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Full-spectrum Doula Services

What is a full-spectrum doula?

Every pregnant person deserves a doula, regardless of pregnancy outcome: live birth, stillbirth, miscarriage, abortion, or adoption.

A full-spectrum doula is a non-medical professional who is trained to educate, advocate, and support pregnant people physically and emotionally through a range of pregnancy outcomes.  These may include situations such as live birth, stillbirth, miscarriage, abortion, infant loss, and adoption. I focus my practice primarily on abortion, miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant loss support for people and their loved ones, though am willing to discuss any options with clients and potential clients. 

Full-spectrum doulas are privately engaged by clients and are often not covered through medical insurance plans. Some privately employed abortion and loss doulas charge for their services, some health centers that provide abortion care offer volunteer doula services to their patients, and some private doulas offer these services at no cost to the client. 

I offer up to 8 hours of my full-spectrum doula services on a pro-bono / volunteer / donation basis per client.  Extended services can be contracted from there if desired.   

Abortion care in particular can be very costly with time constraints to access funds and is so stigmatized to the point where many people don’t have support within their usual support circles and yet can use as much as they can find, so I am committed to offering a level of this support to my community at no cost to the client.

I aim always to do my work in line with the reproductive justice framework, and also strongly advocate and work for social justice and equity in all matters, but here specifically in relation to access, advocacy, and autonomy.  I recognize the systemic inequities built into the fabric of our society, and I aim to share knowledge and experience in this particular system in an effort to give clients more positive and equitable outcomes in the realm of abortion and pregnancy loss access regardless of race, religion, sexual / relationship and gender identity and expression, disability, or income.

I focus most of my work in the Cincinnati/NKY area and am most familiar with abortion care and access and restrictions in the state of Ohio, but I am able and willing to support pregnant people through their options and decisions regardless of location.  

Need someone to talk to right now about any pregnancy decision past or present in the US or Canada? I recommend the All-Options talkline at 1-888-493-0092.  Looking to learn more about medical abortion and how people self-manage their medical abortions? Please check out the amazing folks and info from abortionpillinfo.org.

Did You Know? In March 2022, the World Health Organization updated their recommendations to support and remove legal restrictions and barriers to self-management of medical abortion in whole or in part, as desired by the patient.  Read more about their recommendations and guidelines on Self-Managed Abortion here: WHO SMA Recommendations and Guidelines.

From the WHO Guidelines: “[Pregnant people] may self-manage parts or all of the abortion process for a variety of reasons related to individual circumstances and preferences. For some [people], this may be the only feasible option within their context and for others it may represent an active choice. However, from the perspective of the health system, self-management should not be considered a ‘last resort’ option or a substitute for a non-functioning health system. Self-management must be recognized as a potentially empowering and active extension of the health system and task-sharing approaches.”

Abortion support

Assisting pregnant people and their support groups through the full abortion journey.  Offering information and non-medical advice on the process, procedures, options, and self-advocacy in medical spaces. Experience with and ability to support through both surgical (outpatient) and medical (pill) abortions. Ability to facilitate discussions with partner(s) and families throughout.

miscarriage and loss support

Supporting parents and families through the loss of a pregnancy, including miscarriage and stillbirth including grief support and assistance in memorial planning and execution. Ability to facilitate discussions with partner(s) and families throughout.

Group seminars & community conversations

I regularly host both in-person and virtual group info shares on topics such as medical abortion, supporting people through surgical and medical abortion, and more.  I also love facilitating community conversations on what can typically be such difficult topics to discuss in an effort to dispel myths, break stigmas, and bring together communities.  If you would like me to facilitate for your group, please reach out!  

Schedule here or Email me for a free virtual consult / Q&A session.
 

future plans

I am currently building a free abortion support community program as an opportunity to break through abortion stigma and fear, and to allow people to learn how they can offer care and support for their friends, partners, loved ones, and potentially even themselves through future abortion experiences.  To be added to my email list for this training please fill out the below form. All information included on the form will be kept private and not shared outside of Wandering Child Services or sold to third-parties:

Abortion Support Training Mailing List: Add me to the list!


Learn more

Facebook Page: Lindsay Laubenstein, Full-Spectrum Doula

Media on Full-Spectrum/Abortion Doulas
links open in new window

✨ The Long Five Minutes, The Washington Post, November 2017
✨ I’m an Abortion Doula: Here’s What I Do and See During a Typical Shift, self.com, June 2017

Media on Abortion Support Featuring Lindsay

✨ Activists on Both Sides of Abortion Debate Plan Next Steps, Spectrum News 1, May 2022 (cw: clinic protesters with graphic signs)
✨ Abortion Doulas Will Continue Care With or Without Roe, Ohio Capital Journal, June 2022


general services

 
  • Virtual and In-Person Services Available
  • Companion to the pregnant person and partners/families.
  • Patient advocacy in medical settings.
  • Informational resources on what to expect, procedures, and decisions that can be made through the process.
  • Surgical and Medical abortion procedure support.
  • Self-Managed abortion support.
  • Miscarriage and pregnancy loss support.
  • Facilitating difficult discussions with support circle.
  • Info on memorial options and planning.
  • Grief and bereavement support.
  • Resource Suggestions.
Schedule here for a free virtual
consult / Q&A session.
 
 
Lindsay Laubenstein, Certified End of Life Doula Headshot


about lindsay

Raised in a home very open to talk about heavily stigmatized pregnancy topics such as abortion and miscarriage, Lindsay already felt a calling to abortion care and support work in her very early teens.  Knowing that medical school was not the right path for her she never imagined then the opportunity to offer direct abortion care for pregnant people in other ways.

Lindsay first discovered the full-spectrum doula movement in 2017 but no programs to train existed in her area at that time. In 2018 Lindsay happened upon an opportunity to train and volunteer as a doula for pregnant people having abortions in a clinic setting and gained invaluable experience in holding space, offering comfort, and gifting energy to clients through a myriad of conflicting emotions and circumstance.  In the following years she expanded her training and knowledge base outside of the original program to grow her independent full-spectrum practice to include the ability to support people through medical and home abortion experiences, and through miscarriage and pregnancy and infant loss. 

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