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@Francis that sounds like such a lovely experience 💕 I’m a first time mum and lacking confidence. I’ve only spoke to one doula though so far so I may look at some others xx
I think we interviewed four before choosing. Made sure we liked them and that our values roughly alined etc. It was particularly great to have someone to talk to - whether in person or via text leading up to the birth.
Having a doula in my first pregnancy was the best decision. I could have only one person with me, and I wanted someone knowledgeable and who would advocate for me. My husband wasn’t ready for this, and the doula helped me understand everything about different aspects of labour, make my personal decisions on what I wanted and what not. When something went wrong and nhs started pushing me for something I didn’t want, she was there to remind them (my doula was a former midwife as well) - and we went straight into emergency CS. Even though giving birth back then didn’t go as I was hoping to, I wasn’t traumatised or anything because thanks to the doula I knew what was going on and no one pushed me to do what I didn’t want to.
I was thinking about getting one , but don't know where to look for to be fair...and been told they are really expensive 😓😓
@Ilaria it depends about the level of support you need - if you just want a birth doula or someone who does postnatal too. Most doulas do fixed packages for birth so the cost won’t go up, most will list thier prices on thier website so will be very transparent. A fixed package will normally include a number of sessions pre birth, unlimited help over the phone, four weeks on call to cover the birth and about two sessions post birth. Best place to look is here, you can search via area: https://doula.org.uk/doula-support/find-a-doula
@Francis thank you so much for this . I will definitely look into it 🙂🙂🙂
I had a doula for my first pregnancy - I really appreciated having the one to one attention and continuity of care. She was very supportive of me and my partner and really helped us mentally prepare. When their where complications with the pregnancy she was great at referring us to organisations who could provide more support on understanding the issues. I think it’s most useful for first time parents or mum’s who have had traumatic births or just feeling anxious about birth. I think the most important part of whether it’s worth it is the personality fit. If you do consider it, you should interview a few of them to see who you get on with.