Introducing Knoxville Hospital Doula, Ali Cohen
Supporting families who want or need to have a hospital birth in Knoxville, TN.
Ali Cohen is a DONA International certified birth doula who supports families who want or need to have a hospital birth in Knoxville. Ali offers compassionate, evidence-based care that aligns with individual birth preferences to navigate whatever labor and delivery brings, with the goal of providing a satisfying and empowering birth experience for mama and baby.
Certifications and Qualifications
Birth Doula Package
- 2 Prenatal Support & Birth Planning Meetings
- Prep4Partner™
- 10 Prenatal Yoga Classes
- On-call from 37 weeks of pregnancy through earlier of birth or 42 weeks
- Continuous Labor & Delivery Support
- 1 Postpartum Visit
Concierge Offerings
Please note that below listed items come at an additional hourly fee.
- Accompanying you to clinical prenatal appointments
- Packing your hospital bag
- Preparing your home for postpartum and baby
- Debriefing with other care providers before/after birth
- Curated support, tailored to your unique needs!
Mark Your Calendars for Upcoming Events
Bumps + Beyond Expo hosted by Itty Bitty Ultrasounds
Join us for this collaborative event for a 20- or 40- minute Prenatal Yoga class focused on integrating breath work and movement. Suitable for all trimesters and levels of experience, this session will incorporate a grounding practice to connect with your breath and baby, and flow through safe and supportive postures to help you feel centered, nurtured and relaxed.
Common FAQs
What is a Doula?
A birth doula is a member of your support team who is hired by you, for 1:1 care, to support you through pregnancy, labor and birth. Birth Doulas offer emotional, physical and informational support to you and your chosen support people. There are also other types of doulas: postpartum doulas (who help with your and your baby’s physical recovery and adjustment after having your baby), sibling doulas (who support older children while you are in labor with your littlest love), and bereavement doulas (who support families through loss).
Ali Cohen, on behalf of Knoxville Hospital Doula, is a DONA International certified Birth Doula. I’m happy to refer to you other fantastic, local doulas if you’d like support in areas other than birth!
How is a Doula different from an OB, Midwife or Nurse?
A Birth Doula is non-clinical: I do not catch babies, perform clinical exams, perform vaginal exams, provide medical pain management, assess your or your baby’s physical health, make diagnoses, prescribe or administer medication, or otherwise work in a medical capacity. I do not make decisions for your care or communicate with clinical providers on your behalf. I do not work for a hospital and am certified by an internationally-recognized credentialing organization (DONA International) that is not directly affiliated with any local medical providers or facilities.
How does a Doula work with clinical providers?
As a Birth Doula, I am hired by you for 1:1 care, to provide you with individualized physical, emotional and informational support through pregnancy, labor and birth. I do not make or communicate decisions for your care with your clinical provider, but I support you in gathering the information you need so you can make and communicate those decisions. I help you come up with questions to ask your provider, help you resource additional perinatal care, support you in advocating for your birth preferences, acknowledge when the course of pregnancy/L&D may indicate a need for deviation from your preferences, and make sure you understand your rights and responsibilities as a patient to provide informed consent or informed refusal every step of the way. In the labor room, I collaborate with nurses, physicians, midwives and other hospital staff to foster a warm, friendly birth environment that aligns with your birth wishes. Together, we help you manage your comfort, suggest and assist you with moving into different positions for labor and pushing, explain information to you and your chosen support people in an easily-digestible and actionable way, and document your labor progress.
I have a partner… Why do I need a Doula?
I am not here to replace your partner: they know you best, and I know birth best, we make a great team. Birth is a profound experience and I am here to support your partner emotionally and with information so they can maximize their support for you. A doula is also available for 1:1 support for your partner if the progress of your labor prevents them from accompanying you into the birth room in an emergency situation, and a doula can be there as your primary support if your partner needs to accompany your baby to the NICU.
Do you take insurance?
Knoxville Hospital Doula’s services are private pay only and all fees must be paid in full prior to your birth. Many private out-of-state policies and some in-state policies reimburse for birth doula services after baby is born, for in-hospital births. All of my births and my credentials meet the criteria for reimbursement if your medical insurance policy covers birth doula services. I can provide you with a superbill upon request for you to seek potential insurance reimbursement after your birth. The best way to verify insurance coverage for birth doula services is to review your policy on your insurance company’s app or website, as these are often the most up-to-date versions of your coverage.
