I'm thinking I should start calling prospective doulas after the first trimester.
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Earlier is better, I hear. But I'm not sure if there is such a thing as "too early." I need to get on that!
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I waited until 7 months with LO and I was told that was late (but everything worked out fine). I'm 5.5 months with LO2 and I still haven't made up my mind. DH wants me to put a post on FB or craigslist when I go into labor for a last minute doula.
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i booked mine around 13 weeks because i already knew her.
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I interviewed the ones I was interested in at 12 weeks, and hired my favorite at 13 weeks. The best ones book up quickly in my area.
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I'm almost 21 weeks and haven't yet. We start Bradley classes next month so I'm going to see how that goes before exploring more doula options.
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We knew ours before we got pregnant. Husband's cousin was training to become a nurse-midwife at the time. She was amazing, but she lives in Portland.
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I was in my second trimester when I contacted her for my first birth. With DD#2, I think she was the third person I told? lol! It was such a blessing to have her attend both of our births.
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I started before I finished the first tr. There's also a chance we could move, so I mentioned waiting till April when I knew for sure and they all said they'd be booked for my EDD (August 9) if I waited that long. So I was on the early side, but early is better.
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I forgot to mention - I'd also check with your OBGYN. Some do not permit doulas.
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I was in the start of my second trimester when we first called our doula. She also happens to be my prenatal massage therapist and was my sisters doula as well.
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We waited pretty late since I kept waffling on whether I wanted one. We actually just did our first doula interviews last weekend, at almost 34 weeks. Still haven't booked one. I figured everyone would be booked by now, but my area is so saturated with doulas that doulamatch.com showed there were actually a crapton still available for my due date. The trick seems to be to go for the less experienced doulas, which I was gravitating toward anyway so we could spend ~25% of the fee that experienced doulas charge around here.
[ETA] I should point out that the less-experienced doulas we interviewed last weekend were great, they really impressed us. I feel that a newer doula can be a good choice for people who want to go that route.
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about 5 months
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My prenatal yoga center has a monthly 'doula meet and greet' and recommends interviewing at least 3 doulas to find the best match. I plan to attend the March meeting to book around 20wks. I've heard that the two questions to ask yourself are 1. Would you take a road trip with this person? And 2. Would you share a bathroom stall with this person? Good luck!
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