How Much Is Your Birth and Postpartum Happiness Worth?

Recently a woman called me to inquire about my services, her first questions was, “How much is a doula?” It’s hard to put a realistic price on that type of support. I have been at births for as little as four hours all the way up to twenty-four hours or more. So I told her I’d like her to consider how important it is for a woman to have someone who will be at the birth supporting her, encouraging her, and offering important information to ease her mind. A labor doula can help the partner experience this magical time with confidence and give him/her more time to spend with the laboring woman. A doula can run around doing things a partner usually does, or answer questions that may come up at the hospital or even during a home labor. A doula can show the partner how to help mom change positions, how to massage her. She can give the partner a much needed break during a long labor. Research has shown that with the help of a birth doula there is a much lower risk of: cesarean births, medical interventions, and the use of pain medications, and that a birth doula’s knowledgeable help during delivery produces greater bonding with the newborn. [1] More research shows that with the help of a postpartum doula the risk of postpartum depression is much lower.

At home, a post partum doula can help the partner spend more quality time with mom and baby, cooking a meal, allowing them to take a nap, and helping mom with the sometimes challenging task of breastfeeding. She is a loving mentor who can show you ways to appease you baby, bathe him, burp him, swaddle her, and even play with her. A doula is like the “village” support system revisited.

Today most women are isolated from the tribe; many have never seen a birth or seen a woman care for a newborn. Moms make the best doulas when and if they feel up to it, are around, and have the expertise to navigate hospitals. Unfortunately, up until recently most women have given birth in hospitals heavily sedated, and they were discouraged from breastfeeding. Other’s were misguided by “experts” who told them to let the baby cry and to feed only on schedule. Their ideas about birth and baby care might differ a great deal from what you want for yourself.