At what point would you consider one? My birth experience with my son wasn't horrible. But it was as if my birth plan was out the window. My husband wasn't very attentive (he was very tired from my contractions...or something. 😂😂) but I had back labor SO bad with my son. It was tolerable but it still hurt. I made it to 5cm and decided to get an epidural because I was panicking. The nurses kept saying "if you don't want to scream like these other girls, you should get one." And "I would have gotten one already."

Me and my husband aren't too sure what we can and can't say no to. I was at 3cm for 3 weeks. They watched me for 2 hours and I finally got to 4cm where they admitted me. They broke my water 2 hours after they admitted me and I just wasn't progressing. I would have liked to have waited naturally to dilate more, but once I got the epidural, they gave me Pitocin and I was at 10cm within the hour.

I like the idea of babies coming on their own. I want someone to encourage me to go without pain medicine and someone who will push my husband into giving me a back rub if I need one lol. And someone to tell me when it's ok to say"no". What is your take on a doula? And is it an out of pocket expense or does insurance sometimes cover it?

This new hospital seems (and from reviews) to abide by birth plans as closely as they can. It would be nice to have someone there to help cope with pain. My hospital does offer a lot of pregnancy classes for free. Maybe a doula isn't necessary and I should try those? I'm 15 weeks and I know I will need help with pain management and my husband needs some pushing.