepared — she just doesn't want to do it alone.
You have done your research. You know your birth plan. You feel ready. You just want someone in that room who knows what they are doing, will have your back no matter what, and will make sure your partner does not pass out.
That is exactly what this is.
On your birth day I show up, I stay, and I do not leave until you and your baby are settled and taken care of. Continuous labor support, comfort measures, position changes, advocacy with your medical team, and full partner support from the moment I walk in to the moment I walk out.
FULL DOULA SERVICES
For the mama who wants support from bump to baby and beyond.
This is the whole thing. We start building our relationship long before your due date ever arrives — three prenatal appointments where we go through everything together. Your birth plan, your hopes, your fears, your questions, your medical history, what you want your experience to look like and how to get as close to that as possible. I bring evidence based resources and zero agenda. Just information, support, and someone genuinely invested in you.
I stay through active labor, through the birth, and for at least two hours after your baby arrives, providing comfort measures, position changes, advocacy, partner support, breastfeeding support, all of it.
And then about 3 days after your baby arrives, I come back. Because the postpartum period deserves support too, and I want to make sure you are okay on the other side of it all.
NOT SURE WHICH ONE IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
That is what the contact form is for.
Fill it out, tell me where you are at, and we will figure it out together.
I did my homework. Like, a lot of homework.
Seven years of births will teach you a lot. But I also believe in showing up with every possible tool in my belt before I ever walk into your birth room.
A.S. in Human Services— Cabrillo College, 2019
Certified Postpartum Doula— TinyLove Doula, 2019
Certified Birth Doula— TinyLove Doula, 2020
Trained Breastfeeding Counselor— International Doula Institute, 2020
National Midwifery Institute, Midwifery Intensives with Elizabeth Davis, 2020
Labor and Birth Doula Training— ProDoula, 2021
Postpartum and Infant Care Doula Training — ProDoula, 2021
DONA Labor and Birth Doula Training— MotherTree Doula Training, 2021
Trauma Informed Care for Birthworkers— DONA, 2021
Certified Birth Photographer — Birth Becomes You, 2022
You found your person. You just have to say hello.
Here is what happens next. You fill out the form below. And then I reach out, and we figure out together if we are a good fit.
I cannot wait to meet you.
Fill Out the Contact Form Below
