How to Find and Hire the Right Doula For Your Birth
Finding the doula who is right for your birth may take time and patience, but it's well worth the effort. The first doula you meet may be perfect, or you may not decide on which to choose until you meet three or four doulas. The important thing is to start looking around your sixth or seventh month, to provide you with plenty of time to consider your options. Ideally, hiring a doula isn't something you want to feel pressured over.
Where to Find a Doula
The first step is finding a doula to speak with! Starting with any personal contacts is a good way to start your search. If you took a childbirth course, you may want to ask your instructor for a referral. She is likely to know at least a few local doulas, and she herself may be a doula. (But don't feel obligated to hire her for your birth. Just because she's an excellent instructor doesn't mean she'd be your ideal doula.)
If you have friends with children, be sure to ask them if they used a doula. You may want to ask your midwife or OB for recommendations, as well as your local birth center (even if you don't plan on having your baby at that center).
Another place to find a doula is through the doula certification organizations. There are several, though you should be able to find plenty if you check out the largest ones, DONA and CAPPA. Most of these organizations either have a referral list on their website, or you can email or call them for a longer list of local doulas. You can also learn more about what approach your doula may take from reviewing the websites of the certification organizations.
- ALACE -- The Association of Labor Assistants and Childbirth Educators www.alace.org
- Birth Works www.birthworks.org
- CAPPA -- Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association www.cappa.net
- DONA -- Doulas of North America www.dona.org
- ICEA -- The International Childbirth Education Association www.icea.org
Beyond the doula organization referral lists, the internet has quite a few doula search engines. Search online with the words find a doula to find several doula referral sites. You may even be able to find a doula by typing into Google.com, or whatever your search engine of choice is, the word doula, along with your city or state name.
Interviewing Your Doula
Once you've gathered a list of doulas, you'll want to start calling them. I have found it best to call several to ask the most basic questions, and then later, choose three or four from the list to meet with face to face.
Questions you want to ask on the phone include...
- Are you taking any new doula clients for the month I'm due? (If they say no, ask them if they can refer you to any other local doulas.)
- What's your experience and training as a doula?
- How would you describe your approach to birth as a doula?
- What's your price? And can you provide me with references?
While the answers to your questions are important, you're really looking more to see how you feel with them on the phone. Do you feel comfortable? Do they sound like someone you could relate to? Do you like the sound of their voice? (Yes, really! That is the voice you'll be listening to during birth, and you want it to be pleasant for you.) Once you go through your list, arrange to meet face to face with two or three (or four!) of them.
Even if the first doula you meet feels like the perfect match, I'd still suggest meeting with at least one other doula. Being able to compare the two will help in making your choice. Also, make sure your partner meets the doula as well. It's essential that he also feels comfortable with your chosen doula.
What To Look For in a Doula
When deciding which doula to hire, experience and training often come second to which doula feels right. Listening to your gut is important when choosing a doula.
"For me, it was about bonding and falling in love with my doula," doula Stephanie Soderblom of Nurturing Hearts Birth Services in Arizona says. "It was like choosing my husband -- doesn't matter how much experience he had before I met him, what matters is how well we clicked and that I fell in love with him."
Also consider what you're looking for in a doula. Everyone wants something a little different. Some people want a doula who will be a strong advocate. Others feel having a doula who will be involved physically a great deal, through massage and physical support, is most important. And some want someone to just be there to provide a calm and centered atmosphere.
"I knew that I needed someone that wouldn't 'try too hard' for me and my birth," Stephanie explains. "I derive confidence by seeing the 'normalcy' in those around me, so I chose a doula that I knew would smile for me through my labor, who wouldn't try too hard to do stuff, but that would just be there for me."
Another important consideration when looking for a doula is their feelings on birth and how it will affect their support. You want someone non-judgmental, who you'll feel comfortable with no matter what your requests or views on birth are.
Kym Benner, a doula for over 17 years from Riverside, California, encourages you to find a doula who will support your wants and needs, and not be concerned with her personal agenda. "My philosophy is that this is your birth, your body, and your baby.' You have the final say, and no matter what the doctor, nurses, and doula say, you make the decisions! I am there to support my clients in whatever they choose. If they want an a-la-naturale birth, then I will make sure that happens, but if they want every drug under the sun, then I will make sure that happens. It is not my birth, it is their's, and my beliefs do not come into play."