Experienced Birth Doula Support in the Twin Cities
Personalized preparation and steady support for the birth that is right for you.
Birth is deeply personal—and the support surrounding you matters.
I’m Terri Schelkoph, founder of Confident Mama and the experienced Twin Cities birth doula behind Doula Mama. Since 2018, I have supported more than 350 families through pregnancy, labor, birth, and the early postpartum transition.
Whether you are preparing for your first baby, planning a VBAC, anticipating an induction, hoping for a physiological birth, choosing an epidural, or preparing for a cesarean, you deserve support that respects your choices and helps you feel informed, prepared, and confident.
Confident Mama and Doula Mama: Two Parts of the Same Mission
You may have noticed both Confident Mama and Doula Mama while exploring my services. Both were founded by me, Terri Schelkoph, and they work together to provide comprehensive preparation and support for growing families.
Confident Mama is home to my childbirth education, birth coaching, Body Ready Method® preparation, and Birth Resource Library.
Doula Mama is home to my complete in-person birth doula services, packages, availability, and discovery-call information.
Together, they provide education before birth, personalized physical preparation during pregnancy, and continuous support throughout labor and birth.
Meet Terri Schelkoph
Certified Birth Doula, Childbirth Educator and Birth Coach
I began supporting families professionally in 2018 and have since attended hundreds of births throughout Minneapolis, St. Paul, Lakeville, the South Metro, and the surrounding Twin Cities area.
My experience includes hospital births, freestanding birth-center births, and home births. I have supported families through many different birth experiences, including:
Physiological and unmedicated birth
Epidural birth
Induction of labor
Vaginal birth after cesarean
Planned and unplanned cesarean birth
Twins and multiples
Medically complex pregnancies
Fast births, long births, and births that changed course
My role is not to promote one “right” way to give birth. My goal is to help you understand your options, prepare your body and mind, communicate with your care team, and feel supported as your individual birth story unfolds.
Terri Schelkoph, CD(DONA), CVD (TVL), HCHD
DONA-Certified Birth Doula
Body Ready Method® Certified Professional
VBAC Link® Certified Doula
Hypnobabies® Certified Hypno-Doula
Spinning Babies® Workshop Trained
Childbirth Educator and Birth Coach
What Does a Birth Doula Do?
A birth doula provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support throughout pregnancy, labor, and birth.
Before labor begins, we spend time discussing your preferences, concerns, previous experiences, and hopes for birth. You will learn what to expect, explore your options, prepare questions for your provider, and develop practical tools for navigating labor.
During birth, I provide a calm, steady presence while helping you and your partner respond to what is happening in the moment. Depending on your needs, that may include:
Comfort measures and coping techniques
Movement and labor-position suggestions
Counterpressure, massage, heat, water, and other comfort tools
Emotional reassurance and encouragement
Support for your birth partner
Help understanding the options being presented
Reminders to ask questions and use B.R.A.I.N.
Assistance communicating your preferences
Support as plans change or unexpected decisions arise
I do not perform medical procedures, diagnose concerns, make clinical recommendations, or make decisions for you. Your medical team provides clinical care while I focus on helping you feel supported, informed, and connected throughout the experience.
Body Ready Method
Birth support should not begin with the first contraction.
As a Body Ready Method® Certified Professional, I help you prepare physically during pregnancy through personalized assessment, functional movement, mobility, alignment, and positioning.
Depending on the doula package you choose, your prenatal preparation may include a Body Ready Method assessment and a personalized movement plan designed around your body’s patterns and needs.
This preparation can help you:
Recognize postural and movement patterns
Improve mobility and functional balance
Explore positions that create space within the pelvis
Practice movements that may be useful during labor
Feel more familiar with your body before birth begins
Give your partner practical ways to support you
The goal is not to guarantee a particular birth outcome. It is to give you individualized tools that help you approach birth feeling physically prepared and confident.
VBAC Doula Support in the Twin Cities
Planning a vaginal birth after cesarean often comes with additional questions.
As a VBAC Link® Certified Doula, I help families explore their priorities, prepare questions for their providers, understand common hospital practices, and distinguish between care that is genuinely VBAC-friendly and care that may simply tolerate VBAC under limited circumstances.
Together, we can discuss:
Choosing a VBAC-supportive provider
Understanding hospital policies
Preparing for conversations about induction and monitoring
Processing your previous birth experience
Creating flexible birth preferences
Comfort measures and movement during labor
Preparing for multiple possible paths without assuming failure
Your provider determines your medical eligibility and provides clinical recommendations. My role is to help you prepare, understand your choices, and feel continuously supported.