Why do you only support hospital births?
I believe you should birth wherever you feel safest. Through my own pregnancy journeys, I learned the importance of having an advocate who understands the unique implications of birthing in a hospital, understands and supports physiological birth, has mastered a variety of physical and emotional comfort measures, and is supportive of whatever medical interventions I did or did not want or need to have. I am so honored to have the opportunity to stand alongside families during such a profound time in their lives and to help them plan for and navigate their L&D.
Do you support home births?
While I enthusiastically and wholeheartedly support whatever choices you make for your family, I do not believe I am the right doula for a family who chooses to have a home birth. I believe that you should birth where you feel safest, because safety is a critical factor in allowing your body to relax and produce oxytocin. I am fully supportive of any birthing person who feels safest birthing at home- I love that for them- and would love to introduce you to another fantastic doula who is better suited for your birth preferences!
If you planned to have a home birth and need or choose to transfer to hospital-based care later in your pregnancy, I’d love to connect to see if I am available and a fit to support you!
Which local hospitals do you support clients at?
UT Medical Center, where I am a Doula Collaborator. Tennova North. Parkwest Medical Center. Blount Memorial Hospital.
Who is the best OB or Midwife in Knoxville?
The best care provider is unique to each person and each pregnancy. I’m happy to discuss your birth preferences in a consult so I can learn more about what you are looking for in your birth experience. I recommend that you think about the birth experience you want to have and figure out which hospital is best equipped to support your preferences; THEN, find a provider who delivers at that hospital and whose care philosophy aligns with your wishes. There are many fantastic OBs at each of the local hospitals where I support clients. If you are looking to be cared for by a Midwife, there are many wonderful CNMs at UTMC and Tennova North. For High Risk pregnancies, I recommend HIROC at UTMC.
Do you partner with other birth workers for perinatal support that is outside of your scope as a doula?
Yes, we have such a fantastic community of birth workers in Knoxville and I love collaborating with other perinatal professionals to support our local families. Please click here for Knoxville Hospital Doula’s Community Resource List. I only refer to providers with whom I have met personally or worked closely with through the support of mutual clients. If you would like to be added to this list, please email Ali@KnoxvilleHospitalDoula.com to schedule a coffee or lunch meeting.
What physical comfort measures are you comfortable with?
I have extra training in TENS as a labor comfort measure and provide a TENS unit for all of my clients to utilize during their L&D, barring any individual medical contraindications. As a Prep4Partner™ instructor with 4th Trimester Fitness® Method, I teach support partners how to utilize counter pressure, movement, breathing techniques, light touch massage and rebozo as non-medical comfort measures. I also offer guided meditation and am trained in integrating breath work with movement as a Registered Yoga Teacher.
What is your birth philosophy?
- Informed consent and informed refusal are you rights and responsibilities as a patient. Emphasis on information coming from evidence-based sources, not the depths of social media.
- Any choices you make for your family are the right ones. This includes for your pregnancy, labor, birth experience, pain management and baby. Only your family has/gets to live with the outcomes of your choices. I may not choose the same path for my family as you choose for yours, and that is okay! I wholeheartedly and unconditionally support your choices for your family, and will happily share resources from evidence-based sources if you want help guiding you in making decisions.
- We all have to make choices we wish we didn’t have to make during pregnancy, labor and birth. You can still have a satisfying birth experience even if it does not go according to Plan A… that’s why it is important to understand your options and alternatives, and to have a support team who is well-versed in your preferences for Plan B, Pan C and Plan D.
- Movement and breath work go a long way for helping mom and baby through L&D. Birth is a physiological process and there is a lot we can do to help you feel supported and empowered as you navigate all of the stages!
- You should labor and birth where you feel safest. This helps reduce stress (cortisol) and promote relaxation (oxytocin), leading to better birth outcomes for mom and baby!
- I do not guarantee outcomes- I guarantee support. It is an honor and a privilege to stand alongside families during the profound experience of growing their family!
