"What is a doula?" etc. survey?

Megan - posted on 10/05/2010

I know when I was pregnant with my son I looked into a doula but could not afford one at the time. There was one in training who had to do a set number for free before she could be certified but she put me off as she was almost pushy about natural birth and breast feeding, two things I was not sure I was really into. I also ended up being induced early because of complications so had not made up my mind. I kind of wish I had had one because it was a horrid experience all around but since I ended up having a csection and not being able to breastfeed it might have been better as we probably would have butted heads at some point. Now we are trying to have anotehr baby and we might look into it again becuase having that advocate in the room with me when its decision time might be worth it as I want to try a vbac and I wonder if the dr might try to persuade me to have another csection.

Shelly - posted on 10/04/2010

I have heard of doulas and associated it with a midwife, I thought it was kind of the same thing. After reading everything posted I understand it better. I think a few reasons that I would not want to hire one (1) I plan to have an epidural and have no pain, don't really think I will need to have someone support me with breathing (2) I can't afford it (3) My doctor reccommeds that I have a scheduled c-section due to my previous birth being a c-section (4)My last birth went fine and the next one will too (5)I already have a midwife ( these are just some that I thought of, not exactly my personal feelings)

When I hear that someone is a doula the first thing that comes to mind is "that sounds like a cool job!" and you must have to be on call all the time...

Tisa - posted on 10/01/2010

I live in Sydney Australia and I had a doula for the birth of my daughter. I thought they would be mostly older women but I found a lady (who used to be a tenant of mine) on a doula website. She is in her 3os and has 4 children. She had similar beliefs to me and was very supposrtive no matter what I chose during the labour. It was with her help that I had a completally drug free labour (no gas, nothing). I mostly hired her bacuse my husband is very bad with blood and I wanted him to have the option of waiting outside but I didnt want to be alone. As it was he stayed and cut the chord but I dont think he would have if Lucy was not there to support him too! She told him when to shut up during the labour, she was a buffer between the midwife and my hubby (they had a personality clash) and she took some wonderful photos and wrote a birth storey for me at the end.

I think it would be importnant to know that you are not biased to any birthing method. A photos would be great so they can see what you look lik, cause that was helpful to me when I was looking. Make sure you emphasie that it is support for the hubby too. During labour things can get scary and when people are whistering around you its good to know that there is somone who will tell you what you need to hear and that she has given you all the info you need beforehand so you can make quick informed decisions.

Good luck with the website!

Jennifer - posted on 09/30/2010

i would have LOVED a doula but i didn't really learn much about them until after i had my son. i think a doula would have made for a completely different birth experience for me.



i had a midwife through the hospital and she honestly didn't seem any different than an OB to me, which was disappointing. i was induced at 40 weeks, 5 days because she was concerned that he would be a big big baby. they started the pitocin drip at 7 am, but my contractions didn't start until they broke my water at 11 am. once my contractions started, they were super super strong ("too strong" according to the nurse) and they started lowering my pitocin. i was only getting about 30 seconds between the end of one contraction to the beginning of the next, and before long, i was getting overwhelmed. i desperately wanted a drug free birth but there wasn't enough time between contractions for me to recollect myself. the nurses were no help, only coming in every few minutes because the heartbeat monitor would slip (and they were making me feel bad for moving around and trying to find a way to make the contractions more bearable), and to lower my pitocin. my husband was pretty overwhelmed and he was trying to help but was having a hard time. my mother in law was reminding me to breathe, and while helpful, it was not helpful enough. i ended up having a epidural, and while it was nice being able to relax and enjoy the rest of my labor, i think the epidural was part of the reason we had so much trouble with breastfeeding. i ended up giving up trying to get my son to latch, and i exclusively pump for him.



after i had my son, i considered becoming a doula because its something i think i would be very good at. i have since changed my mind, and i am now working on becoming a certified nurse midwife. i do plan on having a doula for our next delivery (whenever that may be), and i am determined to have the natural birth (hopefully home birth) that i missed out on with my son

Clarice - posted on 09/30/2010

i think doula is the person who will help you with your labor and will help u focus on ur inner strength so u can more likely meditate and feel better while in labor and delivery rather than freaking out and feeling all stressed while having ur baby.

Hayley - posted on 09/30/2010

I live in the UK and am actually training to be a volunteer doula! Mainly because my child birth experience wasnt great as the father wanted nothing to do with me or baby- my mum came with me and was great but I would havew really like the additional support of a doula!

Katie - posted on 09/30/2010

Personally, I don't see a point in having a doula. The nurse that was in the room with my doctor, husband and I was great. She helped me with my breathing and was able to show me positions to feel more comfortable. My mom was also a huge help too. I'd rather have either somebody I know personally in the room with me (during labor) or a good nurse. It just seems weird and unnecessary to have a doula when it seems like a nurse can do exactly what they are and they don't even have a medical degree of any sorts. Its just my opinion if someone wants a doula then great for them.

