Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rena from DC Birth Doulas was amazing. I would not have hired a doula if I'd known that I'd end up needing to do a planned c-section. However, I had a bad experience with the anesthesia, and the nurses were giving my husband the brush off when he asked why I was still unconscious for several hours after delivery. Rena knew this was not normal and insisted that an anesthesiologist come in to check on me. Rena also helped my husband with getting our baby to latch while I was unconscious. He was very grateful for her calm guidance. Btw, a friend had a good experience with another senior doula at DCBD and a mediocre experience with a junior doula. So if you're going to pay for a doula at all, I would suggest going with a senior one if you can afford it. Rena is senior, but unfortunately, you don't get to pick. It'll be whoever is available that day.

What on earth?

+10000 This is insane!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i delivered at Sibley a couple of weeks ago and cannot recommend DC birth doulas enough. My doula was completely supportive of my decision to get an epidural.

And I used DC Birth Doulas and got no support and she actively made the experience worse for me. OP this is a crap shoot.

+1 but I've recently learned that the crap DC birth doula I had is now an "Instagram Doula" so maybe she's out of the rotation?

Anonymous wrote:Mom of 2. Save the 1,000, take a childbirth class, get the epidural as soon as they offer it, and hire a night nurse. I wasted 1,000 on a doula for my first delivery and she was useless. Learn from my mistake.

This. If you are getting an epidural at Sibley you don’t need a doula! Unless you want to waste your money. Learn from me, I’m
Still bitter about the 800
I spent.

I emphatically recommend my doula, Tieya Qualls with Quality Touch PT (https://qualitytouchpt.com/). She has a Master degree and Doctoral degree in Physical Therapy and most of her working hours are spent as a physical therapist. That is what made her such a terrific doula. A good portion of the childbirth education and prep was geared toward preventing reproductive organ injury, helping me to encourage labor to start spontaneously, and minimizing pain while pregnant. My husband and I felt she was indispensable while I was in labor, directing me into the best positions to help labor progress both when I was laboring without an epidural around the room and after I had the epidural placed (8cm+) and was laboring in bed. Her support + luck allowed me to have the birth that I wanted with minimal pain while pregnant and no pain past 5 weeks post partum. Beyond that, she is a joy to work with. She's knowledgeable and patient -- she made time to make sure all of my questions were answered. I can't imagine going through labor again without her.

ps. I delivered at Sibley and wanted a low intervention birth.

I emphatically recommend my doula, Tieya Qualls with Quality Touch PT (https://qualitytouchpt.com/). She has a Master degree and Doctoral degree in Physical Therapy and most of her working hours are spent as a physical therapist. That is what made her such a terrific doula. A good portion of the childbirth education and prep was geared toward preventing reproductive organ injury, helping me to encourage labor to start spontaneously, and minimizing pain while pregnant. She was indispensable while I was in labor directing me into the best positions to help labor progress both when I was laboring without an epidural around the room and after I had the epidural placed (8cm+) and was laboring in bed. Her support + luck allowed me to have the birth that I wanted with minimal pain while pregnant and no pain past 5 weeks post partum. Beyond that, she is a joy to work with. She's knowledgeable and patient -- she made time to make sure all of my questions were answered. I can't imagine going through labor again without her.

Anonymous wrote:Rena from DC Birth Doulas was amazing. I would not have hired a doula if I'd known that I'd end up needing to do a planned c-section. However, I had a bad experience with the anesthesia, and the nurses were giving my husband the brush off when he asked why I was still unconscious for several hours after delivery. Rena knew this was not normal and insisted that an anesthesiologist come in to check on me. Rena also helped my husband with getting our baby to latch while I was unconscious. He was very grateful for her calm guidance. Btw, a friend had a good experience with another senior doula at DCBD and a mediocre experience with a junior doula. So if you're going to pay for a doula at all, I would suggest going with a senior one if you can afford it. Rena is senior, but unfortunately, you don't get to pick. It'll be whoever is available that day.

What on earth?

Anonymous wrote:i delivered at Sibley a couple of weeks ago and cannot recommend DC birth doulas enough. My doula was completely supportive of my decision to get an epidural.

And I used DC Birth Doulas and got no support and she actively made the experience worse for me. OP this is a crap shoot.

Rena from DC Birth Doulas was amazing. I would not have hired a doula if I'd known that I'd end up needing to do a planned c-section. However, I had a bad experience with the anesthesia, and the nurses were giving my husband the brush off when he asked why I was still unconscious for several hours after delivery. Rena knew this was not normal and insisted that an anesthesiologist come in to check on me. Rena also helped my husband with getting our baby to latch while I was unconscious. He was very grateful for her calm guidance. Btw, a friend had a good experience with another senior doula at DCBD and a mediocre experience with a junior doula. So if you're going to pay for a doula at all, I would suggest going with a senior one if you can afford it. Rena is senior, but unfortunately, you don't get to pick. It'll be whoever is available that day.