Doulas

Paleomama

Has anyone used a doula. Thinking of doing it this time around. Would like to know what you liked or disliked about it. Was it worth it to you, and price range.

CantoDeAmor259

We are using one this time. I'm doing a vba2c and having that extra support is seriously awesome!

Beth.1212

I didn't use one, but I felt confident that my DH and I would be able to stand up for ourselves if we weren't happy with how things were going, and I am the kind of person who doesn't want too many people hovering when I'm in pain. I think it's a "know yourself" kind of thing - some women seem to love them, but they're not for everyone. 

Edited to add - I had an unmedicated hospital birth with my DS and never felt the lack of a doula, but I also used a midwife practice that was friendly to unmedicated births (they'd even let you go beyond 42 weeks under close supervision if everything continued to look okay) and delivered in a hospital that had slightly lower rates of interventions than others in the area. 

Koukonei

This is our first and we're having a doula. All of the ones in my area I have looked into are between $750 and $1150. I'm really looking forward to it!

bumpuser10404476

I'm a FTM but several friends have used doulas and say it was definitely worth it. It seems that prices vary by location - I'm in mississippi where most charge $500 or less.

LilTiger15

If you are serious about going natural, then I highly suggest it.  I had one for my first and she helped me a lot and helped my husband too.  She was a great 3rd party 'advocate' for us with dealing with the hospital when it came to specifics we wanted in our birth plan.  The cost for us was $500.  Since this is my second birth, I get a discount and it is only $400 this time.  (I live in SC)

Mrs. Zee

I am in the Midwest and met with a doula this weekend who was awesome! So I think we will use her. In our area I found they range from about $500-$700. I was really concerned bc my hospital is known to cut if you labor for too long and this doula was a l&d rn and retired from that and wanted to still be around the birthing process. One thing I am researching is 1) if insurance will cover her (it seems that some will) and 2) if I can use HSA monies to pay for her (IRS has little to no guidance on this).

mylazypony

I have a doula, but I might not have gotten her if I wasn't having a home birth. She's awesome and my midwife delivered both her kids. She's 1200, but going rate for NYC is 800-2500.

Paleomama

Thank you guys so much for your input. With my first birth I kept feeling pushed around and felt like no one really cared about my birth plan. They just wanted to give me drugs. I also heard they will help you postpartum as well. My friend told me she got two visits after the birth. Hoping we can afford it. It seems well worth it. Thank you.