Hospital Bag Packing Checklist for Birth
Over the years, many of our doula and childbirth education clients have asked for our advice about what to bring in their go-bag for birth - this is our answer!
We’re Marlee & Megan Malone-Franklin, a wife-and-wife doula team since 2014
Our practice is located in Pittsburgh, PA. We also offer many virtual services to support growing families.
Learn more about the ways we can support you through the transformative experience of welcoming a new baby:
Birth preparation classes
Private Zoom classes to help you understand the labor process, learn frameworks and practical tools for coping with contractions, and emotionally prepare for the presence of a new baby in your life.
Birth doula support
Personalized support and advocacy throughout your pregnancy, birth, and postpartum time.
Lactation and infant feeding consults
Skilled support to help you meet your feeding goals. We specialize in answering questions you no one else has been able to answer for you, and helping you make a plan for moving forward.
Postpartum doula support
General support for your overall after-birth experience. From physical recovery to understanding your baby’s cues to navigating changing relationships, this sensitive time deserves specialized care from someone who “gets it.”
Gentle sleep counseling for infants and toddlers
Help your whole family get more sleep with a personalized, developmentally-appropriate sleep plan just for your little one. We provide guidance and education every step of the way while you implement changes to your family’s sleep routine.
Ongoing coaching and support for parents of infants and toddlers
Monthly consults to support your growth as a parent as your little one changes. We can discuss any changes or challenges you’re experiencing, as well as talking about upcoming developmental changes you can expect based on your child’s age and stage.
“Megan and Marlee are excellent teachers. Their depth of knowledge and experience is impressive, but what really left a lasting impact with my wife and me was their kind, encouraging, empathic, and calming nature.”
— Connor
Are you looking for:
a calming, experienced guide to support you through pregnancy and birth?
informative classes to help you understand what to expect as you welcome your baby?
highly skilled support as you settle into life with your new little one?
We're here for you.
We have worked with hundreds of families as they welcome new babies, and we LOVE what we do!
Our clients love our customized support from pregnancy through the toddler years. Taking each parent and each little one as unique, our care is tailored to your needs each step of the way.
We support people through the full range of emotions and experiences family-building can bring.
We honor your journey into parenthood as a rite of passage, and not just a medical event.
“Marlee and Megan offered the perfect combination of addressing the tangible and intangible aspects of becoming parents. They were down for questions about the science of what was happening to my body during pregnancy, and questions that I knew came directly from my hormones in the days after giving birth. THANK YOU to Megan and Marlee for being such a huge part of this incredible time of our lives!”
- Tracee
Other resources for your birth experience
If you’re planning to give birth in a hospital, check out these blog posts:
“We are so appreciative of all of Marlee and Megan’s support. We strongly believe the preparation for labor, our daughter’s actual birth, and early weeks postpartum went as well as they could have with their support. We would definitely seek their support again and are so thankful we found them when we were searching for a doula.”
- Neesha