Angie - posted on 09/30/2010

"are Doula the same thing as midwifes but without the medical background?"
Doulas do not perform medical tasks (vaginal exams, blood pressure checks, heart tones, etc). We do offer informational/educational, physical, and emotional support during pregnancy, labor/birth, postpartum. During labor and birth we stay with mom (her partner) continuously.

Jennifer, I'm sorry you had such a bad experience *hugs*

"The only downside was the hospital staff trying to push the doula out of the picture."
Some hospitals see us as a threat somehow because we like to inform out clients....

"She was not a medical advocate but a birthing coach and I would have liked it if she was able to speak her mind about the medical intervention but sadly her hands are tied if she wanted to keep her privileges at this hospital."
Did you have any prenatal visits with your doula? I think informed consent is SO important and give my clients handouts about the things they want to know. We also talk in the event where something arises, I can make them aware of what is about to happen (episiotomy for example) and if they have any questions for their provider. If people are not running around like crazy and don't knock you out (for a c-section for example), there is usually time to discuss pros/cons/alternatives.
Doulas are also way more than birthing coaches since they also walk with mom during pregnancy and postpartum. I associate a birthing coach as someone who will count with mom during pushing lol.

Jennifer - posted on 09/30/2010

I think there are volunteer doulas at many hospitals but we hired one for the birth of our son 9 months ago. I have doctor / hospital anxiety and wanted to keep the process as intimate as possible. As it was I ended up with a c-section and I am traumatized by that but everything up until there were complications was very helpful. The only downside was the hospital staff trying to push the doula out of the picture. She was not a medical advocate but a birthing coach and I would have liked it if she was able to speak her mind about the medical intervention but sadly her hands are tied if she wanted to keep her privileges at this hospital. Either way... 100% in support of birthing doulas. Here is my doula's website www.freewebs.com/heavens_heartbeat

Jennifer - posted on 09/30/2010

The VBAC rate in the UK is 33%, which is quite low. I don't mind =]

Synthia - posted on 09/29/2010

are Doula the same thing as midwifes but without the medical background?

Crystal - posted on 09/29/2010

My best friend is a doula in training and I was her first labour and delivery for her expierence hours and I would recomend a doula to anyone!!! She was so amazing, with my nurse not wanting to give me the eppidural my doula showed me different ways to labour that would decrease my pain and she was also supporting my son's father too; helping him hold me in the right positions when labouring and just being positive and when I was delivering she was a better couch then the dr., nurses and my baby's dad lol she was amazing and I couldn't have gotten through my labour and delivery without her : )

I hope that helps a bit : )

Angie - posted on 09/29/2010

Do you know your VBAC rate?

I'm sorry for all these questions. I just find it interesting and hope that I'm not bugging to much :)

Jennifer - posted on 09/29/2010

You're welcome. Generally here most women choose to use the NHS for their care which is free and on the NHS you can't usually get an elective c-section just because you want one so that isn't the reason. I think one of the reasons is that generally when a woman has had to have a c-section with her first baby for example due to labour not progressing of fetal distress when she has her second baby she would probably be advised to have a c-section. My cousin has been advised to have a c-section with her second child because while she had a vaginal birth last time she needed surgery to repair the big tears she suffered and needed blood transfusions too. Also studies have found that women who are obese are much more likely to need a casearean which could explain it too.

Angie - posted on 09/29/2010

Yes I do. Having midwife support makes a big big difference if they can stay with you when you need them. Thanks for sharing your story Jen. I really enjoyed reading it.

Why do you think are the c-section rates on the rise?

Jennifer - posted on 09/29/2010

And I'll also post it here =]

Hello,

Yes I agree that caesarean rates are increasing here and the majority of c-sections performed are totally unnecessary a lot of the time.

Here in the UK pregnant women only see a midwife during their pregnancy unless there are any complications in which case they also seen an obstetrician. During a normal pregnancy women will first go and see the midwife based in their doctor’s surgery to take a pregnancy test to confirm the pregnancy and also to book in the date for the first scan and an appointment for a midwife to do your booking-in appointment. The booking in appointment is done before the 12 week scan and consists of going through the patients and family’s medical history. At 12 weeks or around that time you have the dating scan which basically dates when the baby will be due. You then see your midwife at around 16 weeks for checks and at 20 weeks you have your second scan, which is to check that everything is developing as it should and you can find out the sex of the baby. After this, appointments with your midwife are usually at 25, 28, 31, 34, 36, 38, 40, and 41 weeks assuming you haven’t had your baby by then of course!