The Steady and Supported Package
$2,100
Core birth support for a foundational package for families seeking steady, compassionate care through pregnancy, birth, and the early postpartum transition. Includes one prenatal appointment, continuous labor support, and one postpartum visit.
The Strength and Empowered Package
$2,600
Our most common package, designed for mothers who want to feel physically prepared for birth. Includes everything in the Steady Package, plus a Body Ready Method assessment, a personalized preparation plan, and an additional prenatal visit to review and support your body’s readiness for labor.
The Nurtured and Supported Package
$3,200
For families desiring expanded care and continuity. This package includes everything in the Steady package, the Strength package and adds three postpartum visits, offering deeper preparation and ongoing newborn, lactation, and added postpartum care in the weeks following birth.
Doula Support for Every Birth Path
You do not need to be planning an unmedicated birth to benefit from a doula.
Doula support can be valuable during an epidural birth, an induction, a planned cesarean, or a birth that unexpectedly changes direction. Comfort, communication, partner support, informed decision-making, and emotional reassurance matter regardless of how your baby is born.
A successful birth is not defined by following one particular path.
It can mean:
Feeling heard and respected
Understanding what is happening
Participating in decisions about your care
Having support when plans change
Feeling connected to your partner
Meeting your baby knowing you were treated with compassion
Birth rarely follows a perfectly organized checklist—and babies have yet to become especially respectful of carefully designed timelines. Thoughtful preparation gives you a foundation while leaving room for flexibility.
Supporting Families Throughout Minneapolis–St. Paul
I provide birth doula services throughout the Twin Cities metro, including:
Minneapolis
St. Paul
Lakeville
Apple Valley
Burnsville
Eagan
Prior Lake
Savage
Chaska
Maple Grove
Bloomington
Edina
Richfield
Northfield
Woodbury
And other Twin Cities Suburbs
I attend births at hospitals, freestanding birth centers, and homes throughout the area. If you are unsure whether your birth location is within my service area, please reach out.
Support for You and Your Partner
A doula does not replace your partner. In many births, doula support helps partners become more involved because they have guidance, reassurance, and practical suggestions when they need them.
Your partner knows you. I know birth.
Together, we create a support team that allows your partner to remain emotionally connected without feeling responsible for remembering every labor position, comfort technique, medical term, and item from the childbirth class workbook.
I can help your partner:
Recognize changes in labor
Offer effective physical comfort
Know when to rest, eat, or call for additional support
Communicate calmly with your care team
Stay connected when labor feels intense
Participate in ways that feel natural and meaningful
Explore Birth Doula Services
My complete doula packages, pricing, availability, and booking information are available through Doula Mama.
Every package is designed to provide thoughtful prenatal preparation, continuous labor support, and care centered on your needs. Select packages also include Body Ready Method assessment and personalized physical preparation.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Both Confident Mama and Doula Mama were founded by Terri Schelkoph and offer connected birth-preparation services. Confident Mama focuses on childbirth education, birth coaching, physical preparation, and resources. Doula Mama houses Terri’s complete in-person birth doula services and packages.
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Many families begin interviewing doulas during the second trimester, although it is never too early to begin looking. Experienced doulas may book several months in advance, so contacting potential doulas early gives you more time to find the right fit.
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No. I support physiological births, epidural births, inductions, VBACs, planned cesareans, and births that unexpectedly change course. You deserve compassionate support regardless of the path your birth takes.
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No. A doula supports both you and your partner. I provide guidance, reassurance, and practical tools so your partner can remain involved and connected without feeling responsible for managing labor alone.
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No. I do not diagnose conditions, provide medical advice, perform clinical tasks, or make decisions for you. I can help you understand general information, prepare questions, and communicate with your medical team. Your physician or midwife is responsible for your clinical care.
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I attend hospital, birth-center, and home births throughout Minneapolis, St. Paul, Lakeville, the South Metro, and the surrounding Twin Cities area. Contact me if you have questions about a particular location.
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Yes. Confident Mama offers birth coaching and childbirth education for families who want personalized preparation without in-person labor attendance.
See Birth Coaching Packages
Prepare for Birth with Intention and Confidence
You deserve birth support that honors your voice, respects your choices, and helps you feel prepared for both the expected and unexpected.
If you are looking for an experienced Twin Cities birth doula who combines practical education, physical preparation, and compassionate support, I would love to learn more about your family and the birth you are preparing for.