Choosing a doula

Twizzle

I'm in the process of trying to hire a doula to be part of my VBAC team.  I haven't had a doula before so I'm not sure what questions to ask.  Anyone willing to share how they chose their doula and what questions you asked?  Thanks!

iris427

I asked a lot about their experiences with VBAC.  We talked about what options we could try if my labor wasn't progressing well (my c/s was for failure to descend) and what we could do to make a RCS a special experience if the VBAC didn't work out.  I also went a lot on the vibes I got--your doula will be seeing you naked and vulnerable on one of the biggest days of your life, so they have to be someone you feel comfortable around.  Doulas are great, I never want to give birth without one.

babyike

posting from my phone, so please excuse the crappy formatting :-)

i chose my doula for my first vbac because i felt she was the best fit for us based on our situation. she had the most vbac experience of the doulas i spoke with, she's has personal vbac birth experience, my midwife practice was very comfortable working with her, and she was a wealth of helpful information and resources when i had casual conversations with her at the local ican meetings in denver.  i always felt she believed in me and would help to advocate for me if needed, and dh felt the same.  he got along with her very well, and it was important to me that he felt comfortable with whomever we chose.

this time i had to choose a new doula since we moved back to texas, so i went back to the drawing boards.  i remembered my current doula coming highly recommended by our local ican chapter for vbac hopefuls, so i interviewed her.  she is very much like our doula in denver, so the connection was familiar and instant for us. i trust her viewpoints, and once again dh said he likes her too.  he also said he was glad to find someone as great/experienced as our denver doula down here.  we're really looking forward to this birth!

nearly all of my questions came from the "doula's guide to childbirth" and the "thinking woman's guide to birth" books.  hth and you can of course pm me for doula recs in denver :-)  gl! 

psuash7

thank you for the comments!