Finding a Doula and cost of one?

[drqt3142]

My DH and I are expecting our first baby at the end of July. I very much want to have a natural childbirth. I am considering finding a Doula to help with our birth- however, I do not even reallly know where to start to find one. Also I am not certain how much they usually cost. I do not have any local friends who are pregnant or recently pregnant to help me! I am living in LA and moved here about a year ago- so do not really know where to begin! Any advice would be great!

[Edensmum]

You can try looking through their certification organizations. They are usually 3-6 hundred or so depending on what they do for you. If they teach hypnobirthing Etc, which is expensive on it's own. They can provide support and guidance during your whole pregnancy and physical and emotional support in labor. It's very important if especially if you plan to have a hospital birth to have a doula. There is just so much you can plan for yourself, and they will be able to help you figure out what to do when things aren't going as expected or to support you through it. It will help you avoid interventions. Labor is a lot easier when you are surrounded by support and feel safe and cared for.
Good luck.

[AnnieW625]

I know that Los Angeles is quite a large area but in my area, Long Beach, this doula seems to come highly recommended, Birth Goddess (http://www.birthgoddess.com/). My prenatal yoga teacher was also training to become a licensed midwife a year ago, Emerging Birth (http://www.emergingbirth.com/index.html).

We ended up not using a doula, and I never actually met with Birth Goddess, but if I had felt the need to want a doula I would've met with both and probably would've been comfortable using one of those two that I linked above. I think Emerging Birth was right about $500.

Send me a PM if you are in the Long Beach area.

[daisymommy]

Are you seeing a midwife for your prenatal care? If so (and even if not--you could call midwives offices around you, look them up online or in the phone book)--they should have lists of doulas they highly recommend, and bulletin boards in their office waiting room with doula's business cards on them.

Here's the DONA certification webpage. They are the biggest most well known certifier, but there are others. On the left is a drop-down search bar. http://www.dona.org/mothers/find_a_doula.php

[waitingforgrace]

Yes, start with the certification organizations and call a few of them to talk with. If you find a few you like set up a time to meet them, you want to be sure you'd be comfortable with the person. You can also ask your dr.'s office if they know of anyone, or as PP suggested call a birth center or midwife group and ask for a recommendation.

I used a doula and loved it! She was absolutely worth the $450, we had 2 prenatal visits and 1 post partum visit with her. Before baby she came to our house and we discussed our birth preferences and answered any questions we had. She was always available by phone for us and I regularly kept in touch with her via email. When I went into labor she came to our house and then was with us at the hospital too. A few days after the birth she came to the house and checked in on us, brought the baby a gift, answered any questions about baby care, breastfeeding, etc. It was great - I'm looking forward to using a doula again.

ETA: The $450 was in a medium size metro area in the midwest

[Uno-Mom]

We had a doula with us. Money was a big consideration b/cause of our tight budget, and we couldn't even consider the full price most charge around here. (Considering all the time the give and the being "on call," I feel the fee it totally fair, but we couldn't afford it.)

Our doula was a very experienced woman who had attented many births, but she was only half way through her DONA certification process. Although she had been at many births, most of them were before she started her official process so they didn't "count" towards the total she needed for certification. Because of that, she cut the regular fee in half. If we have another baby someday, we will certainly go with her again ... even at full fee. It's worth it!

We found this woman through a friend, but I bet you could find others like her by contacting DONA. If cost is a consideration. There is always a first non-comitted interview that you can use to decide if the person truly does seem experienced enough.

[Uno-Mom]

Fyi - my guess as to doula fees in LA area would be closer to 800 than 450. I base that guess b/cause LA's an area where doulas would be accepted and in high demand. But I could be wrong, maybe the fee would be lower b/cause more competition?

[AnnieW625]

Fyi - my guess as to doula fees in LA area would be closer to 800 than 450. I base that guess b/cause LA's an area where doulas would be accepted and in high demand. But I could be wrong, maybe the fee would be lower b/cause more competition?

Soo true, which was part of the reason that I didn't really look into it for either child, it was just too expensive (I figured over $1000), plus I was really happy with my OB group both times (DD1 I had an HMO dr., and DD2 we had Kaiser) and they were respectful of my wishes so I never thought that I needed to go outside and find someone else, plus my DH is pretty darn verbal and was good about having my wishes met both times. Plus I was really afraid both times that because of the lack of experienced doulas in my area of close to a million people that I'd be double booked with someone else.

[Hawkeyewife]

If you are concerned about the cost, you can find doulas in training as well. There are many listed on Doulas.com. My DONA trainer discouraged me from charging anything for my certification births. I currently give a $300 discount to parents that are willing to help me complete my certification paperwork.

Good Luck, every Mom deserves a Doula!

[echoesofspring]

we're north of LA about 200 miles and our doula was $600 for 1 pre visit, 1 post, unlimited conversations, phone calls, etc. and up to 15 hours of in hospital time. She's got 30 years experience and is probably one of the more expensive in our area. We took a childbirth class with her and decided we really wanted her to be there - she was worth every penny. I ended up having not the birth I was hoping for (40 hour stalled labor, interventions and ultimately a c-sect), having her there with her experience was so helpful, even if I didn't have the natural birth I had envisioned.
I was very happy with my ob/midwife practice and didnt' really feel like I needed a doula, but the docs aren't there with you the whole time you are in the labor, they just check in every now and then. Same with the nurses generally, once an hour or so. For us, my husband was really in support of having her there, which came as a surprise to me, since he's generally a private person. He was concerned he could provide all the support I needed, remember everything from class,etc., not freak out seeing his wife in pain, etc. And since I ended up having a 40 hr. labor, it was great for her to 'spell' him, so he got in a couple cat naps and eat.
And even though we were at a super family friendly hospital, when it came time for the c-sect, the nurse on duty wasn't going to let me recover with my baby and husband. The doula said she had seen that allowed at this hospital many, many times, and so she gave DH the necessary support so that he could express his displeasure at this decision, and helped him convince the nurse to change her mind. She also took lots of pics for us, and did a little write up about the labor (took notes the whole time)