Tips on Affording a Doula

• Do you have to pay for a doula out of pocket?

• Will my health insurance cover a doula?

• How much does a doula cost?

These are questions I hear all this time, and here are some answers.

First, if the cost of a doula is deterring you from hiring a doula, don’t stop looking, there are many options.

The cost of a doula

Fees for doula services range anywhere from $0 to $500 to $1500, it all depends are who the doula is and what they offer in their package. Often times doulas who are brand new and working on certification offer reduced rates to their first few clients. More experienced doulas might offer more, and others have additional services in their package (such as prenatal massage, lactation consulting, etc…). In my area (seacoast of NH and ME) most doulas are around $1200.

Insurance

For the majority of people, doulas are an out-of-pocket expense, and in some rare cases private insurance companies will cover the cost or partial cost of a doula. If you have a Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) through your insurance, many times they can reimburse for the cost of a doula.

Affording a doula

If you cannot afford a doula out of pocket, and your insurance doesn’t cover it, don’t despair, you are not out of options! As I mentioned above, certifying doulas often charge less, and are a wonderful resource. It can be difficult to find doulas who are new because they may not have a large online presence yet. I highly recommend reaching out to any doula in your area, and asking them if you know anyone working on certification, they could connect you with. Doulas are a tight knit community, and we all know each other and refer to each other often!

Some doulas offer a sliding scale or payment plans (I offer both of these). Often doulas will also do one birth a year where they waive the fee, so inquire about that as well. At a hospital local to me there is some scholarship money to help people afford doulas, this is unique and not common at most places (but might still be worth asking your provider about).

Bonus tip

Put a doula on your baby shower registry! Instead of having multiple of other items (highchairs, books, clothes, etc…) why not ask your loved ones to pitch in and buy doula support as a gift. You will end up with many hand-me downs and other little gifts regardless, so why not make the most out of your baby shower? And why stop at birth doula? Ask for postpartum doula support, a meal service, etc…

I hope you find this helpful or informative, share it with others who have similar questions, and don’t hesitate to reach out with questions.

What to Pack in the Hospital Bag

There are lists upon lists of things to bring with you to the hospital, your clothes, baby clothes, string lights, lotion, toiletries, slippers, blankets, fake candles, oil diffusers…the lists go on and on. If these lists speak to you and make sense and feel like a representation of things that make you feel comfortable and loved, then follow them. If they feel overwhelming and excessive, then read on for my suggestions based on my experiences at hospitals.

Let’s break it down into two categories, for you and for baby.

For you

You can’t bring real candles to the hospital…but these two are so cute!

My strongest suggestion here is to pack things that make sense to you. The point of packing a hospital bag is to make you feel comfortable and safe, to make the hospital room feel a little less foreign. Comfort and security are two huge promotors of oxytocin, the hormone that is crucial to a strong effective labor. Bring things from your day to day life, like a favorite hand cream, and everyday chapstick, a chill playlist. Here are a few things I do think are important to have to feel prepared.

• If you don’t want to wear a hospital gown, pack a long t-shirt or oversized button down (just make sure you don’t mind if it gets a little stained)

• Some slippers or socks with tread on them (hospitals also offer these)

• Your tooth brush/deodorant/hairbrush, whatever will make you feel a little bit more put together postpartum

• Comfy clothes to wear postpartum, you will not suddenly fit back into your pre-pregnancy jeans, so bring yoga/sweat pants that will feel cozy and loose.

• If you have items that you use to relax, such as essential oils, fake candles, or special music, bring these…but don’t feel you have to bring them if you have never used them for relaxation before.

• Your support team bring your partner, your mom, your doula, your best friend…whoever is on that support team, bring them! (This is the most important item!!) 

For Baby

Cozy baby

• A cozy outfit to wear home

• A blanket to wear home

• A car seat

• If you have a breast pump you are planning to use, you can also bring this and the lactation consultant can make sure you are using it properly.

Of course, you can add to this list, or ask your childbirth educator, provider, or doula if they have any further recommendations. Many of the births I have attended end with clothing scattered about, blankets balled up on chairs, slippers left by the door, and the only list item doing its job is the support team. So it’s okay if you forget your toothbrush, or a blanket…but please don’t forget your support team, because you will really need them!

My Journey to Doula Work

I get this question all the time, “why did you become a doula?” or “how did you know you wanted to be a doula?” The question usually follows my explanation of what a doula is, and the person I am talking with realizes I work in a job they never knew existed. Other times I get these questions from other doulas or birth-workers who came into their roles after they had children of their own. I am a doula because I have experienced how empowerment can lead people to accomplish their goals. I want my effort and time to go into work that empowers expecting parents to begin their journey with confidence, love, and a healthy mind and body.

