Doula - Questions to Ask?

GG620

DH and I have decided to hire a doula as we are trying to have a natural birth (if possible). We have contacted a few and have dates/times set up to meet and talk with them. That being said, I would love to hear what I should be asking during the meetings? Any bits of advice? I think it will be more about comfort with the person, but I am not sure how to approach the meetings. Thank you!!

fatstagnation

I plan to work with a doula too. Glad to see you started this thread! 
Here are some of my questions:
1. Have you worked in the hospital I plan to go to?
2. What is your fee and how do you structure payment? Is any of it potentially reimbursable by insurance? (Some of it is! and she knows how to file for it.) 
3. What if I need medically, or change my mind about:
a. C-section, b. pain meds, etc.
4. Do you support infant immunization?
5. What all do you do with a typical mother? 
6. What's the best way for us to keep in touch?

What questions do you have? I'm sure I this isn't everything!

I found that my doula was actually really good at leading the discussion, and that she provides much more service/care that I expected. She drove to my house to meet with us and had a list of things to think about including circumcision, delayed cord cutting, baby immunization, breastfeeding, parenting classes, etc. I didn't feel she was judgmental of my answers in any way. That's what I wanted - someone who would advocate for me if for some reason I was unable to. 

Also, in case anyone else in interested, a good doula will work with a woman who chooses any style of birth, including c-sections, though they do seem to specialize in natural births. 

kiki75

PSA: If you have an HSA, you can use those funds for a birth doula. Any postpartum visits need to be billed separately so hopefully you find someone willing to split the billing. 

justkeeptrying

I used a doula with my DS and am thrilled to be using her again this time!! Questions to ask:

1) How many clients do you take at one time? What will happen if 2 clients are in labour at the same time?
2) Do you offer any postpartum support?
3) At what point in labour can I expect you to be there? How long after birth do you stay?
4) Where does your role fit in relation to my SO? (DH really appreciated that our doula included him as much as possible. She would assess my needs and then ask HIM to provide what I needed. It made him look really good in my eyes because he was doing what I needed, and he didn't have to sit there worried that he should be doing something but not knowing what!!)
5) Asking about your goals for labour (ie. Do they support you getting an epidural when you want one? How long will they allow you to labour at home before going to the hospital?)
6) More so for curiosity, ask how many deliveries they've been part of. Can't even tell you how reassuring it was (and jaw dropping) when my doula told me 750+

Those would be my big ones in addition to what was already mentioned by PP. 

day38

I had a doula for DS's birth and mainly asked about her experience working in the hospital where I was delivering (it was her favorite local hospital, so that was good). I also asked about her interaction with the nurses/medical staff there in general and she ended up telling me about a recent experience where there was a nurse who was very pushy (in a bad way) and how she handled it which was a great question I hadn't thought about asking. My husband was concerned about what his role/importance with a doula present and he really liked her responses about that.

I'm a very special case because I had a precipitous labor for my 1st, and my doula ended up arriving at the hospital about 5 min after my son was born (I only got there 20 minutes before, so completely NOT her fault). But just having her there for the aftercare was great (and having her help me advocate holding/nursing my son longer before he got weighed and the blood test was invaluable). She also includes a postpartum visit in her services, and she was the first person to raise suspicions that something was going on with nursing, and gave me some great resources to help.

mdfarmchick

I guess for me, I read bios after using dona.org to search for local doulas in my area. My friend had a doula with her third and I had talked to her about where to even start looking. MH and I had a few possibilities but one we really liked on paper. She was available and we set up an informal meeting. Because we moved in my third trimester I think I was already 35/36 weeks. She brought an info packet with her and was probably better at covering all the major topics with us—I was more interested in whether we clicked or not. We did and she was amazing. She’s in the middle of getting her midwifery certification right now so I’m kind of bummed that I have to find someone else.