Community› The Bump Month Clubs› November 2012 Moms
November 2012 Moms
New Discussion

Anyone considering a natural childbirth with a doula?

CksteinbergCksteinberg
in November 2012 Moms
I would like to hire a doula to help us with natural childbirth and my husband has serious reservations. He feels like it is a racket and would be an intrusion on such an intimate time. Do you have thoughts on the subject?
Report Reply to Post

Re: Anyone considering a natural childbirth with a doula?

  • angelacarmenangelacarmen
    We are FTPs and have hired a doula.  I'm leaning towards getting an epidural, but might not.  In any event, we are both so excited to have our doula with us during labour and delivery.  Neither of us has any idea what to actually expect - we have read every book, talked to all our friends with kids, but when it comes right down to it we will have no idea what to expect.  A doula is there to support both of you, not just the mother, provide reassurance and help with the emotional side of things.  I know there will be a lot of the time where it would just be me and DH in the room with no doctor or nurse, and if something happens neither of us will know if it's normal or expected.  I want someone there who will be able to say, Yes this is normal, or no we need to call the nurse/doctor.  Mostly I look forward to her keeping us calm, taking the pressure off of DH for being my sole support, and taking the pressure off of me for being DH's sole support!  Our doula has made it very clear (as should they all) that she is not there to replace DH, she is there as additional support for both of us.  She is also a fountain of knowledge, whenever I've had questions thoughout my pregnancy so far I have been able to email her or call her and she can answer me or direct me to someone who can.  She's worth her weight in gold.  Maybe if your DH does some research on what exactly a doula does he might feel more comfortable?  Even if you interview one or two so he can ask questions, at least he will be informed in his decision.
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
  • Loading the player...
  • CandaceLeighCandaceLeigh member
    We are considering natural childbirth with a doula.  With my first DD I had a full on induction and it was not a good experience.  It's a long story that I don't like to share with FTMs because I don't want to scare them.  At the end of the day, my husband and I want someone else present to advocate my birth choices.  Hospital staff tend not to care what your desires are.


    image
    Report Reply
  • ZoeMay06ZoeMay06 member

    I had one and felt that she was worth every penny. I really wanted to go med-free and knew that my husband would not step up to do the amount of studying and preparation that he would need to really help me through on his own, like knowing what stage of labor I was in just by watching how I handled a contraction. I wanted someone to be there who had a lot of experience with birth, since both of us were FTPs. She ended up being amazing. She arrived at our house at 5am and helped me through every single contraction. She let us know when it was time to go to the hospital (we wanted to labor at home for as long as possible and probably would have headed in hours before). She was a great advocate for me, and a great support for my husband, who I know would have been really overwhelmed. And though it's definitely a special experience, it doesn't feel all that intimate when a parade of various medical staff keep coming in and out of the room. In the end I was able to have a completely med-free experience, not even an IV.

    If you have a medical spending plan, doula expenses are covered btw.

    Let me know if you have any questions, I'm happy to help.

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
  • steffiizzysteffiizzy
    We're doing natural, but I'm not sure about doulas in my city. I need to do more research and see if it's covered under our insurance. If not, I don't think we can afford it. That said, I have a great natural childbirth doctor who I know is going to rock.
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
  • tasiacelestetasiaceleste

    We're doing natural, at home, with a midwife.

     If I were having a hospital birth, I would absolutely hire a doula (I love my OB-GYN, and she'd deliver my baby if we went that route, but I'd want someone as my advocate against the staff nurses when my doctor wasn't there).  

    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"