feedback for "The Doula Craze"
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we lucked out our hospital had a doula service (maimonadies in brooklyn!)- while i was in labor all of a sudden there was this woman stroking my arm. At first i thought who is this stranger seeing me in pain? but then i thought oh that feels nice i dont care who the stranger is keep her in the room!
i never found out if she was there because i had a midwife birth or if the hospital doulas visited everyone, but i do know we never paid her a cent i assume the hospital worked her fee into the insurance claim. The hospital also had a really great lactation specialist who visited me as soon as i had the kid out, and fielded my phonecalls when i went home too.
posted by : regandbabe on 12/3/2007 at 12:13 PM Flag For Abuse
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I always find it a little odd when those with modestly comfortable livings complain of the hardship of doula fees. There are definitely people who can't afford anything beyond the basics of caring for their child and to those most doulas happily reduce or eliminate fees.
Did you have a wedding? How much did that cost? Could childbirth be an equally worthy event for splashing out a little money and preparation? And, frankly, when you break down the fee into the various costs of providing doula services, few doulas even make minimum wage!
I think they are invaluable. I AM a doula and even I had a doula at my last child's birth! Her guidance and reassurance were without measure. (And, incidentally, I bartered the fees.)
posted by : mamaloo on 12/3/2007 at 1:41 PM Flag For Abuse
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1,500 doesn't seem like alot of money for hiring a doula, considering their services are priceless. I did not have a doula during the birth of my daughter, but the next best thing; my older sister whose had 6 children. My delivery was also performed by a midwife instead of a doctor. I have to say the nurses where I gave birth were awesome and a lactation consultant was provided (although she didn't really help me) which made for a more positive birthing experiance in the hospital then I thought was possible. A good alternative and cost effective method is to have a midwife instead of a doctor perform the delivery or do the pre-natal appointments. Insurance companies do see midwives as legitimate medical help and in some communities midwives will do at home visits after the child is born and even at home births or births in a birthing center instead of a hospital. The midwives I saw during my pregnancy were working at a clinic that was connected with a hospital, but even though they took on a more medical roles, my midwife helped me learn how to breastfeed my daughter when she went to check me out of the hospital after my delivery. She could offer something a doctor may not have been able to, actual personal experiance with breastfeeding a newborn.
posted by : dhsredhead on 12/3/2007 at 1:51 PM Flag For Abuse
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There is a service that matches women with deployed husbands with a doula for free. I didn't use this because I consider myself a very private person. After the transverse lie that finally flipped into position, the 2:30 am early breaking of water, my mother's flight being late, the infection during labor, the 24 hours of labor, then finding out my daughter had a heart condition, I wish I had accepted this wonderful help.
I don't think the author is saying that doulas are overpaid for what they do--just that some parents may not have that sort of cash to lay out, especially considering how much many people pay for health insurance. Also, since it seems to be more cost effective (reducing c-sections, use of pain meds), insurance companies should pay for it.
posted by : Cali on 12/3/2007 at 2:27 PM Flag For Abuse
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We had a doula at the birth of our son. At first my mother and mother-in law thought it was silly to have an extra person when there would be a nurse at the hospital. Little did they know how stretched thin L&D nurses are these days. Both my mother and mother-in law participated in the birth along with my husband and doula. After wards, they could not stop singing my Doula's praises.
We also lucked out with our nurse, she happened to be a certified mid-wife and was from England, so she was completely in sync with my Doula and did not fight my requests - she actually would check my contractions by feel vs. making me wear the monitors all the time. So I think there are some great nurses out there, but there are always "old school" thinkers in any profession.
I too at first thought it was crazy to pay "X" amount of dollars just for a persons knowledge and support. But we do it everyday and now going through labor with her I wouldn't recommend natural child birth with out a Doula or at least taking private birthing lessons from one - no matter what the cost.
Having the labor and delivery of our son go beautifully and being a special event vs. a traumatic one is priceless.
posted by : esterlulady on 12/3/2007 at 3:08 PM Flag For Abuse
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I think the frustration with the cost isn't to suggest the doula isn't worth the fee. I'm sure most people who had one probably fee she was worth even MORE. The point is that insurance companies should cover this cost.
In our case we really couldn't afford the fee at the time, and--for the person who suggested that doulas would lower their fee for people who can't pay--weren't about to go calling around asking for charity.
