Is a Doula worth the money?

Question

I cannot have an epidural and suffered a terribly hard labor with son. My birthing staff at Kaiser was unattentive and didn't help at all through the process. I am 18 weeks with my second child and starting to research ways to make this time a round more enjoyable positive experience. I've had several friends say YES a doula is invaluable but several have said NO don't waste the money their experience was not pleasant. Any moms out there with advise?

Answer

I had a doula for my first, and am having one this time as well. It's important that the doula is a good personality fit for you.  but YES!! Totally worth the money.   My doula got me through the worst parts, and i know I wouldn't have stayed calm or been OK without her.  My husband was loving, and helpful, but not trained (for more than a parenting/birthing course) on all the ways to help, positions to suggest, things to do... times to remind me to try a different coping strategy. 
A doula is gold.  GOLD!

Answer

I cannot express how valuable my doula was with my first.  54 hours of early labor before I started pushing, because my contractions wouldn't speed up.  My doula was there with suggestions of ways to help.  She made sure both my husband and I ate, suggested he shower while he still could, helped us perform relaxation techniques, etc.  when they finally were close enough to go to the hospital, I pushed for 5 hrs, 3 without epidural and 2 with.  Finally had a c-section, but because of the support of my doula along with my amazing doctor, I really felt we did everything we could and c-section was the only option.  I do feel you need to interview to find the right personality fit however.  Good luck!  I have a great recommendation for anyone in NYC!

Answer

Do you not have the option for a Midwife? In Canada (not sure where you are?), midwives are covered with our medical coverage, and they are the suped up version of a doula. They're your care taker (Doctor, nurse, educator, support, post-natal care etc etc). They also provide the same birthing techniques & "coaching" that a doula would. You have to choose a Doctor or midwife as your primary care, you can't have both, but I know people that have both a midwife and a doula. Just a thought if you want to save your money.

Answer

I've had lots of friend who have had babies and the ones with doulas were all much happier with their delivery experiences and on generally had faster less complicated births. This could just be a coincidence, but one of then said so strongly " it was the best money we spent" that I decided not only do I want a Doula, but we're having the same group she had for her birth.

I want the support and advocacy from someone who is not paid by the medical/hospital etc to be objective and make sure what WE want is heard and respected. They also can provide support and experience your partner can't, taking some pressure off them and making sure they can also enjoy the experience.

Answer

From everything I've heard, YES. 
If cost is an issue, you could try finding a doula in training who is still working on being certified. Probably depends how common they are where you live, as to finding ones who might be training, but a good option.

Answer

I didn't have one, but our doctor's office had one available for hire at $700. Personally I just took a birthing class and saved the money. I'm a direct person so I didn't need anyone there to be my advocate or coach. Our hospital is awesome and I did yoga poses in bed (child's pose with pillows), walked, sat on a stability ball, before my epidural and I didn't take pretizone (sp) and only would have allowed it if it was medically necessary. There were a lot of nurse visits during my 24 hr labor and having a doula would have been annoying to me. I saved the money and said I would rather use it to buy a purse cause that investment lasts longer than the doula service. But that's just how I roll.

Answer

I haven't giving birth yet, so not sure, but my husband and I took a Bradley class to help prepare us both for delivery. I believe the class was invaluable.  We both feel confident going into labor with everything we learned. Our instructor is our doula. My big concern is that I want to labor as long as I can at home. It will be comforting to have someone there that knows "when" to leave for the hospital.

Answer

I had a doula with my second and with I had with my first. Midwives have been awesome but the doula helped ME and my husband so we didn't have to try that hard and get everything done and take care of me. Etc. so worth it. And she took pictures. And kept track of my stuff. It was awesome.

Answer

I'm curious too.  Would love to hear other people's experience.

Answer

A friend of mine hired a doula when she was at the hospital in labor! The medical team kept pressuring her to take meds to help induce/speed up labor. The doula became her advocate and really pushed back against the doctors. Even though they had just met, she said it was the best thing they could have done in the situation.

Is a Doula worth the money?

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