Joannie De Grasse-Verreault

doula

Joannie De Grasse-Verreault

Welcome!

My name is Joannie and I am a birth keeper and rebozo practitionner. I am what we call a doula; also know as a companion at birth.

I am here to accompany you through your parenting journey, with all my comforting support, my warm presence and my unshakeable confidence. I am convinced that people who give birth are by nature perfect for doing it, for giving it.

I am here to offer you a real support through your life passages – from pregnancy to birth, postpartum to parenting challenges, from perinatal mourning to abortion. I also aid in the birth of major life projects or their failures (biological or not, parenting can be seen in many different levels !) Therefore, it is with all my gentleness, my constant trust and my warm kindness that I accompany you by collaborating with you towards what fascinates me the most : loving life ! No matter where you find yourself, I welcome you, without judgment and with great esteem. It is an honor for me to walk with you in this path intended for you !

Thank you deeply for you trust,

All my love and kindness,

Your doula - Joa

My training

Learning and improving my services remain one of my priorities in order to offer a more complete and specialized service to the people I support.

Training in perinatal naturopatic medicine
International Support School Cybele Center (Ongoing)
Childbirth between Science and Sacred; A seminar on the quantum approach to birth
Quantik Mama (2023)
Rebozo Training – Treatments and Rituals
Chemin de Traverse (2022)
Caregiver at birth, Birth keeper, Doula training
Full moon center (2021)
Therapeutic touch training (2018)

What is a doula ?

A doula is a birth attendant, which means a non-medical member of your care team for the birth of your baby. The doula is not only present for the person who is going to give birth, but also for the partner and any other member of the family. It is like a fairy who makes sure that everything goes as smoothly and as beautifully as possible, according to your desires and the choices you are going to make in all conscience. No matter what situation you find yourself in, the doula believes in you and supports you.

Working with a doula means you are listened to with care and without any judgement. Your doula will be there to walk alongside you on your path. They bring confidence and awareness, aswell as light and strenght.

In other words, a doula is your ally, your friend, your lighthouse, your guidance, your sister, your person of trust ! For you, for your loved ones, for your family.

In numbers

Here’s what science says about the services offered by doulas :

Sources

Klaus, M.H. et al. (1993) Mothering the Mother : How a Doula Can Help You Have a Shorter, Easier, and Healthier Birth, Cambridge, Da Capo Press

Hodnett, Gates, Hofmeyr, Sakala & Weston (2011) Continuous support for women during childbirth, Cochrane review. 2011 Issue 2. Chichester (UK), John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Birth is not something we suffer from,

but something we actively do and rejoice in.

- Sheila Kitzinger, british activist

Services

Birth Cares & Support

During birth, not only is a baby being born, but a new parent, a mother, a father, an entire new family is being born aswell. This is why it is important to care and support each of the family members during this marvelous transition.

As your birth keeper, I will help you navigating your birth with a safer, yet more fulfilling, positive and respectful childbirth experience. I am conviced that all births are honorable and, therefore, they deserve to be assisted properly, with love, trust and consciousness in the process.

Prenatal classes
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Here are some themes that can be discussed during these classes.

  • Emotional and physical support
  • Pregnancy : discomforts and interventions
  • Options surrounding birth giving
  • Preparation for giving birth (heart, body, conscienceness)
  • Pain in labour : Reception and management – How to transcend it
  • Preparation for an optimal post-partum
  • Preparation for breastfeeding
  • Parenthood : Preparing the nest to become a new parent
  • Preparation of older children
  • And more according to your needs
A baby is feeding from their parent's breast
Attendance at the birth
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I will be your birth guardian, in continuous presence throughout your birth, regardless of the place or method chosen.

  • Foundation of a solid team for the birth
  • Reconnection with the birthing instinct during childbirth
  • Physical, emotional and conscious support for those present (the pregnant person, partners and family members, if present)
  • Protection and monitoring of space
  • Understanding and confidence in what is happening in the present
  • Presence up to 5 hours after baby’s birth with support for first aid and revitalizing post-delivery food service.
Two persons sat ont the floor in front of each other, one hold a baby on their laps
Postnatal support
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This service is first and foremost for people who have given birth. This is a caring service offering safety and reassuring spaces for the new parents. For to be present for your newborn, you must first and foremost be present for yourselft !

