young possible doula

[bby_bat]

I am looking at becomeing a doula but I am only 19 (I will be 20 in june) I was just wondering if is going to be worth me putting out the money for it? I just dont think that anyone is going to trust what I have to say if i am alot younger than they. my main question is if I was qualified would any of you guys hire me???

[Nelle]

I think if I was choosing a doula, I would do so looking at a number of things like:
- qualifications
- if they came recommended to me
- their experience
- how I connected with them, and how my partner did
- if they supported my wishes and I felt they'd be firm enough to advocate for me.

I think if someone was warm, professional, and knew what they were doing, I could have confidence in them no matter what their age. My birth support partner was 18 when I had my first baby (she was a student midwife then) and she was an excellent support, I couldn't have asked for better. So it is possible, but I think you would need to decide whether you could convince women that you have that special something that makes you worthy of sharing in their birthing experience.

All the best.

[bby_bat]

thanks heap I am a student nurse atm going to do midwifery it is my passion to work with pregnant women and their partners to help them and back them with their decisions hopefully other people see it the way you do

[Jaycee]

I just wanted to say I think it's fantastic you want to do this and I'm sure you'll make a fantastic doula.
It's wonderful to see a young person so passionate about the birthing choices of women, as I am sure you will be there yourself one day!
Well done!

[Clare Bear]

I think you will make a wonderful Doula. Having a passion about the field of work you choose is a key aspect to success and your clients will be able to pick up on that passion regardless of your age. Through your own social network you will be able to find those first few clients and from there your business will grow with word of mouth.

Good luck

[tk1999]

I agree with Nelle - when I was looking into doula's recently I wasn't concerned with their age but their lines of thinking (was it similar to mine), whether we clicked (and we did - we sat talking for over 2 or so hours), their experience (are they a mum, how many births have they attended etc) and those sorts of things.