Midwife?? Doula??

SaraLaff · May 2009

I just read the post about the Business of Being Born. I also just saw the movie for the first time a few nights ago and it defiantly did it's job and got me thinking. I think we all have a good bit of time to do more research and make an educated decision but I am wondering who is seeing a midwife or planing on having a doula with them for the birth.

leah1615 · May 2009

Yup, I have hired a doula. She is great! I think it is absolutely necessary if you are planning not to have an epi.

chile_chicken · May 2009

I have to have a midwife, that's the law. But they are now called LMC (Lead Maternity Carer) and they are in charge of my ultrasuonds, blood tests, breastfeeding education and being part of the birth. Becuase I will likely need to be monitored throughout my pregnancy I also have frequent visits to the GP and OB.

SuperTreesa · May 2009

I have a midwife. She is part of a normal OB/GYN office. I plan on hiring a doula for the labor also.?

Mrs.tlcS · May 2009

I will definitely have a doula this go round. Absolutely.

SaraLaff · May 2009

if this is too personal don't answer but how much do Doula's normally charge? Obviously this will vary from place to place but I'm just trying to get some sort of idea.

Mereou12 · May 2009

I'm using a midwife. She's part of a large practice of OBs and MWs.

I haven't looked into a doula much, though I would really like one. Unfortunately, I live in a small town that tends to be pretty backwards and/or conservative in its medical practices (the local hospital won't do VBACs or anything even remotely controversial or risky). The only doula that I've seen listed in the area was on Craigslist...and I'm not sure how much I trust that.

lifesadance · May 2009

Did a lot of research on it (lots of personal experience stories from others too) and I'm going with a midwife. First appt. is tomorrow!

Mrs.tlcS · May 2009

SaraLaff:
if this is too personal don't answer but how much do Doula's normally charge? Obviously this will vary from place to place but I'm just trying to get some sort of idea.

This really varies a lot.

Some are still working toward their certification, and will do it on a volunteer basis. Some work on a sliding scale. Some will barter for services. Some are fully trained, but choose not to get certified for whatever reason, and tend to be really cheap. Some doulas are midwife students/apprentices and are a bit more expensive than your typical doula. Some midwives offer doula services, and some offer doula and monitrice services. They're much more expensive than your typical doula (monitrice services are not available in all states - it's illegal in some places).

I'd check out the DONA and ALACE websites. That should get you started.

GRKaters · May 2009

Doula. Best money we ever spent for anything baby-related... and I *did* have an epi, so don't think they're not helpful for medicated births! We won't have another baby without our wonderful Doula Sue.

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Mrs.Sky_and_Mr.Luke · May 2009

I see a group of Midwives (because I don't know who will be on call that night) and they are all amazing!! I'm so glad I switched to them and everyone I know who has had a midwife has loved them. I'm not sure about everyone but our Midwives let the husband/partner catch the baby and then they place it on your stomache to clean it up and let you or your person with you cut the cord.

easjer05 · May 2009

I currently see a midwife and am planning a homebirth. If I have to change plans and have a hospital birth, I will absolutely consider a doula.

AggieGrl · May 2009

I'm not doing either. I started out with a certified nurse midwife practice, but switched to an OB after my first appointment. Supposedly a great practice, but I just got this weird vibe from them. Sort of like I was doing the right thing coming to them. It was sort of a combination or arrogant and trendy. They are the CNM practice associated with the hospital I want to birth in, so I didn't have another choice. I am not willing to homebirth since the nearest NICU is 35 minutes away.

I seriously am not willing to shell out for a doula. I also wonder how much you gals are paying. They cost in the thousands around here, and I'd rather stow away that money in our emergency fund in case something goes wrong. But, I am a a tightwad and will be a SAHM for 2-3 years.

easjer05 · May 2009

In my area, inexperienced or not completely certified doulas seem to be around $200. Experienced doulas seem to be closer to $500. I know some charge higher than that, but do a lot more client meetings and that fee includes their own birthing classes.

erin2345 · May 2009

I am going to have a doula. A good friend of mine is taking her certification to become one so she is doing it for free!

Iheartkevi · May 2009

I chose an OB/GYN practice that uses midwives for all of their non-risky patients and only uses OBs for the high-risk moms and c-sections. I'm excited, especially knowing a midwife will be by my side for the whole delivery.

