How can I pay for a doula?
You can use your FSA or HSA funds, check, cash or credit card to pay for a doula. Many companies in Massachusetts have started to offer their employees a benefit known as Carrot, which covers doulas. If you are using Carrot to pay for doula services, you will need to send us Carrot’s Doula Attestation Form. In return, we will complete the form and necessary documentation so that you are reimbursed.
Doulas are not currently covered by insurance in Massachusetts, but that may be changing in the coming years). Many of our clients prefer to pay on our secure digital invoice, and some clients have linked their doula invoice on their baby registry so that loved ones could contribute. The Flourish Fund or Be Her Village can help expectant parents create a registry of pre-selected care services. We also offer gift cards for loved ones looking to pay for services for a loved one. Lastly, if there are financial barriers to working with a doula, we offer payment plans.
What questions should I ask during a consult/interview with doulas?
Finding the right doula for you is an art and a science. Your consultation is an opportunity to get to know the doula, and opportunity for the doula to better know you. If you’re looking for a place to start, check out these Top 10 Questions to Ask a Doula, and these 10 recommended questions to ask. In addition, USE YOUR INTUITION. Consider: Do I feel safe around this person? Do they make me feel calm? Are they listening to me? Can I trust them? The right doula for your friend may be different from the right doula for you.
What is a doula? What is a labor doula? What is a postpartum doula?
A doula is a person who supports someone before, during and after birth.
Labor doulas provide their clients with education as well as physical and emotional support before and during birth. Check out the Evidence On Doulas (from Evidence Based Birth). Labor doulas help clients as they cope with each phase of labor, providing comforting techniques. Labor doulas have extensive knowledge about medical and non-medical pain relief options, interventions and inductions. They help clients make informed decisions by reviewing benefits and risks.
A postpartum doula helps parents adjust to life with a new baby, helps the baby adjust to life outside the womb, and helps parents manage anything that interferes with a parent’s or baby’s adjustment to the “fourth trimester.” For example, a postpartum doula will check in to see how a birthing person is physically recovering from birth, help hold/feed/bathe/soothe the baby, make sure the birthing person is getting the nutrition and hydration they need to recover from birth, provide a space to process whatever is on the parent’s mind, and answer any questions related to feeding, sleep, newborn care, parenting philosophies, etc.
What are the benefits of hiring a postpartum doula?
Postpartum doulas have a positive impact on parents’ mental health, improve the feeding experience between parent and baby, and help parents recognize their baby's cues. A postpartum doula is also your “go-to” person for up-to-date information on newborn care, sleeping, and any other parenting questions. Doulas are an understanding confidante who provides a human connection during a potentially isolating time. Doula focus is first on the new parents-- do you have the physical, emotional and educational support you need? Postpartum doulas reduce some of the stressors of “the fourth trimester,” allowing parents to more easily enjoy their time with their babies. What doulas “get done” is just as important as how doulas make people feel.
What are the benefits of hiring a labor doula?
People who use a birth doula tend to have more positive birth experiences, experience less pain and fear during labor. Doulas provide physical, emotional and informational support to the birthing person and partner. As a result, the birthing person feels safe and supported. According to Evidence Based Birth, people who used labor doulas had a:
39% decrease in the risk of Cesarean
15% increase in the likelihood of a spontaneous vaginal birth
10% decrease in the use of any medications for pain relief
Shorter labors by an average of 41 minutes
38% decrease in the baby’s risk of a low five minute Apgar score
31% decrease in the risk of being dissatisfied with the birth experience
How is a labor doula different from a midwife?
Midwives play a clinical role—listening to heart tones, doing exams for the birthing person, a focusing on the physical safety of baby and birthing person-- while labor doulas are non-medical professionals that provide information, emotional support, connect families to resources, show you labor techniques and provide coaching during labor.
Labor doulas support clients as they cope with each phase of labor, and have extensive knowledge about medical and non-medical pain relief options, comforting techniques, interventions and inductions. Doulas also provide postpartum support with sleep, feeding and the general transitions to life with a newborn.
How is a labor doula different from a labor and delivery nurse?