  • Provide emotional support through active listening, in the present moment
  • Take care of baby while you take care of yourself (shower, yoga, bath, warm food, etc.)
  • Help reclaim the birth story and your experience
  • Facilitate the return home and to oneself by offering help in cooking, cleaning and washing
  • Preparing and executing task on demand (grocery, gardening, holiday preparation, etc.)
A woman is having contraction sat on the edge of a bed, naked, her partner and her doula supporting her
Life passages
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To support the deployment of your transformations, I work with you, individually or as a couple or a group, according to your needs, and your feelings.

  • Abortion
  • Perinatal bereavement
  • New chapters (separation, moving, reorientation, etc.)
  • Any other passage and change, big or small, that need more support and love !
Young woman walking in a field

Rituals À la carte!

Rebozo ritual therapy
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Also known as the "Closing of the bones therapy", the rebozo ritual is a Mayan ritual of passage that allow a new chapter in life to unfold while, in the same time, letting go of the old one.

  • Average of 4 hours
  • Opening of the ritual and establishing and sharing the intention
  • Relaxation and opening with a steam bath with selected herbs
  • Releasing tension by circulating tightness either with warm oil or rebozos
  • Full body wrap and rebozo tightening
  • Return to the here and now
  • Unfolding the ceremony around shared communal tea or hot cocoa

Relaxation – Massage – Tightening

Birthing rituals and ceremonies
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The creation of a ritual that will anchor our bodies and our experience into a bigger picture. This is to help us, the new parents and the family members, to connect deeper with the baby that is being born. It also allows us to create a relation between their histories, their ancestors and the line of parents, women, men and children who came before us.

  • Pre-meeting one week in advance to establish desires related to the ritual
  • Opening the ritual and establishing the intention
  • Relaxation, purification and massage of the hands and feet of the pregnant person
  • Circulation and liberation of bodies through free movements
  • Creation of the ritual linked to the desire communicated in advanced
  • Return and reception of what presents itself around some delightful, nourishing, powerful food brought by everyone

Sorority – Love – Power – Gentleness

Let choice whisper in your ear and love murmur in your heart.

Be ready ; Here comes life !

- Maya Angelou, american poet and civil rights activist

Packages

* 15 % discount on all additional services

* Transportation fees of $0.61/km apply for trips more than 50 km from my location

Full moon
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  • 4 prenatal meetings of 3 hours each
  • Creation of a personalized ritual
  • 24/7 on-call period from the 37th week of pregnancy
  • Presence on the day of birth
  • 24/7 on-call period the first week in postpartum
  • 1 early postnatal visit (3 hours)
  • 1 closing postnatal visit with all the family member (3 hours)
  • A complete Postpartum Rebozo session

$1,500

New Moon
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  • 2 prenatal meetings of 3 hours each
  • Creation of a personalized ritual
  • 24/7 on-call period from the 37th week of pregnancy
  • Presence on the day of birth
  • 24/7 on-call period for the first week in postpartum
  • 1 postnatal visit (3 hours)
  • A partial postpartum Rebozo session

$1,150

The Essential
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  • 2 prenatal meetings of 3 hours each
  • 24/7 on-call period from the 37th week of pregnancy
  • Presence on the day of birth
  • 24/7 on-call period for the first week in postpartum
  • 2 postnatal visit of 3 hours each

$900

The Eclipse
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  • 2 prenatal meetings of 3 hours each
  • Creation of a personalized ritual celebrating the coming birth
  • 2 postnatal visit of 3 hours each

$500

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Slide

Life brought Joannie into our path for the birth of our daughter in 2021. Her listening, understanding, comforting words, and heartwarming hugs won us over because we asked Joannie for a second childbirth in June 2023. Joannie dedicates herself wholeheartedly to the families she supports and has more than one trick up her sleeve for the well-being of all (her immediate postpartum rebozo care is a must-do!)

Thank you for being yourself, and most importantly, stay on this path

Anaïs & Charles

Slide


Having Joannie by my side for my first childbirth, which took place in the hospital and made me anxious, made all the difference for me, and I highly recommend seeking her services! With her and my husband accompanying me, I managed to experience this moment peacefully and have the natural childbirth I desired. The prenatal meetings instilled confidence in us by mentally and physically preparing us for the big day. Practicing labor positions in advance allowed us to smoothly transition through them during childbirth, and combined with Joannie's pressure point massages, I had confidence in my ability to give birth naturally. Her physical and emotional support before, during, and after my childbirth made all the difference for me. Joannie is a rare gem, and for all my future childbirths, whether in the hospital or at a birthing center, she will be there by our side to welcome our new child..

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