When the time comes, I will probably look into hiring a doula as well. In FL most I've seen run about $500.

avakani · May 2009

I wanted to have a midwife but they don't have space...there's only about 9 of them in our region. They put me on the waiting list so let's see. Going to be seeing the OB meanwhile and of course if I don't get midwifery services.

SaraLaff · May 2009

Thanks for all of the info ladies!

chile_chicken · May 2009

AggieGrl:

I seriously am not willing to shell out for a doula. I also wonder how much you gals are paying. They cost in the thousands around here, and I'd rather stow away that money in our emergency fund in case something goes wrong. But, I am a a tightwad and will be a SAHM for 2-3 years.

I feel very lucky that I do not have to pay anything for my maternity care. Hospital stay, c-section, midwife, OB- basically everything is paid for because here our government pays for all maternity healthcare through the public system, no matter how much money you have. Every NZ citizen is entitled to free healthcare. The few things that aren't covered by the government are covered by my insurance.

Mrs.tlcS · May 2009

AggieGrl:
I seriously am not willing to shell out for a doula. I also wonder how much you gals are paying. They cost in the thousands around here, and I'd rather stow away that money in our emergency fund in case something goes wrong. But, I am a a tightwad and will be a SAHM for 2-3 years.

The ALACE website I posted earlier has a ton of women all over the country who are trained and need to attend a certain number of births for their certification, who are volunteering to attend births. If you don't want a doula, that's fine - I don't want to push one down your throat or anything - but you can find doula services on the cheap if you know where to look.

GershiGirl · May 2009

I've been seeing the same midwife since my first BFP and I LOVE her. Unfortunately I'll be moving mid-pregnancy and my insurance doesn't have any midwives listed where we're going so I might have to go with an ob-gyn. If that happens I will definitely have a doula since it's important for me to have a natural birth.

MSC03 · May 2009

I'll be seeing a nurse midwife (so at a hospital with OB backup) and going natural. I haven't met with her yet, but I think I'm going to be using the same one that my sister used last fall.

bbowie · May 2009

I spent a considerable amount of time looking into all my options - homebirth, birth center, hospital. I spoke with several midwives - LMs, CNMs, CPMs, visited birth centers and researched hospitals and OBs.

It was a really tough decision but I finally feel confident in my decision. I am using an OB who specializes in natural child birth and hypnobirthing in particular. She practices out of a holistic hospital that specializes in natural birth (believe it or not I found one!). The hospital is also certified by UNICEF as Baby Friendly. The hospital encourages cosleeping (which is one of my things), breastfeeding (87% rate compared to statewide average of 47%) and has a high patient satisfaction.

I have been in contact with a CPM I really like and will probably ask her to be my doula.

I am driving 45 minutes to see this OB and deliver at that hospital. The nearest hospital to me is 2 minutes away and is one of the best hospitals in the county but is not natural birth friendly.

After the birth of my DS, a natural birth is very important to me and I want to do all I can do beforehand to ensure it happens.

TXSweetheart · May 2009

IMHO, that movie is a propaganda piece for midwifery. Yes the cesarean rate is on the rise, but think about it. Woman are having babies at older and older ages. In addition woman who in the past would have been considered infertile are now able to get pregnant thanks to advances in modern medicine. Both of these things combined means the number of 'high risk' pregnancies has sky-rocketed in the past decade, so of course the medical response is going to go up as well. I'm not dogging a midwife or doula in any way shap or form, I think both are decent alternatives to an ob-gyn if you aren't considered high risk, but as for that movie, liek I said before, I think it's more propaganda than cinema.

KateLouise · May 2009

I'm in NZ too and so midwives here are common place.You don't have to go to a minwife by law here. You can choose a GP or a midwife as your lead maternity carer and it is funded by the government.

?The reality it though is that there are more midwives than doctors that do deliveries anymore. ?It all got very political years ago between doctors and midwives. I don't know the ins and outs of it all but it basically ended up with doctors being unwilling to take the fall if a birth went badly.?

ms_mellor · May 2009

I had a midwife for #1, and am having the same MW for #2. It was the BEST decision I ever made. The OB on call the day I was induced had NO bedside manner (because I was induced, he had to consult). Instead I had my MW, and her student, at my side for the whole 16 hours that I was at the hospital. They also came to see me at home the next day, and were so helpful with bf. I seriously feel as though they were part of the family!

I'm in Canada, and they are also covered just like OBs are.

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