Anonymous wrote:Disagree, get the doula. If you want one, also get a doula for after your little one is born. During labor and birth, your doula is worried about your safety, your feelings, your birth plan. Everyone else is focused on the baby. Worth every penny

Ideally, absolutely. In my lived experience, she was worried about maintaining her relationships with hospital staff, whatever was happening in her text messages, and her dinner plans.

Disagree, get the doula. If you want one, also get a doula for after your little one is born. During labor and birth, your doula is worried about your safety, your feelings, your birth plan. Everyone else is focused on the baby. Worth every penny

Anonymous wrote:I used DC birth doulas several times and would highly recommend, especially if you want to go for a unmedicated vaginal birth. They know what to do, pain management and no a lot of nurses don’t hang out with you every minute of labor - they come in and out and see their other patients. If you want someone dedicated to you throughout labor - def shoot for a doula.

I used DCBD and my doula didn't show up for hours, argued against the only thing I asked for (not to have a resident perform a specific task, which he then botched), and spent at least half of the time she was "with" us hanging out next door with a couple she knew who was giving birth at the same time.

Agree with PP who said save your money unless you're a WOC who will otherwise deliver alone.

Phelicia is available at next2venus@gmail.com

Phelicia Cyrus is amazing! She has attended over 200 births and her experience shows. We had a wonderful experience with her for our second birth. She is very knowledgeable, and perceptive about what the laboring mom needs. She was in text communication with us throughout and arrived well in time for the main show, getting to campus several hours before she needed to be there. She was able to walk me through the pros and cons of each intervention without any judgment. Even the OB nurses were very complimentary of her skills and support during the delivery. She is also a professional photographer and the pictures and detailed notes she took of the delivery were a wonderful souvenir. Finally, she is much more reasonable compared to DCBirthDoulas and Capitol Hill doulas, especially given her experience and photography. And she was willing to work with me to get insurance reimbursement even though she is OON, I was able to get a gap exception and get coverage through insurance.’

The director of HR for D.C. Public Library also has an FT remote job as a senior HR manager AND a contract job as a doula:
https://www.doulasofcapitolhill.com/team/lauren-graves

I highly recommend Jackie Prescott. She is definitely evidence based and is supportive about whatever experience you want to have. I was ama and had some other medical issues and she went above and beyond to make sure I had the support I needed. I can’t recommend her enough. It looks like she has changed practices since I used her in 2019 and you can find her here: https://www.districtdoulas.com/.

I had a crummy experience with DC Birth Doulas and didn't feel supported at all. If I could go back in time I'd just throw that money in a 529.

I also had ann excellent experience with DC Birth Doulas! I had GD, advanced maternal age, and some other stressful things, and they were supportive and great. I worried that a doula might be kind of “woo” and pressure me away from interventions that I actually wanted or needed, but all my interactions with DCBD were evidence-based and supportive (they gave me lots of helpful info and support when I was scheduling an induction on my doctors’ recommendation, for example, and they fully supported my decision to have an epidural). One possible drawback is that you don’t know which doula will be on call when you have your baby, but the person who was assigned to us was GREAT—she really helped me through what turned out to be a kind of scary delivery—and I have every reason to think the other DCBD doulas would be similar.

I used DC birth doulas several times and would highly recommend, especially if you want to go for a unmedicated vaginal birth. They know what to do, pain management and no a lot of nurses don’t hang out with you every minute of labor - they come in and out and see their other patients. If you want someone dedicated to you throughout labor - def shoot for a doula.

Not a popular opinion but I'd save the money for a postpartum doula and have some help overnight and with your recovery - meals, lactation, prioritizing sleep.

Birth doulas are great for comfort measures but so are some nurses. For medically complicated cases you're going to want to trust your Dr and the medical staff not a doula. For ama and diabetes during pregnancy you may be looking at an induction and not going full term. Diabetes can contribute to a higher section rate. Your ob/mfm will make a safety plan. The nurses and medical team will take care of your medical complications. Not a doula.

If you want someone to be there with you so you're not alone between rn checks. Then that's another story. Often doula's work for the clients and want a different outcome - low intervention birth when it's in fact medically necessary. In that moment do you want someone contradicting your ob/MFM who is evidence based and trained to handle emergencies and keep you alive.

All of this is said assuming you are at a private hospital. You aren't a POC and you trust your medical team.

I'm looking for Doula recommendations. Bonus points if they have experience with high risk pregnancy markers like diabetes and advanced maternal age. I am planning on having a hospital birth due to these risk factors. I want someone who is the "evidence based" type. For me they don't need any specific certifications, although experience is important. I've been looking at Doulamatch.net but would love if people have specific recommendations. I would also love to hear about your doula experiences.