Meet Katerina
Katerina: doula and perinatal educator
I live in Florianópolis and support Russian-speaking families: I’m beside you in labor, interpret at appointments and help you not get lost in a new country.
- Mother of four
- Three children born on the island
- Interpreting at appointments and births
A little about me
My name is Katerina; to families I’m simply Katya. I live in Florianópolis, on the island of Santa Catarina. People here fondly call the city Floripa.
I’m a mother of four, and three of my children were born on this island. Our whole family has dual citizenship, and I know emigration firsthand, not from stories: a different language all around, a different rhythm, a different system. So I understand why a woman from abroad can feel especially scared here.
A woman should not be alone in labor.
What you need beside you is someone who doesn’t rush you, doesn’t frighten you and doesn’t say “it has to be this way.” Someone who breathes with you, interprets, helps you ask the doctor a question and reminds you that you have a choice. It is a great honor for me to be that person for you.
I accept any choice a family makes: the public SUS system or a private clinic, natural birth or a planned cesarean. Birth has no “right” and “wrong”, only your own path.
What I do and what I don’t
A doctor treats. A doula supports and interprets.
What I do
- I prepare you for birth: birth plan, questions for your doctor, breathing, the partner’s role
- I help you navigate SUS: prenatal registration, the SUS card, the referral to a maternity hospital
- I interpret at appointments and in the hospital, and help you ask questions and understand the answers
- I’m beside you in labor: I breathe with you, suggest positions, give massage
- I remind you of your rights: to ask, to clarify, to decide together with your doctor
- I help your partner or a loved one find their place in the birth
- I help with breastfeeding: this is support and information
- I stay close in the first weeks: settling in, where to go with questions
What I don’t do
- Not a doctor: I don’t treat, diagnose or prescribe medication
- I don’t deliver babies and don’t interfere with what doctors do
- Not a lawyer: I don’t give legal opinions or decide on the state’s behalf
- I don’t promise outcomes: not citizenship, not timelines, not how the birth will go
- I don’t help hide the purpose of a trip or get around entry rules
- I don’t make official translations of documents: sworn translators do that
- I don’t publish families’ stories without their written consent
Exactly what the support includes depends on the package you choose. Services and prices
Legal information
Sources
Where I work
My main area is Florianópolis and the surrounding region. If the maternity hospital is in another city, write to me in advance and we’ll work out whether I can come.
My principles
Any choice a family makes
A planned cesarean is a birth too, and a doula is needed there too.
No pressure
I don’t frighten or persuade. I explain the options, and you decide together with your doctor.
Health matters more than the plan
A birth plan is there to help you feel calmer. If things go another way, the health of mother and baby matters more.
Honest about the hard parts
It doesn’t always go smoothly: sometimes you wait and stand up for your wishes. I say so up front, no pretty promises.