$$ for doula?

aggieoj

We'd love to have a doula but are considering affordability.  I've gotten a quote from one person and have yet to hear from potential others to consult with. I was quoted around $900 including about 2-3 visits and the birth.  Is this about typical for doula services?

userdeleted

I think that there are cheaper doulas than that in town, but I'm not 100% sure.

One thing you could try is periodically searching craigslist for student doulas. I was able to find one and ended up paying only $50 for 2 prenatal visits and then the labor services. I imagine a fully certified, experienced doula may have been more confident and might have had more tricks up her sleeve, but for the price I think it was great for us! 

carlinlp

I think it varies depending on exactly what is included.  Not sure who you have requested info from but you might want to check with these too:

wombservice.org

emilybessey.com

I've worked with both and highly recommend them!

eta:  getbabied.com is another one that I have bookmarked, I've heard good things but never worked with them.

Temp13436125005166

carlinlp:

eta:  getbabied.com is another one that I have bookmarked, I've heard good things but never worked with them.

I used Ame and she was amazing!  Their prices are on their site

Abrooks

I was surprised at some of the rates too.  I think $500 - $700 is a better range but I've definitely seen several at $900 or more, which I find fairly steep.

carlinlp

Austin is actually on the low range for what doula's charge on the national average.  If you think about the time they put in.....probably an average of 12 hours for a birth (varies obviously), prenatal appointments, travel to and from, phone consults, training they go through, insurance, costs of doing business, etc.....even at $900 many of them are likely making minimum wage when it is all said and done.  But they do it because they love it

Abrooks

carlinlp:

Austin is actually on the low range for what doula's charge on the national average.  If you think about the time they put in.....probably an average of 12 hours for a birth (varies obviously), prenatal appointments, travel to and from, phone consults, training they go through, insurance, costs of doing business, etc.....even at $900 many of them are likely making minimum wage when it is all said and done.  But they do it because they love it

I agree - they do a lot, especially the good ones.  I guess when I look at it, let's say they spend 20 hours total (labor, pre-natal, post-natal), then they are charging $45/hour for a fee of $900. I don't count driving frankly, b/c most people have to drive to their jobs and don't get paid for that.  (And obviously there are other business costs too.)  Most of them have limits set on their time, so I think 20 hours is fair.  Not saying it isn't worth that...but I wasn't originally anticipating being charged $45/hr when I started looking. 

carlinlp

Most of them don't charge by the hour do they?  It's a set price for a package I'm assuming.  I attend births all the time and the 5 hour ones are fewer than the 24-48 hour births.  The time spent is VERY unpredictable so a large portion of the cost has to be averaged out in order to stay in business.