Doula Costs

[visitor1]

Sorry if i offend any doulas, but why do they cost so much??

When i was pg with Miss J, i had a trainee, so was free.

Then i began researching for a great doula to help birth Mr Z and was shocked how much a quailfied one cost.

In the end i did find an awesome doula but didnt charge me all that much as i was also helping her with the follow through program for her midwife course.

Yes they do a great job....but does the cost justify their services??

Again, sorry if i offend, just curious.

[BellyBelly]

Most people who have had doulas feel the cost is more than justified by their wonderful experience with their doula. Not only the long hours they spend with you, but the empowerment, knowing they are on your side regardless, are not an employee of the hospital or bound to any conditions meaning saving their job is important. Trainee doulas are usually very fresh to childbirth and birth support, you just can't compare one to an experienced doula who has been doing it for years (and frequently too, some doulas only do a few births a year, but say they have been doing it for all that time). I've had many clients tell me they don't know what they would have done without me, so that alone says it's worth the cost, as much as I wish I could do it for free - but we all have families to feed too. If you work out the hours spent with a client divided up by the fee its not huge and often doulas only take on a few births a month if that, so we're not rolling in it Say a doula does two births a month at $800 each - can't live off $1600! On average midwives charge about $4000 per birth, so we're not even a quarter of that and rightly so.

Unfortunately there are no organisations or governing bodies for doulas, so you have a range of trainers out there, nothing is formal certification, the requirements for study vary massively and every woman has a wide range of experiences and some biases. So you have to do your research and having your doula at your birth will most certainly be a memorable experience.

[Inanna]

I guess Mirabelle it's all a personal choice & I feel blessed that we live in a country where we have that.

Doulas are there at one of the most intimate times of your life. They are on call 24/7 to drop it all for whenever they get your call. Just a little example. I am a nurse when I have been on call I can get up to $80 per hour if I am called at night or on a week end. Add that up for 15 hours and that's close to $1000. Yes, I have experience and qualifications - so does a Doula. However her experience isn't necessarily a tertiary degree - it is experience through long cold nights of hollering, panting and sitting waiting for a baby to birth. Giving support, love and comfort. Sharing in the joy. There is study and learning - but much of the learning for an experienced Doula comes in the field - with helping numerous Women. A Doula - well I think a Doula is a gift from the Universe. The right Doula for the right Woman is something that really cannot be measured. A bit like a chemical reaction.

If you want a birth that is well supported - if you want to acheive an environment where you feel safe and advocated for. If you never want to be left alone or if you do want to be left alone but on your terms... A Doula is for you. However, you can bet your next box of Huggies that a Doula deserves every dollar she earns. Because the hours that put in don't equate to the end price. Doula ing is done out of love for Women and the birthing practice. I feel very confident to say that no Doula earned her retirement from her Doula practice.

I am not offended - but I do find it curious that even if you just add up the hours of a labour and work out the hourly rate - you can pretty much work out that a Doula isn't covering her own child care costs. She has edcational aids, petrol, time and love. There is a price that is paid - but my love it doesn't come close to cutting even.

If you personally don't think it's worth it then obviously a Doula isn't your thing. Luckily we have Doulas for those that want and appreciate that support. If you don't then there are services to help you to. Each woman has different needs.

[{sarah}]

I'm not a doula, but I have a idea of why it appears to be so expensive... Some jobs appear to be "show up for a few hours then go home" so therefore don't warrant such a high price but then I learnt a few things....

Everyone thinks photos are expensive & yep they are but since doing it myself I realise why... Prior to a photo shoto you research different poses & get props organised (buying if necessary), you travel to the shoot & spend x amount of time with the client. You then go home & spend hours post processing the images. I have taken up to 8-10 hours processing images after a wedding. So there is somewhere between 10-15 hours worth of work that noone ever sees behind the scenes.

Another one I have learnt of recently is cake decorating. Wedding cakes & christening cakes cost an absolute fortune, everyone knows that. Having just completed two courses I've found that each cake takes 20+ hours to make the decorations & cake then put it all together. A $500 cake works out to be $25 an hour plus materials, but all the buyer sees is the finished product.

