becoming a doula

ljanette85

I am taking the madriella doula course in order to satisfy some of my NYS massage therapy license CEU's. I enjoy offernig pre-natal massage and I think that being a "massage doula"  will allow me to really help out woman during pregnancy and birth.

For those of you that used a doula what did you like about her services? was there anything that did not go well for you or that you did not find helpful? I personally did not use a doula because I already had a lot of support, but I would love to be there for woman who need a little extra help.

aliena

eh, this wasn't really her fault but she wasn't really there for most of my labor.  I think she assumed my labor would be longer? I labored 8 hours (starting at 10pm when my water broke) at home and then she met us at the hospital 2hr before lo was born (8am).  I did call in lots of pain at 3 am and she suggested some positions then I asked her to come at around 5, but ended up leaving for the hospital before she arrived.

aylafsu88

I loved my doula!  She was great and helped me get through my labor.  We had a long pre-natal appointment when I was 37 weeks pregnant.  She asked a lot of questions to get a good idea about what we wanted/needed from her during my labor. This was a big help because during labor she did everything we needed without us having to ask. I really think it made my L&D go smoothly.  She also knew tons of positions and helped me get into them during contractions as I had an anterior placenta and was worried my LO was OP.  She also offered placenta encapsulation and had her do mine.  The pills were great and I really think they helped my during my post-part period.  The other thing I loved about her was that she did not abandon me after I delivered.  She stayed for 2 hours with us in the hospital to make sure everything was ok and talked me through the shakes I had after delivery.  She also came by to check on me twice when I was home from the hospital.  This really made me feel like she cared about me, my LO and my adjustment to motherhood.  She was fantastic!

I think the pre-natal massage sounds great and I would have used it if my doula offered it. 

RockyMtnMama

My friend became a doula after my birth where she helped us out and what I think is most valuable is someone who is very understanding of your feelings, but pushes you a little past what you think you are capable of and has a strong knowledge basis in science and more homeopathic ideas.   Plus she has lots of ideas on positions to try to alleviate different types of pressure and she has some great breastfeeding advice that she can provide after the birth when you're just trying to figure it out. 

Plus, I loved that my friend had one birth that she tried natural (but didn't study or prepare very much) and didn't succeed so she had a good idea of how you can be committed to a natural birth, but not be informed or ready.  But now she has had two births natural births herself (one in the hospital and one at home), so that personal experience is very important.  Plus, I think by the time she got certified by DONA that she had attended about 8-10 births including her own. 

Massage is great in some birth situations, but honestly in the 7 births I've attended with friends or myself, not a single one wanted much massage other than counter pressure during labor, but I'm guessing you would be much better at that than most of us untrained in massage!

 

 

PansyPants

I chose a doula who had personality traits that I either lack or didn't want to use while laboring.

Specifically, I chose a doula that was/is very outspoken and who I knew would absolutely stand strong on my wishes so that I didn't have to do anything but concentrate on my work.

She did a great job and was the only reason they let me get in the tub, which was a huge turning point in my labor. The nurse and doctor said it was against hospital policy to allow me in the tub since my water had broken, my doula said that she believed they were wrong and asked them to recheck it since she and I felt that the water would help me. They went back and check with the head OBGYN of L&D and he informed that they were incorrect. That I could labor in the tub at any point and the only thing I couldn't do was deliver there.

 

I loved a lot of the things my doula did even though I didn't expect to. She gave me a great back massage during labor and was so awesome at reminding me to change positions.

My advice (based on my experience) is that a doula/birth partner is the embodiment of all the knowledge the laboring mother would like to use during labor but might not remember. She remembered the positions I had told her appealed to me, she knew my birth plan and that I didn't want a Hep Lock, she knew what I had in my hospital bag and when to get out the juice boxes or force feed me a power bar.