Labor and delivery nurses provide support to a birthing person, but also spend shorter amounts of time in a client’s room than a doula. A L & D nurse will not be present during early labor if someone is laboring at home. While at the hospital, an L & D nurse will be attending to several laboring persons on the L & D floor. Evidence Based Birth notes that “In one research study that took place in the U.S., nurses spent about 31% of a person’s labor in the room with them. The majority of the time that nurses were in the laboring person’s room, they were doing direct clinical care (such as administering medications or performing interventions), maintaining equipment, applying and assessing the electronic fetal monitor, or documenting at the computer. For 12% of each person’s labor, the nurse provided labor support including emotional, physical, or informational support, or advocacy. More experienced nurses were more likely to spend time providing emotional support (Barnett et al. 2008).”
A labor doula can be present the entire time, helping the birthing person if they are experiencing fear, fatigue, or loss of motivation. The doula can also allow partners to rest while they continue to comfort and support the birthing person.
How is a postpartum doula different from a nanny? How is a doula different from a night nurse?
A lot of people assume a postpartum doula is like a nanny but they’re very different. A nanny typically focuses on taking care of a baby after the newborn period is over. A nanny focuses on the baby/toddler/child so that the parents can get other things done.
A night nurse takes care of the baby while the parents are sleeping.
While some postpartum doulas take care of the baby overnight and can offer an extra set of hands so parents can recharge, they are different from night nurses and nannies. A postpartum doula also works with parents to strengthen their skills, strategies and confidence to be successful after the doulas leave. A postpartum doula focus not just on the baby, but also on the new parents, the birthing person, and the baby/parenting bond in the immediate weeks and months postpartum.
What kind of training do doulas receive?
Labor and postpartum doulas receive specialized training in physical, emotional and educational support of expecting and new parents. Doulas must pass an exam/exams for certification from reputable organizations like ProDoula, CAPPA, DONA. Doulas follow a code of conduct and high standards of professionalism. Most doulas are trained to offer non-judgmental support and are well-versed in all parenting strategies, infant sleep, infant care, and things that can happen during labor, so that they can help their clients be fully informed. Doulas may also have areas of specializations. For example, an Infant Feeding Specialist is well-versed in all methods of infant feeding and can assist families when feeding becomes challenging.
Can a doula support me if I’m having a c-section/cesarean birth?
Doula support is just as important for cesarean birth as it is for vaginal birth. Your doula can give you a sense of peace, control and power over your birth experience, however your baby/babies arrive. We define birth as an “emergence,” not just a baby/babies exiting the vagina. If you do have a planned or unplanned cesarean birth, here is what you can expect from your Boston Area Doula:
Unplanned/emergent cesarean birth:
Talking through choices in cesarean birth (clear vs. blue drape, skin to skin, photos, music on phone playing, restraint-free hands, partner and doula present)
Calming client’s and family member’s fears before, during, and after the surgery
Encouraging client to ask any and all questions that they may have
Encouraging the client to ask for anything that may bring them comfort or enhance the birth experience
Listening to the client and offer validation
Reassuring the client
Acknowledging and validating the feelings of the client’s partner
Enabling the medical providers to have access to the client by staying near the head of the bed*
All of the items listed below for planned cesarean
After baby’s birth, staying for at least 1 hour to see how everyone is adjusting
*If you would like doula support in the OR during birth, you will be responsible for getting the appropriate approval for doula to do so.
Scheduled cesarean birth:
Reviewing what to expect with a cesarean birth and answer questions at prenatal session
At hospital:
explaining what is happening, what is happening next, answer questions
helping manage pain, using breathing or relaxation techniques during administration of IV or epidural placement
keeping partner as calm as possible so they are more prepared and effective as a support person
accompanying client to OR and stay by their side during surgery, as permitted by anesthesiologist*
reminding hospital staff of any special request/preferences client has during birth and in post-operative recovery period
staying with client if partner goes with baby/babies to nursery or NICU
getting updates on baby/babies if client is/are ever separated in immediate postoperative period
suggesting post-operative comfort measures and breastfeeding positions to comfortably accommodate client’s incision
educating client and partner about newborn care procedures (what they are and why they’re done)
After baby’s birth, staying for at least 1 hour to see how everyone is adjusting
How do I find a doula?
You can search doulamatch.net for doulas in your area. You can also ask your healthcare provider or childbirth educator for recommendations, ask local parents, or get recommendations from any online or in-person pregnancy groups you’re in.