Doula/Midwife?

mrs07c

I posted this on another board, and am not sure why I didn't think of here first!

 

For those of you that used them, would you recommend them? 

Why/Why not? please  

thanks!

jpowell3

Just an FYI, if you are trying to see if it is worth your money call your hospital first. I just found out our hospital has 40 volunteer doulas!

Raylenea

I have shared my last 3 births with Midwives and Doulas. Having a Midwife is so worth it, but you have to find one that shares your ideas of birth. Some are just like doctors regarding intervention rates and really only liking hospital births, while others are very hands off and believe in the Midwifery Model of Care. My Midwife and I have become friends over the last 15 years. She always spends an hour with each prenatal. She gets to know you very well, which is important if she is going to help you navigate you through the points of labour where your own belief in yourself might falter a minute. She comes to you as soon as you want her in labour and stays with you until at least 4 hours after the birth. My first birth with her she had to travel 1 1/2 hours and she stayed with me for 3 days.This is in direct contrast to a doctor. You spend 9 months getting to know them and you are lucky if they slip in in the last half an hour of your birth to "catch" the baby. The rest of the time you are being cared for by nurses, (whom you don't know) that come and go. They tend not to provide labor support at all. Doula's are fantastic sources of information, who, if hired privately, also get to know you well. They also come as soon as you want them and they provide emotional and physical care to you. It has been shown that a Doula minimizes all manner of interventions just by being there. She does not interfere with the role of your partner, but enhances it by either helping them help you or fading back, as needed. I can not begin to tell you how superior, in my eyes, the care that you receive is. Everyone is different, depending on what you want, but I wouldn't hesitate to hire both of these professionals. good luck

Geekchick921

jpowell3:

Just an FYI, if you are trying to see if it is worth your money call your hospital first. I just found out our hospital has 40 volunteer doulas!

You may also be able to find a student doula (I've seen them post on CL) that will attend your birth for free, as they need a certain amount of births to be certified by DONA.

14years

A midwife attended DS's birth, and I have gone back to her for this pregnancy.  She's amazing -- very hands off and non-interventionist. 

I second the previous posters that you'll want to ask questions about a midwife's approach the same way youl would with an OB.  There are some "medwives" out there.

We were supposed to have a doula, but DS came three weeks early and she was on vacation.  Our contract was for two weeks before and two weeks after the EDD.  I think it's a great idea, though!

flyer23

I used a doula with both pregnancies, a midwife with the second one... yes, I'd recommend both.

Midwives: I definitely agree with pp's about interviewing midwives and finding out about their style of care. I actually saw a group with two midwives delivering out a hospital for most of my second pregnancy, and then switched to a homebirth midwife at 36 weeks. Compared to the OBs I saw with my first pregnancy, they were all easier to get appointments with, far more prompt for my appointments, and spent more time talking with me at appointments. They were also much more experienced with natural birth, although I would still recommend the hospital midwives to a woman interested in an epidural -- I just think their whole approach to pregnancy is much healthier overall, compared to an OB. (I wouldn't recommend my homebirth midwife to a woman wanting an epidural, just because an epidural isn't possible at home )

Doulas: Again, these are usually associated with natural birth, but I think anyone can benefit from a doula's care! Both of my doulas helped answer questions I had before and after the birth. For example, my doula with DD pointed me to an acupuncturist who really helped with the public symphysis pain I experienced late in pregnancy, and my doula with DS gave me a referral to a fabulous rabbi/mohel who provides a gentler alternative to hospital circumcisions, even for non-Jews. And, of course, they were indispensable during labor. With DD, I had a very long labor (induced). DH was fabulous, but he would have collapsed from exhaustion if our doula hadn't been there to give him breaks to get something to eat, go to the bathroom, even take a quick nap!

So it was actually DH who insisted on getting a doula again when I got pregnant with DS. Our second doula had a very different role -- my labor was much shorter, and since I had a homebirth midwife present, I didn't need continuous labor support as much. But she was still critical to the whole experience. She allowed the midwife to focus on the medical stuff, while she addressed both DH's and my emotional needs. She took care of little things like making up the bed or getting snacks for me. She quietly offered suggestions for different positions to labor in that I hadn't thought of. She was just great. If money were an issue, I do think we could have gotten by without her, and leaned on our midwife more for labor support... but I'm glad that we could afford her, because it was really nice having her there. And for a hospital birth, absolutely, doulas are critical!

AutumnBride929

No doula here but I did use a midwife.  She was incredible.  She was at the hospital with me the ENTIRE day I was laboring.  She spent the night at the hospital prior to my induction and broke my water at 5:00am.  She was by my side all through active labor and helped me deliver my LO at 9:39pm.  She massaged my back, stroked my arms and was so supportive and encouraging.  If you are looking for a med-free experience especially... I highly recommend a midwife.

Mitzie

I had/have a midwife and she is awesome. I had a miserable labor, but she got me through.