Doula?

[weluvdizne]

Have you used a doula? Was it covered by your insurance? (Yes, I realize, I need to ask MY insurance about coverage, but if it's not traditionally covered, I'm not interested.) Was it beneficial to you?
I have 2 kids, and am 20 weeks pregnant with #3, probably the last. My epidural did not work at all with DD and I don't want to go through that again, especially since I had to pay $885 AFTER insurance for that disaster. So, I am hoping for no epidural, and am looking for ways to help get me through the labor. Any other suggestions?
Would I offend my dr. if I had a doula? Do they have to be registered to come to my certain hospital?
Oh, so many questions...

 

[3girlsfun]

If you are not getting an epi. , hands down I would get a doula. I think it would be money well spent. They are not traditionally paid by insurance. I think the price range is dependent upon their popularity in your area, experience, etc. I have a good friend who is a doula, and she is pretty reasonable, I think like $500, but, she will work with you bc she thinks that every woman should have a doula, not matter if they can "really afford" one or not. Many are very open minded, so, if your insurance is not paying, then you might find someone who is more than willing to work out a payment schedule with you.

There are also differing levels of their services, so, if all you want is someone at the hospital with you, it would be cheaper than someone who comes home with you, etc. I know my friend is there at the hospital after you get all checked in and such (or as soon as arrival if it is a more "unscheduled" type labor), then she will stay for two hours after the birth. If you want more, you pay more. She also meets with the parents for a few hours before the birth to discuss what the needs, wants are, as well as to get to know them.

 

[NotUrsula]

My hospital supplied one at no add'l charge. (Hiring an independent would have been about $800 here.) I found it very helpful to have a knowledgeble person there who was charged with meeting MY needs. (Because the medical professionals tend to be focused on the well-being of the baby.)

I'd say that if you are trying for an unmedicated birth, definitely do so, and independent would be preferable. She will be able to advise your DH and you on hospital practices, and make suggestions for comfort techniques that the hospital probably would not do due to liability issues. (Personally, having done it both ways, I'd hang myself before I'd voluntarily endure another unmedicated birth, but it's your choice. )

 

[Karenj2]

Yes, I did use a doula, and she was completely worth it!! She wasn't covered under my insurance, but our insurance is somewhat basic in what they cover, so still ask.

With her help (& my husband's as well), I was able to labor 14 hours at home, no pain meds. I won't say it didn't hurt, but it was doable... We left for the hospital after my water broke.

When I got to the hospital (40 minute drive), I was already 8-9cm!! Once there, they kept me in a bed so they could monitor the baby, and I ended up stalling for another 6 hours! UGH!

The Doctor & the doula had worked together before, and had no problems with each other, however the labor nurse was old school and got annoyed at me and my doula because every time she'd leave the room I'd get out of bed to try to progress the labor.

When you look around & interview your doula, find out if they've ever delivered at your hospital. When I checked into the hospital that night, I just told them that my husband and Doula were there as well. (They didn't have to register beforehand.) She did have a pin that said "Registered Doula" (she's certified through DONA) to wear, and she was wearing scrub-like pants, so she looked "official".

It was completely worth it - I already told my Doula that if I'm lucky enough to get PG again, I will be calling her right after we tell our parents.

 

[deerhart]

one hospital in our area offers them for free.

I have never used one, but my first labor was induced (they started with pain medication about 18 hours in when I started having continuous contracts that would last up to an hour each) and I got an epidural at 24 hours in (so I could rest up for a c-section that never happened since I went from 0-4 in 4 hours and 4-10 in 30 minutes).

My second labor I was doing fine (again another induction) until I hit about 2cm. From 2-4 cm is for me what most women go through going from 8-10cm and I started having asthma attacks. Thus they gave me an epidural to stop the asthma attacks (I delivered 2.5 hours later and the epidural was still so strong I couldn't feel anything or push much).

Also realize that no matter how well layed out your plans are, things can go wrong that change everything. Both of my labors would have probably been much easier had they been "normal deliveries". Instead, I was pretty much confined to bed and not allowed much movement. The first because I was hooked up to practically every machine in the building, the second (still hooked up like crazy) because I could only control my blood pressure in one position and that was the most vital thing (had to avoid mag had to avoid mag)

 

[LuLuO]

I used a doula but it was not covered by my insurance. However it was the best money ever spent for sure.

 

[Crazy4Disney72]

I had a doula with me for my last birth and she was amazing! She was not covered by insurance but she was well worth the cost, I think about $400 but this was 10 years ago. I'm done having babies, but if I ever had another one, I'd most definitely have a doula.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

I highly recommend a Doula too. It sounds like it's cheaper (and better for you) than an epidural!

My Doula massaged me A LOT during labor! That was worth the price alone!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I used one for 3 of my 4 pregnancies.

