Postpartum Doula

I am looking for one that services my area here in NC.

I am wanting to talk to one about the care they offer and everything.

So anyone had a doula during labor?

Thanks

 

QUOTE(fancybeltran @ May 25 2009, 10:05 PM) [snapback]1327855[/snapback]
I am looking for one that services my area here in NC.

I am wanting to talk to one about the care they offer and everything.

So anyone had a doula during labor?

Thanks


your hospital should be able to refer you to someone who is a doula. i would love to get one but they aren't under insurance and the fees can get a bit much. the alternative to that is have friends and family agree to help out as much as possible until you have a routine going, maybe 3 weeks or so.

oh and a doula teaches you how to be a mommy basically, that's their job, hands on trainer to mommies.

 

A labor doula and a postpartum doula are two different things. The labor doula will mostly be with you during the actual birth and right afterwards. I'm sure some of them offer follow-up care but it probably depends on the person. A postpartum doula doesn't start until after the babies are born. Again, the services they offer depend on the person.

We had one (very briefly) who saw it as her job to care for the mom and the family -- she would do laundry, bring recipes and do some cooking, plus offer parenting advice and support. She was great, but we decided we really didn't need extra care during the day when the babies were tiny. They slept nearly all day anyway, and we had friends & family helping us with all the other stuff. So she came a few times and did teach us a few really valuable newborn-care tricks, but then we decided not to have her come anymore.

What was much more valuable to us was a night nanny. She took care exclusively of the babies from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. so we could sleep (and occasionally we went out for a quick dinner). She came 3x a week for the first couple of weeks and then twice a week until the babies were about 10 weeks old. She also did things (while everyone else was sleeping) like laundry, clean-up from dinner, unwrapping of gifts, etc. -- basically anything she could do to help out without waking us up.

All these services are expensive. I think the PP doula was $30 an hour and the night nanny was $25. Labor doulas charge differently -- I think they often charge a flat fee for the delivery and certain other services, and may have an hourly rate for anything beyond that.

 

QUOTE(Minette @ May 25 2009, 11:40 PM) [snapback]1327888[/snapback]
A labor doula and a postpartum doula are two different things. The labor doula will mostly be with you during the actual birth and right afterwards. I'm sure some of them offer follow-up care but it probably depends on the person. A postpartum doula doesn't start until after the babies are born. Again, the services they offer depend on the person.


I hired a labor doula for the birth of my second because I planned to have a VBAC. We paid her a flat fee upfront when we hired her. She met with me through out my pregnancy and was a great source of support. I ended up needing a repeat c-section, but she came to the hospital anyway to help me with nursing post-delivery. She also did a post-birth hospital visit that also helped with nursing and then she came to my house for one postpartum visit to see how my daughter and I were doing.

A good source for finding a doula is dona.org. I wouldn't hired a doula who wasn't affiliated with them. Their website also has tons of great info.

ETA: I would be careful with hospital doulas. The hospital where I'm having the twins offers doulas, but their training is no where near what dona requires.

 

I'm hiring a labor doula ... she costs $500. That's expensive for this area, but you get what you pay for! We might be hiring a post partum doula as well since I have no troops to rally!

 

QUOTE(dowlinal @ May 25 2009, 11:02 PM) [snapback]1327926[/snapback]
A good source for finding a doula is dona.org. I wouldn't hired a doula who wasn't affiliated with them. Their website also has tons of great info.


i was going to say the same thing - i'm currently in the process of certifying through DONA as a birth doula. anyone at all can represent themselves as a doula, but if you hire a DONA certified doula you'll know they have a guaranteed level of education/training as well as a standards of practice that they're expected to follow. the DONA website also has lots of good general info about doulas (birth & post-partum) & what you can expect from them.

we had a birth doula when the girls were born & she was awesome. we paid $900 for her services - DH was a little sceptical at first, but after the birth he now says he would have paid twice as much. she was such a wonderful support to both of us.

 

I'm a doula, and will be having a doula (or two) when I give birth! Postpartum doulas are still relatively new, so it might be hard to find someone depending on where you live, but if you hired a birth doula, she might know of some, or might be willing to provide that support as well.