We've made a bold decision. We're going to have a doula for the birth. If you don't know what that is, it's basically a woman who supports the parents through the birth process but who does not engage in any medical activity. So she will help the couple decide when to go to the hospital, provide massages, suggest positions, talk the mum through the contractions, help the couple make decisions about interventions, make sure everyone is getting enough water and nourishment and generally be a calm, steady hand at the wheel of the good ship Labor.
Given our goal of making the birth as natural as possible, having a doula has statistically shown to increase the mother's chances of avoiding pain medication, and more importantly decreases the chances of a C-section by more than 30%.
Another reason for K to want a doula is because she wants to take some of the pressure off me. I appreciate her concern, and agree that it will make my job a lot easier, allowing me to focus much more on being emotional support for her, instead of trying to remember a whole bunch of things that are not second-nature.
We had originally not even considered it because we felt the costs would be too high (we had a figure of between $1500 and $2500 in our heads). After a little research on my part, I found that although you can spend that much, there are many experienced doulas who charge as little as $600, even in the Bay Area.
So I started trying to compile a shortlist of doulas to talk to. Holy cow there's a lot of them! To make things easier I only looked at doulas with websites. Then I went searching for reviews on Yelp, parenting forums and other Bay Area parenting resources like the Birthways website. I ended up with a list of ten, from which we picked three to talk to. That's where we stand right now. We've talked to two, once of whom is coming for an interview on Sunday.
A Very Belated Birthday Post
12 years ago
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It is a great decision. Even my husband who thought I was being silly by demanding a doula ended up being a huge advocate for doulas attending births. It's pretty much the first advice he gives any pregnant person he meets.
ReplyDeleteMy first birth was in SF, and I have friends who have used doulas in SF if you need recommendations.
Yes yes! Please send us the recommendations! Would love to hear your suggestions and ideas! Thanks L!
ReplyDeleteI wanted the most medical intervention possible in the birth of Scarlett (and I got it, yay!) but I know that if I hadn't - there is only one woman I would have wanted by my side for support. Her name is Kara Jo and she lives just down the street from you guys. She is a super cool chic and the awesomest doula in the world. kara at serpentine dot com. Good luck!
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