To Doula or not to Doula....

I've been wondering about a Doula lately - at first I thought, yes! I want to have a doula there to help us with Baby B's delivery & aftermath...and then I sort of decided that it wasn't affordable, & we did it once, we can do it again, etc...

But now I'm thinking about it again.

I still don't know if we can afford it - I know that the Birthing Ways group here in Duluth operates on a sliding scale, so that's reassuring. Part of me is wondering is it too late in the process? Will I get to know a Doula in time to feel comfortable with having her in the delivery room? Then again - what if Steve is off in the boondocks again & I am laboring alone? Wouldn't it be nice to have someone there helping me? I would really like to deliver this baby drug-free again but I'm nervous that I won't be able to do it, I know that Doulas are incredibly helpful at getting you through the tough parts.

So I flip flop.

Any of you ladies or gents out there want to weigh in?

Comments

Kate said…
Of course, I have no experience whatsoever, but I do know that my sister in law pretty much primarily used her Doula for prenatal care - hardly ever going to her md. But then again, you can have a baby at home in IA and that's what they were planning to do. She operated a lot like a mother would? Which was nice for Jenny because her mother passed away and even though she loves my mom, it's not the same, yanno?
1:34 PM
feisty said…
you know what i'm gonna say: if you can swing it, do it. they have a sliding scale, it is worth a phone call or two to check.

i know there are also doulas who need to complete births for their certificate, so you could ask about that too.

our doula was great at the hospital- the staff loved her (rather than saw her as in the way- or not 'qualified' etc). sara weik was her name- she is on the website and also has a blog at: http://www.saraweik.typepad.com/

sara was great= super upbeat, we had 3 visits before Everett was born- starting about a month before his birthday, and one visit afterwards - and lots and lots of phone calls too!

she was so nice- supportive of BFeeding, but also said "do what you can". and use things to help- (instead of thinking anything other than exclusive BFeeding was evil, like others).

i don't know what we woudl've done wihtout her in the delivery room. she suggested different positions that the doctors didn't, and she suggested the nipple stimulation instead of pitocin (which worked!). she was great about the labor too- and having her to contact by phone was nice and then we stayed at home for awhile and got to the hospital not too early!

that said, you did it before in less-than-ideal circumstances, so i'm sure you coudl do it again with just you and Steve (hopefully)!
2:04 PM
donna said…
I say if there is any way you can do it, DO IT! I wish I had. I ended up getting pain meds, mainly because I didn't think I could do it at that level of pain for hours on end. Had I had a doula to help me, I might have known that my labor was going really quickly. I might have made it without the epidural.
2:41 PM
Cellomama said…
I have some thoughts on this - having had one at Kate's birth but not at Elizabeth's. But sadly we are sitting down to dinner in a few minutes so I will try to share with you in the next few days.
7:42 PM
gtr said…
Yes, I'd say get a doula if you can!! There was just a great Birth and Baby fair in Duluth last night... did you go by any chance? Lots of doulas there. And yes, sliding scales and even free is available because there are lots of doulas in training. My doula (Anne Pilli; don't think she has a website) was great and was probably the most "present" person of all our practitioners; she stayed with us the whole time during my LONG birth and helped alot. I heard somewhere that if doulas were some sort of medical treatment, it would be unethical NOT to offer them to every laboring mom.
10:59 PM
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