For those who are having/have had a doula

kg_08 · August 2011

I did not have a doula with my labor, but I'm very interested in becoming a doula myself. I feel like the birthing process is such a beautiful thing and would love to help others going through it. My questions are

#1, Where did you find your doula? Did you look up doulas in your area online? Did the hospital provide references?

#2, How much do doulas recieve for their services? I assume it varies based on location.

I'm thinking of going through the certification soon and am just wanting to know what my next step would be.

kurokai · August 2011

I am interested in this myself. My MW suggested that I start offering on craigslist/freecycle that I'd be willing to doula births for free, and then certification happens and it's about 250-300 I could charge.

However, I'm not sure if that's the way everyone does this and I'm just going to apprentice under my MW once my life settles down.

Momto4cats · August 2011

I am meeting with my potential doula this Friday. She was recommended by my La Leche League leader. I think her charge is around $300, but I'm sure that would change in a larger urban area. Good luck, I'm sure this will be very rewarding for you!

myantonia · August 2011

1. I searched dona.org to get started, checked out bios, looked up their websites, etc. I also googled "doula MYHOMETOWN" to get other leads. I proceeded to hire the first person I interviewed because I liked her so much.

I don't know if I'm the only one, but I am totally guilty of judging professionalism based off of website quality. All of the ones I looked at were similarly priced (within $100 or so) and if it comes down to it, I'm going to contact the person(s) that have put in enough time and effort into their business to get a good website made that has information on it. (Just my $.02)

2. I'm paying $700, which is a lot compared to other areas of the country I think, but we live in a crunchy town where doulas are in high demand.

catrinawaves · August 2011

I found info on doulas through websites and word-of -mouth. I live in a high COLA, and I'm paying $850 (they also had another level of services for $700). That price is a little on the high end, but I decided to go with a doula from a group that has been in my state for 20+ years, and I know the quality will be high. The range of prices I saw while researching was $600-$850.

kg_08 · August 2011

Thanks ladies. I just tried dona.org and there is NOTHING within 200 miles of here. Also I tried typing in "doula (my home town)" and still nothing! I'm hoping this means that I won't have much competition. lol

I guess the next step would be to contact my midwife.

llamakins · August 2011

There is training info on dona.org with recommended books for certification, etc. That might be a good way for you start looking into it. We found our doula for the first pregnancy through a local doula resource page. My doula in the midwest cost $800 a few years ago. The range depends on experience and location.

emmyloustu · August 2011

kg_08:

#1, Where did you find your doula? Did you look up doulas in your area online? Did the hospital provide references? Our doula actually works in my MW's office and is one of her assistants in home births.

#2, How much do doulas recieve for their services? I assume it varies based on location. She charges between $300-$400 and that includes her doing a placenta encapsulation for you. I used to live in baltimore/dc and it was a lot more expensive to hire a doula.

boobearmama · August 2011

The Midwife at my OB practice recommended doulas to us. It was a sheet that they had readily available for those who asked. We called a few from the list and chose one after meeting her person (I spoke to a few others but didn't connect with them). That aside, our doula has not finished her certification yet, so she is only charging us $400. We were planning on around $1000-1500, which is the going rate around here (Chicago) from what I understand.

Accounting Chick · August 2011

#1 - My situation is a bit unique in that a good friend of mine's mom is a doula, so I've asked her. However, if I was not in that situation, a lot of hospitals in the area have a "matching program". If your hospital does not have a program like this, simply googling "Doula" and where you area should give you an idea of what's out there. As others have stated, the look of the website would be VERY important to me.

#2 - Again, I'm in a unique situation in that my doula is part of a volunteer association. However, if I were to pay (and there are some out there who do charge in the area), it would be approximately $750, which is what I would have guessed before I started researching.

bluerevolution9 · August 2011

I am a doula. I decided not to go through DONA, I don't personally feel that their requirements for certification are enough. I don't think taking a one week or even one weekend training seminar is enough to make a doula. I trained for 8 months, and attended 5 births durning that process. I had to read books, watch films, even do weekly homework. I really think my education was the basis for me to be a better doula.

That being said.... I would start by googling doulas in your area and asking them where they trained. I really think that the best way to train is under an experienced doula. Maybe you could apprentice someone?

I charge about $300 a birth, and this includes lots of prenatal work with my clients and postnatal meetings. Becoming a childbirth educator and lactation consultant could also be things you might be interested down the road to offer a broader range of services that might enable one to make a better living. I also know doulas who teach prenatal yoga or exercise classes to supplement income and expose themselves to more clients.

You are welcome to look at my website if you want to know more about what its like to be a doula - www.birthwithariel.com

Good luck!

kg_08 · August 2011

bluerevolution9:

I am a doula. I decided not to go through DONA, I don't personally feel that their requirements for certification are enough. I don't think taking a one week or even one weekend training seminar is enough to make a doula. I trained for 8 months, and attended 5 births durning that process. I had to read books, watch films, even do weekly homework. I really think my education was the basis for me to be a better doula.

That being said.... I would start by googling doulas in your area and asking them where they trained. I really think that the best way to train is under an experienced doula. Maybe you could apprentice someone?

I charge about $300 a birth, and this includes lots of prenatal work with my clients and postnatal meetings. Becoming a childbirth educator and lactation consultant could also be things you might be interested down the road to offer a broader range of services that might enable one to make a better living. I also know doulas who teach prenatal yoga or exercise classes to supplement income and expose themselves to more clients.

You are welcome to look at my website if you want to know more about what its like to be a doula - www.birthwithariel.com

Good luck!

Thanks! So if you don't go through DONA, where/how did you get your training? Is it something I could still do online or did you just read books and apprentice under someone? Did you get an actual paper certification?

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