OT- thinking of becoming a Doula, does anyone

[mousy_in_canada]

know what the requirements are in Canada, and if there is a course I need to take.. and if you think there would be a demand for this.. I have 4 of my own kids and it would be nice to help others out with their labour exp a 1st time mom who is scared. I know of one friend who used a Doula but that the only one that I know of, is there a way to advertise about yourself?

I found lots of info on the web but that is mostly in the states and not Ontario.
Thanks in a advance for any info you can give me

 

[cabmom]

Did you try the midwives of Ontario site? I don't have it, but if you google it, you should be able to pull it up.
Hopefully, you can get some information from them.

Marilynn

 

[mousy_in_canada]

They are not midwifes though so I never thought to look up that site.. I will see if they have info on it thanks!

 

[MECH8T7]

DW and I used a doula with our first born. She was actually our pre-natal instructor which, as I think about it, is probably the most effective way for someone to advertise themself as a doula! We didn't even know about doulas or think about hiring one until she starting telling us about it over the course of the pre-natal sessions. By then, we already had got to know her a bit and we were very comfortable hiring her. I can't remember what we paid but my guess would be that it was between $500 and $1,000, maybe more. I think she was previously a nurse with some delivery room experience and decided to go out on her own to do the pre-natal instruction and the doula thing.

 

[mousy_in_canada]

that is an excellent way to advertise! I have a friend who is a public health nurse who does prenatal classes in Hamilton.. she may be able to talk a bit about me.. hmm... I thought that Doula's got between 300-700, depending on the parents income must be different in Canada than the site I was reading which was based in the states.

 

[MECH8T7]

hmm... I thought that Doula's got between 300-700, depending on the parents income must be different in Canada than the site I was reading which was based in the states.

Again, I can't recall what we paid but it would have been much more than $300. However, because we didn't start out looking for a doula, we didn't really have any idea what other doulas were charging and, since we were attracted to the idea of this particular person (i.e., our pre-natal instructor) being our doua, there wasn't really much point in checking out what others were charging but we could tell that she intentionally put herself at a pretty high rate because of her delivery room experience and medical training. I'm pretty sure our doula was getting most of her clients from her pre-natal classes and most of us would not even have known were to start to comparison shop on doulas even if we wanted to. She was often dealing with the possibility that some of the clients would be delivering on the same night. So, in her case, it was pretty important for her to have other doulas that she worked with to serve as a back-up in the unlikely event of conflicting deliveries. Our doula visited us at home post-delivery to help DW with nursing, at which time she would also bring a bunch of Medela products to sell to us. This lady had it all figured out! LOL

 

[mousy_in_canada]

did she provide a tax receipt or is it an off the record type job?
I think this lady had the entire market for her. LOL very clever business woman.

 

[alohamom]

A previous neighbour of mine is a doula. She works out of a Guelph office of about 6 others and is constantly working. There is such a huge demand for doulas and midwives that she was always working. However she found it extremely rewarding and loved her job! I am not in contact with her since she moved but perhaps you could contact a doula directly and ask her about training etc.Good luck to you with your research.

 

[mousy_in_canada]

That is good to know that they are busy.. I thought that if I went this route I *may* get like 1 or 2 clients a year.

 

[MECH8T7]

did she provide a tax receipt or is it an off the record type job?

We were always given a receipt for what we paid and she never suggested that we pay her cash. So, my guess is that it was all declared income. I think we overheard her telling the doctor that delivered our baby that was doing better financially than she was as a full-time nurse (she knew the doctor from her nursing days). If you do the math, you can see why. But my guess is that hers may have been an exceptional case. She was running her pre-natal classes out of a synagogue in a pretty nice neighbourhood in Toronto (Forest Hill). It was actually DW's ob-gyn who gave us her name to use her as a privately-arranged pre-natal instructor. So, it wasn't a public health set-up or something through the hospital. So, I think she had a pretty favourable client profile vis-a-vis how much she wanted to charge for her doula services.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Hi Mousy in Canada,
I am a Doula. I have been doing it for 5 years. You can contact DOULA CARE for info on training in Ontario. They also have a menbership that can help you to network with other doulas as well as potential clients. As far as fees go it is completely up to the doula, but average is around $600-$700. You can find as much or as little work that you want. A lot of doulas that I know only attend 1 birth per month because the time commitment to a client is high, and most of us have day jobs and or kids to take care of.
Good luck

 

[mousy_in_canada]

Super thanks for the info.. I would just love to do this.. I looked into DONA and there courses are about $250 or so.. so I need to save up for that... but I would love to have about $1000 a month in income from this, that would help out so much!
Do you visit your clients 2 times before they give birth and then once after is that about right?
Thanks for the insider opinion.
Kathleen

 

[dancin Disney style]

Hi,
When I took my training I'm sure I paid more that $250 and that was 5 years ago. You might be more in the $350-$400 range. I visit with my clients a minimum of 3 times before the birth and 1-2 times after. There also are a lot of phone calls before and after. I know it doesn't sound like much but it is. You take on a mothering type of roll. You should take into consideration that this is a crazy lifestyle. You will be on call 24/7 and when your client calls you go running even if your in the middle of a birthday party or kids sporting event etc. This life requires a very strong support system particularly when you have children that are not old enough to be left on their own.