Mine were very helpful. I have only delivered
one baby drug free and that was #3. The others required pitocin augmentation and I'm doing fine and then it is unamanagble. I do think I am in transition when that occurs but I simply can't get my body to relax. The non-augmented labor was completely different and my Douala was awesome. It hurt like heck---but no drugs!

Doulas are there to support YOU! You need to know what you want and the doula can help you get there. I am not a "refuse me even though I'm pleading for mercy kind of gal". So from the start my doula isn't there to stop me fro
requesting any drugs.

My insurance doesn't cover them. My Doula is now my friend. I used her for 3 & 4. Her rate is $800. But she only charged me $400 this time.

Word of advice--Doulas are NOT supposed to intervene on your behalf to the point where they are communicating as your spokesperson..."she doesn't want drugs, have you done this yet, she doesn't want an episiotomy", etc. They are your advocate to help you make your voice known.

Evidently there are many doulas in our area that give them all a bad name. The ob floor and docs are so annoyed with them b/c they really don't know their place. I fear that if they keep it up, the hospital will ban all of them.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Oh....I also love that my doula waits on me hand and foot during labor . Sounds silly---but that too is worth the money so that I don't drive my husband nuts, no drugs or drugged up.

 

[aprilfoolwed]

I think a doula is worth any sum of money! I had one with babies 2 & 3 (wish I had known about doulas for #1).

I think we ended up paying about $500 for the births. I do recall that she had a sliding scale for payment, which depended on how much income we made at the time.

I had hospital births with a midwife, who was fantastic (so I likely didn't *need* a doula), but it was so nice to have my midwife be able to focus on the baby and delivery and the doula to focus on ME!

My doula did give us a receipt to submit to insurance, but it was not covered a all.

Good luck!

 

[thunderbug548]

I was able to get my doula for free as she was in training so check out the DONA website and ask around.

Also, if you want an unmedicated birth I highly recommend you check out Hypnobirthing and see if there's an instructor in your area. I know you can do it on your own too. The relaxation techniques worked really well for me and while I didn't have a pain free birth I was able to relax thru the cx and the pain was lessened. The lessons I learned I've been able to apply elsewhere in life too so it was well worth it to me.

Do lots of research and talk to lots of mamas who have BTDT. The right positions and relaxation can do wonders.

 

[apnep]

Have you used a doula? Was it covered by your insurance? (Yes, I realize, I need to ask MY insurance about coverage, but if it's not traditionally covered, I'm not interested.) Was it beneficial to you?
I have 2 kids, and am 20 weeks pregnant with #3, probably the last. My epidural did not work at all with DD and I don't want to go through that again, especially since I had to pay $885 AFTER insurance for that disaster. So, I am hoping for no epidural, and am looking for ways to help get me through the labor. Any other suggestions?
Would I offend my dr. if I had a doula? Do they have to be registered to come to my certain hospital?
Oh, so many questions...

I used a doula with my second child. I have 3 kids--12,9,6--my first child, I didn't know what I was doing. I had an epidural and just did what the doctor told me. I didn't want the epidural but they gave it to me anyway and it was a disaster for me. My son was very lethargic and we had problems breastfeeding. It took us 3 months to get over all that.

I decided I wasn't going down that route again and decided to go all natural the second time. I hired a doula and took Bradley birthing classes with my husband. The doula was there with me throughout my labor and I felt more confident that I could go through the labor without drugs. After everyone left me to go take care of the baby, she was there to comfort me and rub my feet and tend to me. She help me with getting started nursing.

My third time around, I felt confident enough that I just needed my husband.

I would say, it was VERY worth it to have the labor I wanted and be more inovolved in MY birthing. My second and third pregnancies were everything I wanted them to be.

My insurance did not pay for it. We did, but I don't recall it costing that much because we went with "service" where there were several doulas on call.

Good luck!
Angela

 

[Mrs. Charming]

If I were to have a v-birth, I would definitely have a doula. Hands down!

 

[dryvithome]

We used one for my wife's first birth and are planning on having one for the second child which is a few months off. As I told her, a doula was the best $400 I've ever spent. It wasn't covered by insurance, and it turned out that the insurance didn't want to cover our son's birth without a fight anyways. We attended Bradley birth classes from the beginning for a birth with no meds (her idea) and found the doula to be a great help in reminding us of things when we needed it. I'd recommend one if you're planning on no meds as well as reading about or taking some Bradley classes to help with the nonmedicated birth. No matter what you decide, hope it goes well for you!

 

[Lisa_M]

I did not use a doula because our insurance didn't cover it and I just couldn't afford the extra expense. However, I did use the Hypnobabies home study course and listened to the tracks throughout labor. It was very helpful and worth every cent. I bought it used and sold it on ebay for exactly what I paid. I truly believe that my labor went more quickly and easily due to my state of mind. You may want to check it out. I checked it out after hearing about it from someone on this site.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

They are not usually covered. Some birth centers or midwives work with one or offer one as part of the birth package.

Good luck! I had all of my kids without pain meds.