Doulas

[titch]

How much do they cost? I think Im gonna need one if Im gonna have another baby. Im too scared of the hospital :/ Im gonna be a right pain in the A too, super needy

Im just thinking how much money Id need to have saved before I got pregnant. I feel guilty making my LO an only child.

 

[Toonlass]

Mervs mum is a doula chick, maybe ask her.
If (when) I have another I WILL have a home water birth. My sister will be a qualified MW by then so I guess I have my own personal support. (might wanna hire lisa's pool tho) xx

 

[Piglet10]

wats a doula? x

 

[titch]

Someone whos qualified to look after you during the birth and can be after too. different to a midwife cos theyre not focused on medical side. you meet them before and discuss your birth plan and then stand by your side and stick up for what you want

 

[Lander]

This is what I'd like to do eventually. No legal paperwork to handle like a MW (Tried it for six months as a student, great experience but not quite the job for me).

Lxx

 

[inky]

When I was pregnant I was given a leaflet for a local doula, I think I threw it away but if I remember correctly it was £650 plus expenses - that was for pre and post natal care as well as the actual birth (I think!) I remember looking because another girl who had one at the same time made me laugh by asking 'what the bleedin' hell's a dooo-laaaa'? Made me chuckle

 

[amyjayne77]

I think it's a lovely idea. I'd love someone there through the pre-post natal phases when you just want someone to focus on your wishes, cos lets face it, as supportive as my oh is, I think a lot of the time its in one ear and out the other.

 

[megsmeadow]

I'd love a doula the next time. Just to be there in the background and being one step ahead. The midwife's efforts seemed too little too late for the pool which I would have loved. In my mind I'd love a home birth too, but our local maternity unit is being expanded now so hopefully it'll be a bit more homely for our future use.

 

[megsmeadow]

And for those times in the first week or so after bubs was born where the midwife had visited and I ended up in tears over something silly. Then spent hours getting reassurance from OH!

 

[Lander]

This is why I felt a bit lost as a Student Midwife, I realised that as a MW there is so much you have to record (birth record is a legal document to be kept for 25 years in case child requests it or is needed for legal purposes) and keep track of paperwork-wise that being one-to-one with the labouring woman when she actually needs you is just not possible 100% of the time.

I could and did do this (being one-to-one) whilst on placement and felt really fulfilled by it but knowing that once qualified I couldn't do that was very disheartening.

There were other factors in me stopping my training but that one was quite an eye opener for me.

 

[AugustMum]

I just googles it and apparently its between £350 and £900 depending on the doula and the services they offer you.

Before hand, I didn't really see the point in a doula, but now it's something I would very seriously consider. I may have just looked up the doulas in my area

 

[Lander]

Nothing wrong in just looking things up..... Like me with wedding dresses and venues..... lol

 

[AugustMum]

When talking to FOB last night even he said the midwife care was shoddy and we were pretty much just left alone. I told him about doulas and he said they sounded like a good idea. Like he said though, obviously going private would be nicer lol, but if you cant have that!

I thought he would just think having a doula would be silly so was quite surprised Just shows how little the midwife spoke to us lol

 

[megsmeadow]

It's crazy the amount of us thinking about the need to supplement our NHS care, it shouldn't be like this. It's really quite sad how unsupported we have all felt at one time or another during or after our pregnancies. And I'm sure the midwives (well the majority of them) would rather have enough staff to be able to deal with the paperwork and give the right support when it's needed.