I guess the title says it all. I like the idea of a support person during labor and to accompany us to the hospital (getting to the hospital is no small feat in Brooklyn when the car is parked a mile away and the hospital is a 25-45 minutes drive). But do you think a doula is worth it if you aren't committed to an unmedicated birth? I am not convinced I will go the epidural route, but if I had to make a bet...
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Absolutely, as long as you make sure to find a doula that will be happy to support you in whatever birth you choose regardless of whether it fits within her personal philosophy.
I'm a doula and I enjoy working with "epidural moms" - there is still a lot for me to do, and I'm happy to support her in whatever decisions she makes.
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I view a big part of a doula's job as being an advocate for the mother, no matter the situation.
(But I didn't have a doula--my mom was there and is a former childbirth coach).
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Absolutely. My plan was for an unmedicated birth, but my awkwardly positioned baby boy had a different plan
My doula was a lifesaver in terms of helping me with the turn of events, giving my husband a break, helping get breastfeeding established, making sure we ate, etc. SO worth it!
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I think that any help you can get is a good idea. It is nice to have a professional. Husband... bless him... just was not much use to me in labor- I was glad he was there, but he is someone that likes to be told what to do. I made besties with my l and d nurse, but I think if you can find a professional you click with- the more the merrier!
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Every single person I've asked has raved about their doula. They have all said it's worth every penny.
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A friend had a doula for her planned csection. The doula's job is to advocate for the mother and to support her partners - that's it. She'd help you to get the kind of birth you want, not what anyone else thinks is the 'right' kind. A good doula would understand this, and wouldn't try to push her ideas on you.
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I thought about this, and was in the same position as you, and ultimately decided not to. I had an easy, epidural birth and don't regret not having one. I'm relatively introverted and private and after chatting with some folks who used a doula, and a doula herself, decided that I would be too uncomfortable asking for her to do things without feeling like I was imposing (yes, I know that is irrational if I had hired her!). DH was a great support -- the only professional we would've needed if my inlaws hadn't come was a pet sitter
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I found my doula incredibly helpful as a resource for the last month of prenatal appointments. It seemed at every one the doctors or midwives would dream up some concern that would send me to another office for most tests. I texted her between appointments and she helped keep everything in perspective (it was all in an abundance of caution).
Also, I was in labor for 40+ hours before the hospital would admit me (3cm requirement and I took forever to dilate). Even if I wanted an epidural I couldn't have gotten one until 45 hours without additional interventions.
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I had a doula but had a relatively medicated birth. i was induced and she came at 1am for that induction. it threw me into labor within a couple hours. I wanted to get through a bit of it without an epidural so that I kept progressing. She let us know what was going on while i was in labor, would get the nurse when my water broke (which scared the shit out of me, btw) and knew how to work the hospital bed so that I could labor leaning over it. Lots of techniques up her sleeve. She did massage (i had back labor) and pressure point stuff on my sciatic nerves (E hit both of them) and was just very helpful towards DH and me. Dh said he felt less anxious/stressed having someone there. After all, the labor nurses are just in and out all night. The doula never left
When i interviewed doulas, I checked out their webpages and stayed away from the ones who were slathering natural birth stuff on their website because i was worried that was their main focus and I didn't want someone to talk me out of medication that I knew I would likely want. i specifically looked for someone who talked about supporting ALL moms, no matter the type of birth, and had attended numerous medicated births. She also came to our house twice for appointments and was respectful and didn't push it when i didn't want to get into "what kind of birth journey I wanted" and wasn't interested in picking out a soundtrack to give birth to, etc. She was great
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Does your hospital use midwives during the birthing process? my hospital did and as a result, I felt there was no need for a doula.
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Yes, absolutely!
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I feel basically exactly like @scg00387, except we ended up hiring a doula. I wasn't super gung ho about an unmedicated birth, and did end up with an epidural. The doula was nice to have I guess, mainly because it gave DH a chance to go get some food/make phone calls without leaving me alone in the room. But DH was my main support person, and our nurses were also great. Looking back I don't think she was necessary and I won't get one for our next birth. She was also effing expensive!! I might feel differently if she had been cheaper
I also think I could have found someone I maybe connected with a little better--this one was recommended by my OB but I didn't really love her.
My doula was a lifesaver in terms of helping me with the turn of events, giving my husband a break, helping get breastfeeding established, making sure we ate, etc. SO worth it!
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