“I don’t remember a time I didn’t know what a doula was. ”

My mom had a doula support her when I was born. I heard about this doula throughout my childhood, she was a pillar of the birth story my mom told. In the stories, the doula was the smart one, the strong one, the encouraging one that helped my mom bring me into the world. My dad says the doula is the reason he made it through the long labor and hard moments. I don’t remember a time I didn’t know what a doula was.

Young me carry for one of my many babies.

Throughout my schooling I was an emotionally intelligent child, always watching out for kids who were picked on or excluded. I took care of all my dolls with the utmost tender love a six-year-old could show. I played “giving birth” with my best friend weekly, one of us was always pregnant, laboring, or breastfeeding, we were very busy seven-year-olds. That soft vulnerable empathy I had as a child didn’t harden over when I became a teenager. I was emotionally tuned into all my classroom dynamics and social happenings. Around the end of my senior year in high school, my mom and I had a conversation and we got to the topic of midwives. She offhandedly mentioned she thought I would be a good midwife, and that idea stuck.

“After that workshop I knew I wanted to be some type of birth worker. ”

In the winter of my first year at Mount Holyoke College, I took a little local doula training class just to see if I was really interested in birth work. I loved the class, I loved learning about birth, I loved talking about it, I loved thinking about it. After that workshop I knew I wanted to be some type of birth worker. 

“The combination of how people work together and solving puzzles of cultural assumptions was just so intriguing, it felt like all of my questions about life and people were answered in the classrooms of my anthropology classes. ”

In the Fall of my sophomore year I decided I wanted to major in Anthropology. I had taken an anthropology class, and I was so interested in conversations on culture, health, structures, and medicine . The combination of how people work together and solving puzzles of cultural assumptions was just so intriguing, it felt like all of my questions about life and people were answered in the classrooms of my anthropology classes. My peers in the Anthropology department were strong, thoughtful, and just as excited as I was for more information and conversations. Some of my favorite classes included Medical Anthropology, Anthropology of Death, Anthropology of Reproduction, Anthropology of Structural Violence, and my senior seminar on theory. Mount Holyoke College is part of the 5-College Consortium, so I had the chance to take classes at other schools as well. I took Anthropology of Food and Nutrition, and HIV/AIDS 35 Years Later (at Hampshire College), and Evolutionary Anthropology (at UMass Amherst). So many interesting classes and professors, I loved learning about all the ways anthropology could be used to understand the world.

During the summer between sophomore year and junior I had the opportunity to shadow and home birth midwife in Portland Oregon. I sat in on some routine check-ups she had, as well as attended some classes she taught at Oregon Health and Sciences University (OSHU). Being immersed in an environment where pregnancy, labor, and birth were widely understood to be natural processes was an incredible experience. Talking to young student midwives, and other doulas was an important step in my own journey because it showed me that being a strong young birth worker was an option for a career path.

The next summer I interned with Health Equity Alliance (HEAL) in Bangor Maine. During my time with HEAL I worked with members of the community living with/ at risk of contracting HIV. While I wasn’t directly working with expecting parents, or birth workers, I was learning about the other pieces of public health work. Anthropology teaches us how to understand structure and how personal experiences are results of structural decisions. In Bangor, I was able to directly witness these experiences and think about the influence decisions being made in the state house. This was an important moment in my journey while I reflected on the bigger picture of public health and thought about how birth and birth support fit in.

My plans for after graduation.

After that summer, I began my senior year with a plan to write a thesis, yikes! The concept of my thesis was using women’s narratives of their caesarean section births to understand the caesarean experience in the US. I interviewed my subjects, did a lot of reading, and wrote my most prized piece of writing, my senior thesis (email me if you want to read it!). After researching and writing about cesarean births, I knew that I wanted to be part of the structural change to reduce cesarean birth rates and empower people giving birth. I had done a lot of thinking and analyzing, my academic side had grown and developed. After graduation I was ready to develop the other part of me, the empathetic, compassionate, strong-willed support person I knew I could be. It was finally time to start my training to become a doula.

“After graduation I was ready to develop the other part of me, the empathetic, compassionate, strong-willed support person I knew I could be. It was finally time to start my training to become a doula.”

I attended a DONA International birth doula workshop in August 2018, and officially began my journey as a birth doula. Over the course of Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 I worked on completing my doula certification requirements. I attended births, read a lot of interesting books, and took some additional classes on breastfeeding support, childbirth education, and running a business. I have found a connection with doula work because it is a place where I can use my emotional skills. I am valued because of my ability to connect with people and give them all my compassion. Being emotional and compassionate is a huge asset as a doula. I love sharing my knowledge with people, I love problem solving and strategizing, and I love empowering my clients. Right now, doula work is a great fit for my strengths in serving my community. In June 2019 I became officially DONA certified! Since then I have been building my business and making sure I have all my bases covered before I take clients. Now I am up and going, ready to take on some clients! Check out my website for specifics about the services I offer, my region, and my fees.  

“I love sharing my knowledge with people, I love problem solving and strategizing, and I love empowering my clients.”