DH as only support

Pumpkin_Princess · March 2013

I've read about all of the benefits of hiring a doula and I'm not opposed to spending the money if it is really going to make a difference, but I'm just not sure at this point. I know that DH will be very supportive with encouragement, massages, bringing me food, whatever I need, so I'm still unclear about what else the doula has to offer. Will you ladies talk to me about having only DH as your support for a med-free birth? If you have done both (with and without a doula), do you think that having a doula was worth it? Also, one company in my area has doulas in training who are fresh out of training and will attend my birth for free (so then I guess I could try having a doula without losing anything if it turns out that she wasn't needed). Has anyone used a brand new doula? How was your experience? Thanks!

tokenhoser · March 2013

The deciding factor for me was that my doula has been to dozens of births. My husband had been to zero. While he's a fantastic guy, he's not a mind reader and he's not that great at knowing what to do when I'm in pain. I was giving birth, and I didn't

Joyfullnoise · March 2013

My mom passed two years before ds1 was born and I elected not to use a doula and rely only on dh because I struggled with the idea of having a replacement mom I'm the room. For us, this was the right decision. My husband definitely helped and supported m

barnwife · March 2013

BreanneL24:
DH was a fantastic and amazing support for my homebirth. I definitely don't regret having just him and my midwives th

abell77 · March 2013

I needed to choose between Bradley classes and a doula, so I chose Bradley classes because they would help prepare both of us, not just me. I've had two med free births now and my H was a great coach. I should add that he was pretty apprehe

Haley.Beth · March 2013

My husband was awesome for my birth, and this time around he will still be my only support. However that's because this time I'm having a home birth. Looking back, having a doula in a hospital setting (as my first birth was) would have been very useful

BLPL101 · March 2013

DH was my doula (we took Bradley classes). I wouldn't have been comfortable having a "real" doula. The next time I'm pregnant, I won't get a doula. DH was awesome.

Amanda&EricB · March 2013

My husband was AMAZING! I was a little worried about it honestly, because he tends to use humor as a way to ease an uncomfortable situation. But he was very supportive. He held my hand, he got me ice chips, he fanned me with a magazine when I was roast

alliejoe · March 2013

DH was awesome. Most of the time it was just me and him unless we asked the MW or nurse to come in. I did, however, have a very fast labor and delivery (first ctx to birth was 5.5 hours). If my labor had been longer a doula might have been

OakTreeMommy · March 2013

We considered hiring a doula for our intervention-free birth. The reason in the end we decided against one was I looked at how I dealt with pain before giving birth. If I was ever sick or in pain I liked quiet and to be by myself. So I thought why would I

lindslalala · March 2013

I don't feel like a doula is necessary. I just wanted DH in the room, and he was great. It sounds like your husband is very supportive so I think you can do without, but the free option is nice in case you change your mind.

oliversmommy32912 · March 2013

I am a doula (and a new one). I'm double-biased so keep that in mind. :-)

Not everyone needs a doula. I didn't need mine. My labor was so quick that my doula didn't make it until I was already pushing. I felt regret that I hired one becaus

aylafsu88 · March 2013

tokenhoser:
The deciding factor for me was that my doula has been to dozens of births. My husband had been to z

couliegirl · March 2013

I ended up getting Pitocin to get labor started since my water broke and 8 hours later nothing had happened. I was prepared for a lot, but not for that. I wish I would have had a doula there to help me advocate for myself. I ended up feelin

mb314 · March 2013

I wanted to hire a doula, but DH wasn't thrilled with the idea because he had heard stories of doulas bossing husbands around and basically excluding the husbands. Obviously not all doulas are like that, but he still had that view of them.

SweetPeaK26 · March 2013

I had a very tough induction with my first, ended up tossing my epi free plan out the window.

With my second, the epi fell out, and I delivered pretty much with zero meds in my body

Honestly, dh was amazing. He did everything I

erb82 · March 2013

I didn't have one and felt that support from DH was enough. Do an honest assessment of how your relationship works during stressful moments. I know that when I'm stressed I tend towards self-doubt, but my husband is the perfect antidote to

RMama2012 · March 2013

tokenhoser:

Specific things my doula did: hip squeezes and back counter pressure and directing DH on how to do both effecti

A37licia · March 2013

Even though I've been through birth twice now, I would still feel much more at ease in a hospital setting with a doula, for the main reason of support for advocating and sticking up for myself and what I want for the birth. DH is there to help me labor

Pumpkin_Princess · March 2013

Thank you so much for your responses! God willing, I will be having our baby at a birth center with a midwife, so I really don't think I need an additional advocate. DH is just concerned because although he will do whatever I need, he thinks that the doul

kathleen02 · March 2013

My good friend happens to be a doula so I had one set up from the get go. What she did for me? She was super helpful in my long labor lasting two days. I wasn't able to sleep so she was able to give my husband some rest and they would trade off. That alon

Lolalipsy · March 2013

AmandaEricB:
My husband was AMAZING! I was a little worried about it honestly, because he tends to use humor as a way to ease an un

footnotegirl · March 2013

My husband was my only support. Well, our family doctor did come in and visit every day we were in the hospital (induction, took 3 days to induce, was in for 2 days after). So she was a big help, but the rest of the time it was just me and the hubby an

loneybaloney · March 2013

I had Dh only, and honestly, I'm looking forward to the same this time. Yes, men are not the most intuitive sometimes, and I'll definately say mine is included, but he was wonderful during my labor. We had such a wonderful experience just the two of us, a

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