My own experience was slightly different and I ended up having to see an obstetrician and had to go for regular growth scans after 30 weeks of pregnancy, so I saw medical people even more than the average woman! At my 20 week scan they found what’s called “echogenic bowel”, basically it means that on the scan the bowels are as bright white as the bone. We were told that it is only found on 1% of scans so very rare and of that 1%, 1% will be born with a genetic disease such as Down’s Syndrome, Edward’s Disease, Patau’s Syndrome or Cystic Fibrosis. We had to decide whether I wanted to have the amniocentesis to find out if our baby did have a genetic condition so we went ahead with it. Luckily the results were all negative – Logan did not have a genetic disease. The other causes of “echogenic bowel” included an infection which they did tests to rule out, no reason a t all, or bleeding during early pregnancy which I had had a small amount so this was probably the reason in our case. Due to this being found, they also said babies which show this on the scan usually have problems growing properly in the womb so from 30 weeks I had fortnightly growth scans which then increased to every week as my amniotic fluid level was decreasing and low. In the end they were worried that they may have to induce me if the amniotic fluid level dropped any further but luckily it started to increase a little. From the growth scans whilst he was growing steadily he was going to be a small baby when born.

Logan was born on 27th November 2009, 3 days late, weighing 6lb 12oz. I went into labour on the night before – 26th November at 10:10pm. My waters broke spontaneously and I rang the hospital to find out what I should do. They asked me to go in for them to check if anything was happening. I went in and I was sent home as my contractions hadn’t started. I then woke up at around 3am with contractions around 5-10 minutes apart but they weren’t very strong, but we went to the hospital as this is when we had been told in antenatal classes to go to the hospital. Unfortunately my contractions weren’t regular so I went back home and was advised to have a warm bath and to try and sleep. I had a nice hot bath, went to sleep, woke up at around 8am and decided to have another bath...BAD IDEA...I was then practically unable to get out of the bath, and my husband had to ring an ambulance in the end. An ambulance and rapid response car arrived, so there was me, my husband, and four male paramedics in our bedroom with me screaming lol! They asked if I wanted gas and air and accepted and they thought at that point I may deliver in the house...not that it would have bothered me because we had originally wanted a home birth but with the complications were advised not to. However, Logan waited and we arrived at the hospital at around 9:15am. When I got in my room my midwife was there with me the whole time except for popping out for equipment. I had to be hooked up to a machine to check Logan’s heartbeat, as a precautionary measure as he was going to be small and because I’d had problems with the amniotic fluid levels. At 10:50am Logan was born. I had fab support from my midwife during labour and afterwards with helping to get breastfeeding started...Logan rooted for my nipple and latched-on within 6 minutes of being born =] The only people in the room whilst Logan was being born was me (obviously lol), my husband and my midwife. A doctor came in to help with stitching my 2nd degree tearing but other than that no doctor was involved. I had just gas and air and felt so proud! I continued to have excellent care and support from the midwives in the hospital and I was discharged the following day =]

Every day for a week the midwife came to see Logan and me at our home to check progress with feeding etc. We had noticed Logan was becoming jaundiced but were just told to let him get plenty of sunlight. Also when the breastfeeding councillor came for a visit I expressed concern that Logan was wanting to feed pretty much all the time so she suggested giving a comfort object either a dummy or something with my smell on. We didn’t think anything else of it until he had his check at 6 days old to see how he was doing weight wise to check if he hadn’t lost too much weight. He had dropped from 6lb12oz to 5lb9oz and by this point looked a bit like Maggie Simpson – YELLOW! They hadn’t been concerned about his feeding because he was latching excellently and stayed on the breast for an ample time each time. Also they didn’t think the jaundice was too serious because he wasn’t lethargic and in fact was very, very alert but they did a bilirubin test to make sure. I had a call later that night saying that he must be brought to the neonatal unit and be admitted for severe jaundice and dehydration. When we got there I was asked to express some milk either by hand or by using one of their pumps so that they could tube feed him. Well that’s when I found out my milk hadn’t came in. I was devastated – I already felt like a failure because he was so ill and now I felt as though I had starved him. The same thing happened to my mam so she couldn’t breastfeed my sister or me either. He was given a drip and they started light therapy immediately. We had to start formula feeding him immediately too which was all confusing and new but the nurses helped so much with that too. Logan was disacharged after 4 days of light therapy and is now 10 months old, weighs 19lb 3oz and is crawling, cruising and most important of all is healthy =]

Sorry for the lengthy reply but hope it helps you understand why here in the UK women probably feel there is less of a need for doulas =]
Jen =]

Jennifer - posted on 09/29/2010

I'll private message you now =]

Angie - posted on 09/29/2010

I'm sorry to hear that you had a bad experience. Good for you for wanting a doula next time. :)

Heather - posted on 09/28/2010

I want a doula for my next birth!! I had the most God-aweful experience with my first once I got to the hospital. Until then I was on the phone with my MIL who had 4 children naturally and she was able to coach me through 7 out of 8 hours of labor. We don't even have the option where I am now, but when we move and get pregnant again, I'll want to know where the nearest doula and midwife are located! I just know I could have had a natural childbirth and labor if I hadn't had to stay in bed and deal with our stupid doctors...So basically, I want to know EVERYTHING! lol I recommend to every pregnant mom I meet that they look into having a doula. I think the hardest thing is finding one.