I got bullied (and I don't use the term loosely) into medically inducing labor, even though my contractions had already started, which led to such painful contractions that I had to get an epidural I really didn't want. A couple of my friends had doulas who saved them from going down a similar path. Since the medication added several thousand dollars to my bill, I think the author's point that doulas could probably save insurance companies a lot of money is quite valid.
posted by : DeeEss on 12/3/2007 at 3:41 PM Flag For Abuse
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I'm one of those women who can't imagine having gone through with a natural, drug-free VBAC without the support of my doula. Fortunately she has a sliding fee scale so her services are not only for the rich.
I wrote about my experience for the Chicago Moms Blog:
http://svmomblog.typepad.com/chicago_moms/2007/07/not-without-my-.html
posted by : marketingmommy on 12/3/2007 at 4:45 PM Flag For Abuse
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I had an ante/post partum doula helping me out at home for a month before and after the birth of my second child. She was pricy-- about $2K a month for half days-- but I really can't fathom what I would have done without her. I had a high-risk pregnancy and a high-energy four-year-old to contend with. My family is all far away and my husband working full-time with a long and far commute. The doula (a mother of seven herself) was sort of magical gnomish woman, short and stout with a long golden braid and even golden slippers. She seemed to just materialize and the next thing I knew, the dishes were done, the table was set, the house was tidy, clean sheets were on the bed, and my son was engaged in some non-TV, non-leaping-on-mama enriching activity. She did help me a lot with breastfeeding also-- in part by offering non-intrusive advice and encouragement, and in part by managing everything else (the house and the rambunctious preschooler) that would have prevented me from eternally nursing, nursing, nursing during those first few weeks. I was still totally exhausted, but without her it would have been impossible.
posted by : cleverland on 12/3/2007 at 9:47 PM Flag For Abuse
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Ever
However as a doula for man
posted by : Dewi on 12/4/2007 at 6:16 PM Flag For Abuse
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posted by : Dewi on 12/4/2007 at 6:18 PM Flag For Abuse
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Are doulas one of many categories of professionals who we need in an age when so many of us live far away from our families? I am guessing that in days yore most women delivering babies had several older female relatives providing reassurance and counsel. Not that there is anything wrong with this, of course, and not that doulas do not know more than our mothers and aunts and grandmothers -- I am sure they do. It does seem sometimes, however, that we made a Faustian bargain in moving away from communities full of relatives.
posted by : chattydaddy on 12/5/2007 at 9:45 AM Flag For Abuse
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ChattyDaddy, that is a good point. This is exactly why doulas exist today: the community of women we once were privy to no longer exists. A woman giving birth a hundred or more years ago had likely already witnessed a handful of births and assisted in the postpartum period making even the birthing woman of yore far more educated about what happens during labour and delivery than today's woman, even with her endless childbirth education courses and books.
posted by : mamaloo on 12/5/2007 at 2:21 PM Flag For Abuse
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I understand your frustration regarding the fee for the doula. But let's not forget, that despite all of the support that she provides during labor, she:
---reserves her time before and after your due date so that she can make sure to be available for you when you go into labor
---provides extensive information and support during your pregnancy (this includes pointing you toward local resources, assistance in researching medical conditions as they arise, etc.)
--Listens to your thoughts and feelings about y our pregnancy and upcoming birth, if somethign raises a warning flag, she will work with you to over come your mental block regarding the birth
---will help you choose/swich OBs/hospitals if you wish
---will make sure you have enough breastfeeding support to ensure that you and your baby can nurse
That fee needs to pay for housing, childcare, food etc. A very busy doula can take only about six clients a month. That's not a lot. A labor can take hours, but more likely it will cross days.
Also, a doula that offers as much as $1500 usually has attended more than 100 births and has multile skill sets (like hypnotherapy, reflexology, massage, etc). And, Duh, of course a doula in NYC is going to cost more than a doula in Charleston. Welcome to the concept of a cost of living!
New doulas--including those working for their certification, in any market, will often work for free or at a greatly reduced fee. Any childbirth educator can help point you in the direction of those new doulas.
Should insurance pay? Absolutely. Frankly, I find it strange that they don't. They would save a boatload of money. They should have a few on staff in major markets to test the concept, but, if I ran the world, a lot of things would be run differently!
Chelsea
(I'm a new doula in Los Angeles www.westsidedoula.com)
posted by : CTealS on 8/3/2009 at 3:53 PM Flag For Abuse
