Do I need a doula?
A lot of pregnant women out there wonder what a doula will really do for them. And is it worth the expense? We would love to hear your thoughts and have them up on the site for anyone asking themselves this question.
Tags: doula
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by V. Rich on -
I believe doulas are worth every penny. Then again, I may be biased since I am a doula!!!
I am 22 weeks pregnant and have already paid my doula in full for my birth.
Doulas offer so much and can be so valuable to laboring women. Definately worth the saving the money for.
Try interviewing a few doulas and choose one that you feel comfortable with. Nothing is better than having someone who truly wants to be there to attend to you while in labor and giving birth.
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Permalink Reply by Coralissa on -
I definitely would suggest a doula. I had a homebirth that needed a transfer to the hospital. My doula was soooo great. She stayed until I got out of surgery. I needed both her and my husband. They were my angels. I just had my baby. Here is my birth story. http://cocotheforce.blogspot.com/
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Permalink Reply by Toni Raquel Bopp on -
originally i wanted a doula because back labor runs in my family but didnt have the money, turns out i really didnt need one. but i had a quick labor and birth, the pain wasnt too intense. i would definitely want one or suggest one if your having your baby in a hospital because the nurses arent there very long, i had my baby at a birth center and my midwife and her assistants were there the whole time. also if you have long/hard labors a doula would be wonderful!
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Permalink Reply by Cheri on -
YES YES YES! Doulas are worth it, so so worth it. My first child was born at 32wks due to my pre-eclampsia and when I got pregnant with my second child, I knew that I didn't want a Pit/Epi birth. I didn't regret my first birth, it saved my child's and my lives. However, I thought I was done having babies after my second and wanted it to be as gentle as possible. I wasn't able to do a homebirth because of my history of pre-e, so I looked into doulas. Then, after seeing The Business of Being Born (it changed my life), I knew I NEEDED a doula. My partner and I (who was skeptical about having a doula) started looking into doulas and since we were pretty strapped for money, we had to find one willing to cut her prices. Then we met Lana. She was willing to cut her price in half if we allowed a doula-in-training to attend our birth. We figured two is better than one! From the second we met her, we knew she was perfect. After our meeting with her, we got into our vehicle and just smiled at eachother. She was perfect and she would be our doula.
Lana and Meghan (our doula-in-training) came to our house twice before the birth to prepare and get to know eachother, Lana gave me a book to read about gentle births and what exactly I wanted. She helped me write a birth plan and gave me ideas for relaxation. She even gave me a foot massage!
The day I went into labor, Lana was so great. She reminded me to eat and drink, we went for a walk, she and my partner chatted, it was a nice relaxed day. When we decided it was time to head to the hospital and got to triage, she and my partner figured I was at a 5 or 6. I had no clue. Turns out I was at an 8!! Lane helped keep us grounded and remind the nurses and dr. of our needs/wants. After just a couple of hours, my daughter was born and everything was perfect. Lana also came to our home about two weeks after the birth to coo and admire our baby. It was such fun recounting the birth and we still keep touch via facebook!
My partner and I now recommend doulas to everyone we meet who is having a baby. It was the best investment we have ever made. In fact, I am now getting looking into becoming a doula myself. And in about 6 weeks wehn my little sister delivers her first baby, I will be there as her "novice" doula.
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Permalink Reply by Regina Bennett on -
Is it worth the expense? If a woman can afford a doula, there is no reason at all not to have one! If a woman can't afford a doula, she might ask a doula-in-training for free or discounted services (as it helps the doula, too.) Who wouldn't have come up with a few extra dollars to have a better, easier, more pleasant birth or to have helped avoid an unwanted medical intervention?
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Permalink Reply by Maureen Stevens on -
Low or no cost doulas are available...With the lack of options available to women a doula can make the difference…It is now widely recognized that having a female labor support assisting the birthing woman or couple can decrease the length of labor, decrease the severity of perceived pain, decrease the need for anesthesia or analgesia, and can help prevent cesarean section. A good birth experience will enhance the post-partum period by speeding recovery, easing breastfeeding and securing the satisfaction of the mother and father with each other and themselves. Whether you give birth completely naturally, or with unexpected interventions, or by cesarean section, if it is a positive experience it will immeasurably increase your self-esteem as a woman and a mother and have a positive effect in your relationship with your partner, and your child for the rest of your life.
