I'm going with a birth center inside my local recommended hospital with a midwife instead of an ob. My husband and I were going to do a home birth, but my insurance won't cover it and we can't afford the out of pocket right now.
Just to clarify: A midwife is a care provider that handles the health and wellness side of birth and can be hired in place of an OB. A doula is a birth worker who provides labor support for the mother and usually provides some prenatal education and at least a small measure of postpartum support (unless you also hire a postpartum doula). So do you need a care povider for your birth? Yes. Does that person need to be a midwife? Not necessarily Do you need labor support? Absolutely. Whether or not you want a doula is up to you, but they can be a fabulous addition to a birth team as they don't only provide support for the mother during labor, but they can help the mother advocate for herself and her baby. If you are hoping for an epi-free birth (especially in a hospital setting), I would absolutely recommend hiring a doula.
There are no midwives in my area so I will be having a natural hospital birth (I really just want to show up crowning) with a FABULOUS OB. I also will be hiring a doula to be with me while I labor at home. I am a L&D nurse so the doula I am hiring is a co-worker that is also a doula so that I will be able to turn off my L&D nurse brain and just have my momma labor brain on.
My friend is taking classes to be a doula and has known about our trying to get preg so she offered to be my doula for free & I cant wait!!!! Im not totally sure her roll but im excited. im also not sure if I want her in their for delivery but im not sure
I'm on a wait list for a midwife. I felt pressured to have unnecessary interventions with my first, and want to have another natural birth, but without fighting I'll definitely be getting a doula regardless, because I don't have a close friend or family member local to be my support (and DH kinda froze last time)
I delivered with a midwife group at a local hospital with my first. The hospital provides free doulas and I had three during my labor. They were all exceptional. If you want the more natural route I think a doula would really help. The doula also gave my husband a much needed break. My labor was 67 hours!
I would love a doula this time around. When my daughter was born, my husband had just deployed and I had very little support through my 27 hours of labor. I wanted a natural epi free birth and I think I could have done it had I hired a doula. This time I would really love that opportunity
I wanted to go that route with dd, but my insurance didnt cover it. Im covered as of this year, but not planning on a natural birth so im sticking with my ob and hubs ive had lots of friends with great experiences though!!
My plan is to have a midwife and give birth at their freestanding birth clinic. I want nothing to do with a hospital if I can help it.
I have nothing against doctors or OBs or any of that, I just find that there are too many medical interventions and want to be able to have a natural birth.
Hi ladies! I'm bringing this topic back. We are planning on taking Bradley Method Childbirth classes when the time comes and I would love to have a doula - FTM here. :] Any moms who already have experience with a doula? I'm interested to hear about your experiences!!!
I think the question is if you want a midwife or an OB as your main care provider. If you're high risk you'll be referred to an OB. Midwives are great for low-risk, low-intervention births and mostly natural births. Though they can and do induce when deemed appropriate. Midwives cannot and do not perform cesareans as they are not surgeons.
OBs usually are only seen for a few moments (check cervix/progress intermittently, and then of course for pushing).
Midwives can offer some labor support but their main focus is preparing for the birth and watching for signs of distress. My midwives always stayed with me in labor and only left for a few moments to prepare or give me privacy if I asked.
A doula is labor support, for you and your SO. She will offer aromatherapy, massage and will offer emotional encouragement as well as many other tasks. She doesn't do anything medical. A doula can also offer postpartum and breastfeeding support, if she qualifies and if you pay her for those services. You can have a doula for any birth scenario, even a cesarean.
Hi ladies! I'm bringing this topic back. We are planning on taking Bradley Method Childbirth classes when the time comes and I would love to have a doula - FTM here. :] Any moms who already have experience with a doula? I'm interested to hear about your experiences!!!
Oh lol! I didn't see the date on the original post some totally answered the OP. I haven't had a doula but I WISH I had, especially my last birth which was my most painful labor. I survived, as I knew I would, but a doula would have known some tricks to get baby to try to turn and get his skull off my spine/tailbone.
For a FTM, especially if you're wanting a med-free birth, I would recommend it. Choose one you really connect with and look for recommendations. A great doula will be supportive of whatever your choices may be rather than pushing her beliefs on you.
@WDDCH I am really leaning toward having a doula there with us! My husband is so nervous and apprehensive about witnessing the birth - he is so completely supportive and amazing in so many ways lol but he's a nervous wreck when it comes to seeing our baby being born.
