Will/did you have a doula?

Schnoogly wrote: I did and am really glad I did. She helped me write my birth plan and answered my questions and came to my house when I was in labor and helped us decide when to go to the hospital. Once there she gave me a foot massage, back massage, and really helped me through my very long and difficult labor. I had intended to go med free but ended up with an epidural since I progressed so slowly and had back labor. But I felt so much more comfortable with her there! My husband also was glad to have her since he could focus on me even more and I always had someone with me if one of them needed to eat or go to the bathroom or something. I highly recommend getting one!

Steph

Kaitlin'smom replied: I did not have one, I would have liked to but never got the time to find one, for me it was a short pg. (for those who dont know I found out in september and gave birth in late december, miss like the first 5 months!) If and that is a real big if (we dont want any more kids) I were to get pg again I would look into it.

MommyToAshley replied: I didn't have one, but now I wish I had.

booey2 replied: We didn't have one with either boy but if (BIG IF) we have another one I would look into it. I also looked into a midwife but we didn't follow thru with that. However when Thomas was born, my sister drove 1 hour to be with us for his birth and I found that was a great help. DH was awesome with both births but, Thomas was easier cause she was there. So I think a doula would be great if we have another one. We'll see.

Mommieto2Girls replied: I didn't and I don't think I would. I had such a hard labor and with Madisons heartbeat (dropped to zero) I don't think I would chance it. I already plan on having a scheduled c-section next time. I don't want to go through it all again. I had a bp problem the day I was induced. I think I would rather have a regular doc the whole time with me in case something goes wrong.

supermom replied:
Oh, a doula doesn't replace your doc (like a midwife) - she's there to give the mom comfort, support, explain options (in non-medical terms, too!) and all of that good stuff. You still have the doctor and all of that other stuff. I wish I would have had one with my PG but I don't even know if there's one available here, it's a SMALL town!

Mommieto2Girls replied: I thought they were pretty much your ob, oops guess I was wrong.
Thanks for letting me know supermom, I guess I would probley want one too then, figuring hubby was no help and my sister only watched the moniter.Nobody held my hand and said everything was going to be ok. oh no I'm getting emotional now, can't talk about it anymore.
Anybody know how much a doula can cost?Maybe in Florida.

Schnoogly replied: They range from $400 to $600. You can find one on the dona website (Doulas of north america). I was lucky--my doula lives only a mile away!

I also had a midwife AND an OB--the best of all worlds I think. The midwife would have delivered me but Iain needed a vacuum and midwives aren't licensed to do that so they called in the OB on call at the last minute.

KatieLeigh79 replied: Or if you get lucky like we did you can find one for 200-300 (in training) the woman that is going to be with me has done over 15 births already and has a woman that is willing free of charge to take pictures in the delivery room for you (im passing on that one) and also will give you a dark room session for $25 bucks to get a few first day shots that turn out incredible - as part of a "thanks for letting me take care of you" and she has been so sweet she has 4 children of her own the first when she was still in HS, only thing that worries me is im almost 6 ft and this poor girl is like 5'2 so im afraid i will get violent or try to lean on her for support or something and break the poor woman! (i also wanted her because i have a feeling that DH and MIL are going to either be sick or hit the floor before its all over *g*

CantWait replied: My doc suggested I might want to use a doula since dh won't be there for the birth of this baby. Wasn't too sure about untill I heard everyone's great experiences with it. The cost though seems a little much for me, I can only imagine what it would be here in Canada. Any Canadians on here have any idea???

booey2 replied: I am not sure of the cost but my cousins said they weren't that bad money wise. If you search the net you should be able to get some idea. My cousin says she used one and would not have another baby without one.

Hillbilly Housewife replied:
That is soooo wierd! I didn't find out with Zach until I was 4 months along!!

Kaitlin'smom replied: glad to know I was not the only one......................but my doc did say it was ok and somewhat normal, they are starting to see more and more wonem not finding out till later in PG. That took some concern off me.

booey2 replied:
I had some time on my hands, check out this link it might help a bit. I'll keep checking around.

http://www.birthsource.com/referals_canada...ml#anchor243744

Schnoogly replied:
Yes I've heard of that--how wonderful for you! Our doula works at a county hospital that has doulas on staff so she had attended hundreds of births and seen just about everything! And I have delivery room pics, which I treasure, so don't count that out yet. There is even one of the doc holding Iain right after he came out and you can see my stretched out "hoo-ha" (DH's words) and everything. Plus I have one of him on my tummy right after delivery. (boobs in full view)

Also we paid our doula in two installments--half when we hired her and half at delivery. She would have stayed to help us with BFing (she is also an LC) but of course Iain was in the NICU so we couldn't BF.

Steph

MamaMartie replied: I didn't have a doula with any of my births, but only b/c my dh is an excellent coach. I have friends who've used doulas and had wonderful experiences.

mommytohaley replied: I didn't have a doula but did go to a midwife. When I actually went into labor, their weren't any other women giving birth, so I had the undivided attention of my midwife, a student midwife who was about to graduate in a week, and two nurses. I had a really long, hard labor (32 hours, 24 of which were med-free) and the midwives were incredible. I know that for my next labor I won't get so lucky, so I'm planning on getting a doula. My DH was great, but there is no way he could have gotten me through that labor like the midwives did.

MamaMartie replied: I went to a midwife this time too. It was a very good experience and I plan to use them again. She was there for us but not interusive the way OBs/residents/RNs can be. She also have me a back massage the next day. It was so lovely.