Do you practice faith-based care?
Just like any other birth preferences, I support whatever is important to you in your birth experience. I honor any faith practices that you choose to incorporate into your birth space, and I do not introduce faith as part of my support philosophy.
Do you have any extra training to support births, outside of your regular doula training?
I am a DONA International Certified Birth Doula, and have completed additional training in Prenatal Yoga, Prep4Partner™ through 4th Trimester Fitness® Method, Spinning Babies, Gilligan’s Guide, TENS for Labor, and birth emergencies.
I want an epidural. Can I still hire a doula?
ABSOLUTELY! PLEASE DO! I would love for you to have a perfectly working epidural, placed at the perfect time in your labor, and can help you figure out when that would be if you find yourself needing guidance! I also understand firsthand that this does not always happen the way you hope… and, from my other child’s birth, I understand firsthand that other times it works out perfectly. I’d love to help you plan for whatever your pain management preferences may be, while also helping you prepare with multiple other plans for physical comfort so you have options in case you need them. FWIW: Epidural and medical pain management are statistically reduced among women with doula support. This could be due to increased childbirth preparedness prior to birth, increased positional flexibility during labor, and coping strategies provided by doulas during labor [24]. I am fully supportive of whatever (legal) choices you make for your pain management and will have many tools in my toolkit to help you along the way!
Do you support high risk pregnancies?
YES! You are growing and birthing a baby with your body and I am so honored to support you along the way! I have experience supporting families as they’ve navigated gestational diabetes, hyperemesis gravidarum, pregnancy after prior stillbirth, pregnancy after recurrent loss, thyroid issues, intrauterine growth restriction, single umbilical artery, preeclampsia, pregnancy conceived through fertility assistance, gestational hypertension, prior history of hemorrhage, birth during second trimester, and prior history of PPROM. I’ve supported high risk clients through spontaneous labors, preterm birth, medically-indicated inductions, vaginal births, forceps assisted vaginal birth, elective belly births, and emergency belly births. It is such a privilege to stand alongside families during their unique pregnancy, labor and birth journeys: to hold space for you, help you understand your options and digest information, and be there as a source of guidance and support along the way.
Do you support births for non-traditional family structures, gestational carriers and adoptions?
Yes, proudly!!!
I want/need to have a belly birth, can I still hire a doula?
ABSOLUTELY! PLEASE DO! At the present time, unfortunately none of the local hospitals allow Doulas in the OR. For a scheduled belly birth, support remains the same, with L&D support shifted to include additional time with you during recovery and the hours immediately following the birth of your newest love!
I want/need to be induced. Can I still hire a doula?
ABSOLUTELY! PLEASE DO! There are SO MANY choices you’ll have to make during an induction. I want to help educate you on your options so you can make informed decisions for your care, and so you can feel supported if you need to deviate from any of your preferences along the way. We all have to make choices we wish we didn’t have to make in labor. I hope it is as simple as having to change your socks when your water breaks… but sometimes (often) there are more choices where you have to move to your Plan B, C or D. As a mama who was induced with both of my babies, and who has supported several clients who were induced electively and for medical reasons, I’d love to stand alongside you for your birth experience. My goal is to help you feel empowered and supported through whatever comes your way. Research indicates that families who have doula support at their birth have fewer interventions and a lower belly birth rate than those who are not supported by a doula! In those with induced labor, women with doula support had a cesarean rate of 12.5% compared to the control at 58.8%. [24]
Can you have a water birth at a hospital?
Unfortunately, none of the local hospital policies in Knoxville allow for a true water birth experience. I am happy to recommend a local home birth Midwife who is able to support this birth preference in the comfort of your own home! Both UTMC and Tennova North have tubs that you can labor in (but not push in). UTMC’s tub is in Room 12; Tennova North’s tubs are in their odd numbered rooms. These rooms (and tubs) are first-come-first-served and may not be available when you are in labor. I recommend requesting a room with a tub when you call the hospital to tell them you are on your way, and being understanding and flexible that you may not have the opportunity to use one. All of the labor rooms at both hospitals (plus Parkwest and Blount, too!) have showers if you wish to use hydrotherapy as a comfort measure!
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