I suspect being a doula is the same. You have to be on call all the time & able to leave your kids, husband, other work behind at a seconds notice. A labour might last for two hours & you get to go home, other times you could very well be at the hospital for 24 hours + and all the while either paying for child care or having your DH off work & not getting paid. There would also be a lot of research into new things, ways to help the labouring mum, buying equipment..... I suspect heavy lifting as well, with needing to help pregnant ladies onto beds etc. Late nights, early mornings & no shift allowance

I think like a lot of jobs it's what goes on behind the scenes that makes it seem so expensive

[BellyBelly]

Thats a good point Sarah. I have had times where I have been at really long births, and my car got locked in the car park, so I had to get a taxi home and back the next day, and pay a huge parking fee! At times I couldn't get childcare (and pretty much 99% of doulas are mothers - they really get birth but thats not always the case of course!) so had to get an emergency nanny. So things do eat up your costs. There's meals during the birth, the day after recovering can mean a missed day of work for you or your partner, or childcare.... loads of things no-one can really see just like you explained Sarah The births that are short are few and far between and I never nick off right after, I make sure mum is okay and breastfeeding has started unless there is some huge reason why I can't.

There are aches and pains to deal with too from hours of doing something a woman loves you doing for hours on end hehehe , the on call aspect of course, which is different to a Mon-Fri, 9-5 job... which probably works out the same rate per hour.

[visitor1]

Thank you Kelly, Sarah and Flowerchild.

I was by no means saying they arent worth it..i was just posing a question as to why they cost so much.

As i said i had one for my last birth and i fully intended to pay full price cos i WANTED a doula and am greatful i did.

Any future babies i would have one too.

Now you have all pointed out new views i never thought of

[Inanna]

Yes they do a great job....but does the cost justify their services??

I guess only you can answer that question for yourself. Did the full price that you would have paid justify the service you got?

That is really the only way to answer this. If an individual doesn't justify the service then it doesn't. For someone else it will.

[visitor1]

All i can say is....sorry i asked a simple question...nothing like feeling $hit for asking something

I loved my doula...always will

[meow]

I agree with the comments made already about the hourly rate for a doula once you break the fee down over all the 'behind the scenes' hours put in. I think the level of training a doula has is also very important.

I think a good doula should cost more and personally I'd rather pay more for a good one than risk my birth experience with someone ill equipped. I had a public hospital birth in a birth centre to save money on a home birth so I figured some of that money saved was going on the best doula I could lay my hands on. I'd rather have pushed my baby around in a shopping trolley than buy a pram if it meant finding the money elsewhere for a good doula!

A good doula will have good training and really 'get' the birth experience and the birth industry. For me, my doula was insurance to navigate me through 'the system' should my birth become medicalised and also a knowledgeable woman to guide me through positions etc as labour progressed. Through my pregnancy she gave me educational materials to use and our discussions ensured I was educated on birth and my choices. I wanted to know that I could trust her. And I did. I am still so grateful to have had her there. I have friends who have used doulas who are not as trained and ended up with preventable interventions suggested by the hospital staff that I still wonder why they had them. Perhaps a more highly trained doula would have helped them be more educated on birth and ask the right questions when the time came?

So for me, I absolutely think the cost justifies the service.

[Lulu]

I think you have the angle wrong is all.

Ok so the payment is alot all at once. But if you were paying her on a monthly basis it probably wouldn't seem so much.
We pay to service our cars, monthly for phone and internet - none of these we can do without but if you paid those things upfront yearly you would question that too.

Do you get your hair cut on a regular basis? Use childcare, get a massage etc? Those things are spread over a year - add them up at once and it looks huge.

As you say, you love your doula so you really do know how much she is worth - dontcha?

[Talia*L]

Far out I think Doulas are an absolute BARGAIN!! At an hourly rate, they are much less than a hairdresser or something!

All the knowledge, support, being there for questions, everything I have heard so far makes me think that they are well worth the cost.

My doula will cost probably 1/3 - 1/4 of my midwife, and they will be there for similar lengths of time.