She helps you with your birth plan before the labor and helps you execute
it during the labor. She suggests positions to try and has all kinds of
tricks to help make labor easier. She can help you judge whether or not it
is really time to go to the hospital. She is not a midwife; she is not
medically trained. Her knowledge comes from having attended many, many
births. She is a clear head during labor to help you when things get
crazy; she can remind you about all the different things you learned in
your birth class but cannot remember because you are in LABOR (and your
husband is panicking)! She is like your best friend or your sister, but
with a lot more knowledge about the birthing process. Invaluable.
Laura Beth
One other way of looking at it is that the midwife/doctor's primary
responsibility is the Baby. The Doula's primary responsibility is the
Mother.
Where to find a doula
November 2001
I am looking for a doula. I am due Jan. 15 and will be delivering at
Alta Bates with an OB. My husband and I have heard that delevery can go
much more smoothly with the assistance of a doula. We would like to
hire a Doula by recommendation. The lists that are out there seem
overwhelming. Also, can anyone tell me how much I should expect to pay
for Doula services?
Elizabeth
I'm new to the area but here are a few suggestions
Birthways in Oakland, on Santa Clara near the Grand Lake theater (www.birthways.org)
DONA - Doulas of North America (www.dona.com or maybe org)
ALACE -Association of Labor Assistants and Childbirth Educators
www.childbirth.org
CAPPA - http://www.childbirthprofessional.com/
I am a birth and postpartum doula just learning the ropes here in California. I was doing this work in Western Massachusetts for the past 5 years. If you have any other questions, feel free to contact me.
in peace
Samantha
A doula usually costs around $300 to $500, which includes one or more
pre-birth visits in your home, full support during your labor, and one or
more visits afterwards. This cost is occasionally reimbursable through
insurance, though rarely. It's well worth it, though, especially if you
cannot afford to have a midwife, and must have an OB-attended birth. (Dawn, 1999)
We used Linda Mixon-Jones (see review below).
As for cost, I think it cost a total of $650 or so.
Adam (Nov 2001)
For 2 pre-consultations (not including the in-person interview) and support during labor (at home and hospital) and up to 2 post-partum lactation consultations, we paid just under $500. Susan (Nov 2001)
Most doulas charge from $500 to $1,000 for the birth and
a few pre- and post-partum visits, depending upon their
degree of experience. Meri (Nov 2001)
Linda Almond-Nichols ... did a wonderful job. I believed she charged $600, and was worth it!
Amzel (Nov 2001)
Lisa Moon's fee 2 1/2 years ago was
$800. Half up front half after the birth. What was
supposed to be included was 2-3 pre-birth visits, the birth and 2 post-partum visits.
Beth (Nov 2001)
Meghan Lewis charged us $775 back in April 2001. Teresa
Linda Jones-Mixon charges in the upper end
of the $500-1000 range that others have mentioned for doula
services. (Nov 2001)
When I delivered in February 2001, my doula, Jennifer Starling, was charging a sliding scale of $4-700, whatever you can pay. That included two pre-labor visits, one post-labor visit, and of course, being there for the birth. Whitney
July 2002
I know there are labor doula recommendations on the web site but most of
them are 1-2 years old now. I was wondering if I could get any
recommendations or cautions from people who have used this service more
recently. Also are there any questions you didn't ask your doula that
you wish you had in restrospect?
Thank you for any help you might have.
I wish I had made it more clear that I wanted my doula
to help me breathe through my contractions, and to help
my husband coach me through my breathing as well.
During the interview I was sure I had made my needs
clear, but during my labor she seemed to get caught up
in the moment and forgot about mt request. Finally I
exclaimed, ''will somebody please help me breathe
through these!'' and she did, but by then it was too
little too late. To be fair, she was wonderful in many
other ways.
I would suggest that you ask the doula you are interviewing
to list her strong points before you tell her what you
want. If her strengths match your needs then you may
have found a good doula for you. If you have to ask
her to do something that she doesn't list as a strength,
she may not be the right one.
anonymous
My wife and I heartily recommend the doula we used to
assist us with the birth of our daughter 18 months ago.
Her name is Linda Jones Mixon. She's caring, funny,
easy going and just fantastic. She was an immense help
all the way around. You can reach her at 510-540-7210.
Linda also is the proprietor of ''Pickles and Ice Cream''
- the infant / baby store in No. Berkeley on Shattuck
at Cedar. You can usually find here there.
Two other recommendations I'd like to pass along are
Janicke Costello and Carol-Shattuck Rice. You can reach
them at 415-525-1155. They team teach a great 8-week
long birthing class in El Cerrito and they are birthing
doulas as well. Their class is quite good and we have
heard from other folks that they are great doulas.
Good luck, Adam.
I would highly recommend my doula, Constance Williams.
She attended my daughter's birth 16 months ago. She
was incredible. I really believe that I would have had
a c-section if it weren't for her. She did exactly
what I wanted her to do. She is very strong and she
massaged my legs non-stop for 5 hours. I gave birth
with out an epidural which was also nice. She also
knows all the nurses at Alta Bates which is very helpful
because she made sure that we got terrific nurses. Good
luck!
