What is my role as a doula? I accompany women in labor to help ensure a safe and
satisfying birth experience. I draw on my knowledge and experience to provide
physical, emotional, and informational support to women and partners. I am
independent and self-employed. As your doula, I am
working for you, not for your caregiver or the hospital.
Choosing a Doula. It is very important that
you and your partner are comfortable with me and with my role in the birth.
Thus, I do expect to meet with clients at least once before labor to become acquainted,
to explore and discuss your priorities and any fears or concerns, and to plan
how we might best work together. If at this meeting, you or your partner decide
that our interaction doesn’t feel “quite right” to you, I encourage you to say
so, and I will happily refer you to a different doula
with whom you may develop a better rapport.
If you do decide
to work with me, we will then do a prenatal conference (see below). This may be
part of the “getting acquainted” meeting, or may be scheduled at a separate
time.
Apprentice. I typically work with an apprentice on each of my births. My
teaching schedule is such that I am unavailable for births about 2 – 6 hours
each week on average, and I want to ensure that my clients will have a doula when they call. So, I choose apprentices who can guarantee that they’ll be available for
the client through the full on-call period, and I will be there for as much of
the birth as possible. You would meet my proposed apprentice at a prenatal
visit. If you clicked with me, but did not connect well with my apprentice, I
may be able to find a different apprentice to attend your birth.
On-call period.
I consider my on-call period for a birth to
be from two weeks before a due date to two weeks after the due date. I
generally will only take a client if I plan to be in town and available for
this “on-call” period. Limits of availability near your due date: I would
list specific dates and times here when I would not be available and my
apprentice would attend….
I
do have a cell phone, and in general I can be reached at any time. In the rare instance where I need to turn it
off for some reason during an on-call period, I try to check it at least every
two hours for voice mail.
Late Pregnancy. I am available for phone
consultations and email questions in late pregnancy, and encourage clients to call
with questions or updates. Once we enter the on-call period, I encourage
clients to check in with me every few days to let me know how they’re doing.
When
Labor Begins: We will discuss in prenatal meetings what you expect to want during
labor, and will also evaluate by phone once your labor has begun, and you know
more what your needs are.
When you think labor has begun, call me and let me know
so I can call my apprentice, and we can begin making arrangements for attending
the birth.
We
will then plan to check in every few hours by phone, so I can provide
information, ideas for comfort techniques, and reassurance. It is up to you to
decide at what point in your labor you want me to come and be with you. Once
you make that choice, I will generally be there within 40 minutes to an hour,
and will remain with you until after the birth.
When you are in Labor. Comfort
techniques: my
apprentice and I can offer help and advice with comfort measures such as
guiding your breathing, enhancing relaxation, encouraging movement, suggesting
effective positions for labor, and doing massage. Advocacy: We can assist with
gathering information about the progress of labor to make sure you have the
information you need to make informed decisions about your birth. I can also
serve as an advocate for your needs with the medical staff. Emotional support:
Our most critical role is providing continuous emotional reassurance and
comfort.
After Birth. My apprentice and I expect
to remain with a client for 1-2 hours after birth, until you are comfortable,
and the family is ready for quiet time together. We can also help with initial
breastfeeding.
I
am available for phone contact to answer questions about the birth of your
baby. My services include one postpartum visit, usually within two weeks of the
birth. During this visit, I can provide breastfeeding support, baby care tips,
referrals to community resources, and a chance to discuss the birth experience.
What
Doulas do not do.
Fees. The total fee for these services, to cover my apprentice and
myself, is $700.
I
do offer sliding scale, going as low as $75. I leave it to the client’s
discretion to determine what they can afford within this range. As a trained
professional, I do ask fair recompense for my services. However, I also truly
value the positive benefits of doula care, and do not
want financial need to make those services inaccessible to mothers who desire
them. My sliding scale is an honor system, I do not ask to verify your income
or any such thing, I simply ask you to be fair in
determining what you can truly afford to pay for my time and services.
I
ask for a non-refundable deposit of $100, which is typically paid during or
shortly after the prenatal conference, which is applied to the fee. I will not
consider myself obligated to the birth, or “on-call” until I have received this
deposit. The remainder of the fee is due 21 days after the birth, and should be
sent to me at **address**,
The
fee you will be paying is: _____________________________
Failure of a doula to provide service. I will make every effort
to provide the services described here. Sometimes this is impossible for
unforeseen reasons. If, due to other commitments, I am not able to attend the
birth at all, and only my apprentice is there, then you would pay her $200, and
would not need to pay me at all.
If
you fail to call me to attend your labor, I will keep the deposit, but there
will be no other charges.
I
/ We have read this letter describing the doula
services and agree that it reflects the discussion we have had with her.
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_____________________________________________
Client Client’s
Partner
____________________________________ _____________________________________________
Doula Apprentice
Doula
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Date