Angie - posted on 09/28/2010

Jennifer, I think with the rising cesarean rates in the U.K. it's probably a matter of time until doulas become more popular where you live :)



I totally see your point and I can't say anything about how birth looks in the U.K (beside rising c-section rates). Here in the U.S, if you are birthing in a hospital, the midwife will usually be pretty busy and won't be able to continuously support mom. It's also more common to have an OB at a birth than a midwife. When I had my daughter, I saw my midwife twice during my whole pregnancy (it was an on-call midwife working for the hospital).....once when we got to the hospital and I was in labor and the other time when I was ready to push. The nurse came in once in a while to check if everything is ok....About once every hour for couple of minutes. The birthing room was also anything else but empty when I was ready to push. Beside my husband and my doula, there were 4 or 5 other people there. My midwife, student midwife (it was up to me to to have her there or not), L&D nurse, one or two pediatric nurses (one was coming in once in a while to check if DD was born). My husband any my doula were the most familiar people at this time.

As far as husbands.....some want to be involved in the birth process while others just want to stand back and just "get over with" and take mom and baby home. Some husbands are great supporters (and could be midwives themselves lol) but most of the time they are very overwhelmed with everything going on and forget everything (or most of it). If they took a birthing class, they are basically expected to remember everything and support mom. But the dad needs support too. He is also going though so many emotions. It's not really about mom not getting enough support from dad but it's about dad getting support to support mom.

The doula is not random to mom and dad but chosen among other doulas. Mom and dad are encouraged to talk to more than one and find one they like the most. They will usually spend hours and hours on the phone, email, and prenatal visits. I knew my doula better than I knew my midwife that I saw from month to month lol. My midwife visits usually lasted about 15 min. Come in, blood pressure checks, weight checks by the nurse. Change for exam (if I wanted one), "hi mom" here "hi" there, "do you have any questions?", "ok lets check how baby is doing", heart tones, vaginal exam (if I wanted one), belly touch here, belly touch there, "see you next month". It never took longer that 15 min lol.



I would LOVE to hear your story. Would you mind to share it with me via private message? It's ok if not tho. I would also love to hear about the birth system in the U.K. Only if you want....



Ok that was a long read....Congrats if you made it this far ;P

Jennifer - posted on 09/28/2010

Oh well they mustn't be well advertised/recommended here then! I just don't see why someone would want some random person they've just recently met to a) be at the birth of their child and b) why they would feel they didn't have enough support from their husband and midwife. For my husband and I the birth of our son was something between us only, that's why I didn't want my mam there either but I suppose everyone is different =]

Angie - posted on 09/28/2010

Keep them coming ladies. It's very interesting to read your answers.
Jodi: Some doulas offer sliding scales, bartering, or will do it for free.

Jennifer: Doulas exist everywhere. :) What do you think is weird about it?

Jennifer - posted on 09/28/2010

I've read the info on the weblink and to me the concept is just wierd. My husband was there for the birth of our son and I had just gas and air to help me through it. For me I don't think IU'd have a doula...if they even exist here in the UK because to be perfectly honest a midwife , my husband and the thought that my baby will be here soon is enough to get me through labour =] I could see how it could help some people but definately not for me.

Jodi - posted on 09/28/2010

Why would I NOT want to hire a doula? because my insurance won't cover one and i can't afford one out of pocket...or complete insanity! lol
What have I heard about doulas? That they help a woman through labor AND help her partner help her through labor, trying to anticipate her needs, reading body language and having a thurough knowledge of the stages of labor and how it affects the body, woman and baby.
Honestly, the first thing that comes to mind about doulas is older ladies...not grandma's or anything, but ladies in their 50-ish years, and perhaps a little "hippy-ish". I know it's not true...but that's just the image in my head of a general doula!
I'm currently pregnant with twins and I so wish I had a doula to help me out! Both now and when it comes time to deliver, I'm really hoping for a vaginal birth! I would have loved one with my first pregnancy, but I didn't know about them at that time. Wonderful career choice!!!!

Jennifer - posted on 09/28/2010

Yes lol! I live in the UK so unless doulas don't exist here lol!

Angie - posted on 09/28/2010

Jennifer, I'm assuming that the first thing you would ask would be "What's a doula?" :D

Jennifer - posted on 09/28/2010

I've never heard of a doula!