Madeleine
Not sure if you want specific doula recommendations or
genral info. I can just tell you that we used a doula
for my daughter's birth last year. We had other family
present at the birth but I just wanted someone who
''knew'' what they were doing there as well. Our doula
had been our childbirth prep class instructor and we
had started to really like her and felt comfortable
with her. She was a Godsend. I had a very long labor
and some glitches with the hospital. She kept me calm
when there were several times I could have freaked out. I opted for an
epidural and she was supportive. She made sure my husband and other family
were taken care of (rested, got food, fielded calls, etc.) and made sure
that I had everything I needed (jello, water, quiet, footrubs, etc.). She
asked questions of the nurses and doctors that I wouldn't have thought to
ask and did it in a respectful way so the staff didn't feel threatened.All
in all, it was a wonderful experience and she definitely made!
a difference. I am sure I could have done it without
her but I wouldn't have wanted to. Especially with my
first baby. My friend is now using her for her birth
next month.
Nicole
I've replied off-line to posters in the past, and now
I'm wondering why -- no reason to keep such a good doula
a secret!
We chose Rebecca Husband for our daughter's birth. She
was wonderful, thoughtful and respectful of our wishes.
Our baby was several weeks overdue and though it became
clear that it wasn't going to be the natural birth we'd
hoped for, she helped keep it close to our ideal. The
fact that she has a very good working relationship with
Alta Bates staff was a plus (she also volunteers there
for women who arrive without partners and whose births
could be helped with a doula) -- our delivery nurse was
herself a former doula and personal friend of Rebecca's.
Our daughter happens to share Rebecca's birth date, which
has kept us close - she came to her christening and recently
to dinner with her beau.
The activities we did with her as we got our brains
around the reality of birth were interesting, and her
information dovetailed nicely with that we received
from the instructor, Jennifer, at the Alta Bates Childbirth
prep class. My baby brother was born at home, so I was
quite familiar with natural childbirth - but when I
became frustrated and demanded drugs, she was patient
and supportive. They also managed to coax me into the
shower instead and the baby was born just 2 hours later
(6 hrs total).
The only thing I might have asked her to do was rub my
back more - my husband was exhausted and could have
maybe just held my hand a bit, but who knows?
She had a sliding scale for three visits and a post-partum
follow up, and brought fresh roses from her garden for
the delivery room which was really really nice!
Happy to provide more details if you'd like.
Deirdre
We used Maria Steinman for the birth of our baby boy 7
weeks ago, and were very happy with her. Our son was
three weeks early, so we missed two of the three prenatal
visits we'd scheduled, (and so I'm not sure what she
would've taught us during them) but she made up for that
by coming to the house two additional times after the
birth to give me an hour-plus massage (she's a certified
acupressure practitioner). She's a delight. I would
use her again and highly recommend her. If you want
more details feel free to email or call me. Or call
Maria. Her phone number is (510) 594-2575
Kate Hand pkhand AT attbi.com
I gave birth on February 28, 2002, with my amazing doula
Kim Lyons and my husband present. Kim was warm, loving,
kind, and unbelievably supportive during a MOST difficult
22-hour labor. She is a masseuse and does some accupressure,
both of which were very helpful during the labor. She
has a very positive energy about her generally speaking.
Additionally, she does infant massage, and teaches you
how to do this on your own baby in your post-birth meeting.
My baby has been very grateful for this!! Please contact
her at birthmate AT yahoo.com or contact me for her phone
number.
Jennifer
Debi Raya (925-939-2534) was the doula for my birth five
months ago for my son Jonah. She was WONDERFFUL! Knowledgable,
calm, supportive, well-trained, competent. She is also
a massage therapist, which really helped with 30 hours
of back labor! She came to our home, where she can do
exams to see how dialated you are if you want (she was
a certified midwife in Texas I beleive). She stayed in
the hospital all night. She's more often at natural
births but was very supportive of me when I chose to
have petocin and then an edidural for the pain. She was
wonderful. My husband and I felt very close to one
another during the entire delivery and I beleive it was
because of her presence and knowledge. We felt ''accompanied'',
supported, and safe. She's a good advocate if you're
thinking of a hospital birth. She definately worth having
a conversation with to see if it's a good fit for you.
Blessings, Sarah
My husband and I would like to recommend our wonderful birth
doula, Kathrin Smith, who was with us for the labor and birth
of our 2-month-old son. We found Kathrin through Birth and
Bonding on Solano. I am a 40-year-old first-time mother, and,
though I very much wanted as natural a birth as possible, I was
quite apprehensive about being able to go through it without a
lot of medical intervention. With Kathrin's knowledge,
encouragement and support, we were able to have a better birth
experience than we had imagined possible--it was certainly the
most moving, amazing and wonderful experience of our lives. I
truly believe that without Kathrin's guidance, I would have had
a much different, and less participative, experience giving
birth to our son. (Most of the labor was at home, and our son
was born at Alta Bates.) Kathrin is experienced, smart, warm,
loving, grounded, AND has a good sense of humor. I was very
inspired and encouraged by her, particularly by the fact that
she had her own two daughters naturally at home. She was also
very good at including and relating to my husband. She was
always available when we called, and was at our home as soon as
I needed her once labor began. Kathrin is currently in Marin,
but I believe she is moving to the East Bay soon. (She had no
trouble getting to our home in the East Bay quickly from
Marin.) Please feel free to e-mail me, or call Kathrin at
415/459-4737.
Elizabeth
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