Need Labor Support, Low on Funds… Live in Orange County, California? Your answer is BIRTH WISDOM™ Professional Labor Support/ Perinatal Support Advanced Doula Intern Services. Visit Orange County Professional Labor Support/Perinatal Support Intern Services at http://www.birthwisdom.com/interns.htm for low or no cost support. BIRTH WISDOM™ Professional Labor Support/Perinatal Support Specialist Interns are highly trained and have varying levels of experience and are independent practitioners. Many interns offer childbirth related services besides labor support, such as childbirth education, Hypno-birthing, prenatal yoga, prenatal massage, and lactation consultant and post partum doula services. Each intern is unique. If you are interested in interviewing any of our interns, please feel free to email them. We suggest that you contact several interns to find the one that best meets your needs.
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Permalink Reply by Shanta Brownridge on -
Very soon I will be a doula in training (um, yes looking for clients to complete my training!) and would recommend a doula just because of my own experience of not having one!!
I have given birth naturally 5 times and each has been different.
Out of the 5, 4 were planned home but only 2 ended up being @ home - life happens and babies are born!!
My last labor was extremely difficult and I would have greatly benefited from having a doula by my side. Unfortunately ALL my midwives were very busy that day and circumstances led to having a very stressful day @ one hospital - leaving against advice and going to the other hospital.
I was tired, stressed and NOT FOCUSED. My midwife was calm, but did nothing to help me to get a place of inner control, that's not her job, she was taking care of my unborn baby.
A doula would have helped me focus and accept...
Baby was born safely and healthy and I'm thankful for that, but it was not how I wanted to "go out" -this being our last baby.
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Permalink Reply by Decembermom on
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The best money I have ever spent was on my doula. I will not give birth without one. First, she was an advocate at the hospital when the on-call doc and staff were brushing off my protests against interventions. My water had broken but when I arrived at the hospital 16 hours later, I was not feeling contractions.
The doc of course wanted pit, IV, continuous monitoring and said I would not be permitted to leave my room because of the risk of infection. I gave her my best arguments about why I didn't need that, and it was like talking to a brick wall. I stalled for time until my doula got there, and when she did, I never saw that doc again.
My doula walked me all over the hospital grounds to get things going, and when they finally did many hours later, she put me in dozens of different positions to work with the contractions. She gave the hospital room some atmosphere by dimming the lights, putting on soft music and posting positive birth affirmations around the bed. She helped me through 4.5 hours of pushing, which was difficult as the baby was born with her hand on top of my head. She kept everybody out of my room except for the occasional exam. A doc wandered in once to ask where my epidural was, and she basically kicked the doctor out.
To sum up, I don't think I could have had a natural birth without her, and I would have ended up with an induction and possibly a c-section without her. Not only did she help with comfort measures, but she stood to the docs and nurses when they were wearing my husband and me down trying to make us accept unnecessary interventions.
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Permalink Reply by Bonnie P on -
So how much does a doula actually cost on average? If you've had a doula at one of your births, what did you have to pay? I'm Canadian and I'm sure the cost is different here than in the US.
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Permalink Reply by Decembermom on
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Mine was around $600 U.S. That seems to be typical for my area.
Bonnie Pankratz said:So how much does a doula actually cost on average? If you've had a doula at one of your births, what did you have to pay? I'm Canadian and I'm sure the cost is different here than in the US.
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Permalink Reply by Kathryn Blitz on
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Doulas are a great part of the birthing team. If you are having a hospital birth, but want to go natural and have minimal intervention, then it can be very helpful to have a doula there on your side. If you
re having a homebirth (which I fell is personally the way to go) then a doula is not as necessary.
Check out this link that helps you make the decision of it you want a doula or not.
http://www.theholisticparent.org/Doulas_Can_Help.html
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Permalink Reply by Your Comforter on
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Kathryn Blitz said:Doulas are a great part of the birthing team. If you are having a hospital birth, but want to go natural and have minimal intervention, then it can be very helpful to have a doula there on your side. If you
re having a homebirth (which I fell is personally the way to go) then a doula
Check out this link that helps you make the decision of it you want a doula or not.
http://www.theholisticparent.org/Doulas_Can_Help.html
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