Doula Interview Questions?

[marshian]

If a recent thread for this already exists, just point me to it. I can't search well on mobile.

Hit me with any and all questions you did or are planning to ask potential doulas. I'm setting up interviews for after the holidays.

[sitpretty2]

It's great to interview early and often. Sometimes the doulas you want winds up being booked or you don't click with someone. I used a list from this list as a starting point: www.dona.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Interview-Guide-for-Parents-final.pdf You can print it off and list the answers there to compare after you've talked to a couple of doulas. While all the questions in the world are great, I think it's also important to go by your gut once you have someone who meets your minimum qualifications.

Hope that helps and good luck finding a doula.

Robin

[akraus2015]

Love it! I went to a doula open house last week at the birthing center where where we plan to deliver. Here are some of the questions I asked:

• How many clients do you take on per month?
• What is your backup system?  Do you work with a team?
• What experience/certifications do you have/do your team members have?
• What pre- and post- delivery services do you offer?
• Do you do home visits?
• Do you come to my home when I begin labor?
• What is your philosophy on medically necessary interventions?
• What specific support do you provide for the spouse/partner?
• How will you work with my spouse/partner to ensure he/she is actively involved in the birth process as much as he/she is comfortable?
• How does payment work?
• Do you/are you will to take some photos during the birth?
• Are you a certified counselor/do you provide counseling services post-birth?
• Do you provide lactation support?

I'm sure there are a million more that I'm not thinking of right now.  Our event was "speed-dating style" and I found one particular doula that I absolutely loved.  She's coming out to our house in January to meet my husband and do a formal consultation.

[marshian]

akraus2015 - A doula open house sounds amazing! Great questions!

[icedtea]

akraus2015 has really good questions. My doula provided a list of questions for me, ha. I'll have to see if I can find it and take a picture.

Definitely interview with a few, to get a feel for who will best fit. Open houses are splendid if you have one near you. Some questions I remember asking:

- What techniques do you have for helping with the pain during a natural birth?
- Will you be able to help with prepping for birth (exercises to do, meditations, etc)
- Will you stay if the birth goes very long/is there an extra fee?

[agm04]

I would ask how many meetings you get throughout pregnancy, and where those meetings take place. I never would have considered this, but our doula (who we also used with DD) came to our house because (as she explained) 1. no one in the coffee shop needs to hear the personal stuff we're discussing, 2. moms and dads tend to be more comfortable at home, and 3. she comes to our house during labor, and has found that moms have an easier time relaxing if they've already been talking about all this at home. makes sense to me. also, how she assists clients in the case of a scheduled c-section (since you typically pay up front to book her) or an emergency c-section.

ours is more expensive than average, but we get as many meetings as we feel like we need before the birth, and at least one postpartum. she will also stay for up to 4 hours after birth, will come as soon as you want/need her during labor (many won't come until you're in active labor or will meet you at the hospital), will get you/your partner food after birth if it's past cafeteria hours at the hospital, and has a huge network of professionals (chiropractor, best Bradley classes in our area, etc.) that she was able to get us appointments with. again, this is stuff i never would have thought of - i kind of assumed they all offered a similar service - but it actually seems to vary quite a bit!

[akraus2015]

Bumping this thread with a XP from J17 because I'd love your opinions as well!



The doula consultation went really well!! We chose our primary and our backup doula, and I think we picked our package, but I'd love you guys' opinions/feedback on the package.

I think we're going to go with their Birth & Postpartum Package that includes:
- 3 in-home prenatal visits
- 2 group prenatal classes (that I think can replace the classes required by the birthing center so we don't have to pay twice)
- attendance at the birth from active labor through a few hours after baby arrives and is settled
- a backup doula in case of emergency
- immediate breastfeeding assistance
- follow-up phone support 24/7 for two weeks after the birth
- one 3-hour and two 4-hour postpartum visits at our home (and our doula is a certified counselor who specializes in postpartum mood disorders, so these double as/include a counseling session)
- placenta encapsulation (at an extra cost, I may be leaning towards including this)
- belly binding (meh...)
- a basic essential oils package
- a guided relaxation and meditation CD

Those last few things are just kind of "extras" that are included with the postpartum support package. But what do you think? For those of you who have gone through this experience before, is there anything missing from this package that you feel like is a "must have"?? While I feel like the price of the package is reasonable, it's still relatively expensive, so I want to make sure we're making the right choice.

Feedback is appreciated!!

[icedtea]

I feel that's a pretty good package. It includes things we're not getting and I am happy with ours too. Congrats on finding someone!

[marshian]

akraus2015 - The doulas we have spoken with offer a package for labor support which includes 1 or 2 prenatal visits, limited (12 hours) or unlimited active labor support with a few hours after birth, and 1 postnatal visit. Also a back-up doula Placenta encapsulation is extra. Classes are extra. Sounds like you're getting a ton in one package.

[akraus2015]

Jan 17, 2017 10:35:14 GMT -5 marshian said:

akraus2015 - The doulas we have spoken with offer a package for labor support which includes 1 or 2 prenatal visits, limited (12 hours) or unlimited active labor support with a few hours after birth, and 1 postnatal visit. Also a back-up doula Placenta encapsulation is extra. Classes are extra. Sounds like you're getting a ton in one package.

Thats good to know. The package is kind of expensive, so I want to make sure we're getting our money's worth. But once I factor in what we'd have to pay anyway for prenatal classes, counseling post-birth (I see a therapist on a semi-regular basis when needed anyway), and a lactation consultant, I feel a little bit better about getting it all in one package.

[marshian]

Jan 17, 2017 10:39:07 GMT -5 akraus2015 said:

Jan 17, 2017 10:35:14 GMT -5 marshian said:

akraus2015 - The doulas we have spoken with offer a package for labor support which includes 1 or 2 prenatal visits, limited (12 hours) or unlimited active labor support with a few hours after birth, and 1 postnatal visit. Also a back-up doula Placenta encapsulation is extra. Classes are extra. Sounds like you're getting a ton in one package.

Thats good to know. The package is kind of expensive, so I want to make sure we're getting our money's worth. But once I factor in what we'd have to pay anyway for prenatal classes, counseling post-birth (I see a therapist on a semi-regular basis when needed anyway), and a lactation consultant, I feel a little bit better about getting it all in one package.

It sounds like a good deal then! The doulas here (large Midwest city) charge $1000-1400 for what I listed, as a point of reference.

[morwen]

Jan 17, 2017 10:39:07 GMT -5 akraus2015 said:

Jan 17, 2017 10:35:14 GMT -5 marshian said:

akraus2015 - The doulas we have spoken with offer a package for labor support which includes 1 or 2 prenatal visits, limited (12 hours) or unlimited active labor support with a few hours after birth, and 1 postnatal visit. Also a back-up doula Placenta encapsulation is extra. Classes are extra. Sounds like you're getting a ton in one package.

Thats good to know. The package is kind of expensive, so I want to make sure we're getting our money's worth. But once I factor in what we'd have to pay anyway for prenatal classes, counseling post-birth (I see a therapist on a semi-regular basis when needed anyway), and a lactation consultant, I feel a little bit better about getting it all in one package.

Yeah my hospital had a daily class run by LCs to help establish breastfeeding and I found it super helpful, so having someone lined up for breastfeeding help is definitely something I'd look for.