@mariessa02 she's definitely there for dad, too. Sometimes more so than there for mom since momma tends to turn inward and focus during active labor. It may really give him tremendous relief to have someone gently and quietly show him what he can do to support you!
@WDDCH yeah that's what I'm hoping! I do not want all the pressure to fall on him, especially with him being so nervous. I want someone who will be there for me and for what I will need and someone to take some of the pressure off of him and also help to calm him as well... I know I'll be focused on doing what I need to do for our little one and not on making my DH feel comfy ;D
We are using both a CNM and a Doula as the CNM we have chosen requires a Doula prior to and during L&D. They've each made themselves readily available in advance for any and all questions or concerns that we might have. I'm low-risk and we are ecstatic to be able to have the option of a home birth. With our rural area being such a small population there weren't too many choices for CNMs or Doulas...however we did some research and were able to interview a few options ahead of time, as well as ask some of their previous clients questions. Wishing you a great experience!
We had a doula with our first birth but because neither of us (my husband or i) knew what we were going to do in the moment and there was problems between my sisters who had been there done that and my husband than so i wanted someone there to help support us without having all that tension but things are way better this pregnancy so i will have my husband and sisters with me. No doula for us this time around but i feel we have experiance and wont need one like we did the first time around.
I get a midwife and doula as well as the ob/gyn. Tribal hospitals are awesome and it's traditional. We may even have a special Osage ceremony done when the baby is born
@CRivera07 wow! That's great! Congrats on having such an amazing team. I'm all about making sure that I'll have a non-medicated and natural birth, so I think it'll help to have a doula there for encouragement and knowledge.
Our midwife group has a student midwife or doula as the secondary support team person. They never assist in delivery without extra backup. I'm excited for our first full appointment on Wednesday! This is the experience I wanted last time, but I didn't know how to get it.
Sorry to bogart this thread, but there are some women getting up in arms about starting a new post. Don't want to wake them up right now
I have a question...is a doula typically covered by insurance or is it one of those not covered at all things? I just switched insurances effective today so I don't have a member id yet. I will call as soon as I can, but just wondering.
@barrelocarol, I think you can apply to be reimbursed. But I'm not sure. It probably varies with insurance companies because I have known people who had their doula covered by their insurance but I've known people who haven't as well.
my insurance covers a midwife but not a doula. I don't know if that's generally the case or not.
there isn't a good midwife option in my area, so I went with a pro-natural OB. I am hiring a doula; as a FTM especially, I need all the support I can get.
Re: Midwife and/or doula
BFP #2 03/08/11 EDD 11/16/11 DD Born on 11/04/11
BFP #3 08/29/12 EDD 05/06/13 M/C on 08/30/12
BFP #4 11/01/12 EDD 07/09/2013 M/C on 12/28/12
BFP #5 04/30/13 EDD 01/03/14 DS Born on 01/02/14
BFP #6 01/11/15 EDD 09/22/15 M/C 03/09/15
I had a midwife for my whole pregnancy and a doula during labor. It was honestly the best decision I made.
OBs usually are only seen for a few moments (check cervix/progress intermittently, and then of course for pushing).
Midwives can offer some labor support but their main focus is preparing for the birth and watching for signs of distress. My midwives always stayed with me in labor and only left for a few moments to prepare or give me privacy if I asked.
A doula is labor support, for you and your SO. She will offer aromatherapy, massage and will offer emotional encouragement as well as many other tasks. She doesn't do anything medical. A doula can also offer postpartum and breastfeeding support, if she qualifies and if you pay her for those services. You can have a doula for any birth scenario, even a cesarean.
For a FTM, especially if you're wanting a med-free birth, I would recommend it. Choose one you really connect with and look for recommendations. A great doula will be supportive of whatever your choices may be rather than pushing her beliefs on you.
I have a question...is a doula typically covered by insurance or is it one of those not covered at all things? I just switched insurances effective today so I don't have a member id yet. I will call as soon as I can, but just wondering.
I haven't searched for a new healthcare provider in seriously 6 years. I'll have to bust out my "gut" feelings again!
there isn't a good midwife option in my area, so I went with a pro-natural OB. I am hiring a doula; as a FTM especially, I need all the support I can get.