When to Hire a Doula?

I'm often asked when is the best time to hire a doula. The truth is, it's never too late - I have been hired as late as 39 weeks to support a family birthing in Keller! Some doulas have gotten phone calls from women in labor that are looking for support right then! I have also been hired as early as "hey! I'm pregnant! I'd love you to be my doula!".

The earlier you hire me as your birth doula the more you get out of my services. I'm available to you for longer as a resource for providers and evidence based research.

Why would I hire early?

I just recently got a call from a past client letting me know they're expecting again! After I let them know how excited I am for them and they told me they needed me on their birth team again (Yay! It's always such a great honor to be asked back for future births!) we started chatting about their birth plans. They had a great birth in Flower Mound for their first child but they are looking for a different experience this time. We chatted about birth centers in Denton, Argyle, Keller, Allen and Plano. They haven't decided where they want to birth, or if maybe home birth is what's best for them but because they hired me early and I'm available to them I can provide more resources! I have compiled a list for them of all the best midwives and doctors in their area so they can have all the information to find the best birth team for their dream birth!

The longer I know you, the better I know you! I generally chat with clients over the phone or in texts at least as often as they are seeing their care provider, often more than that! I love getting to know my clients well and the stronger our relationship is the better support I am able to offer to you when you're in labor! We call this Relational Support in doula-world and I think it is one of the most important parts of our job!

Limited Availability

Each month I only take on one or two clients. My calendar usually fills up quickly! If I am unavailable to be your birth doula I'm always happy to pass along the names of other amazing doulas I personally know and recommend in the Dallas, Fort Worth area that have availability for your due date. Booking early can help you to get your birth team settled and start building that relationship with your doula that makes the experience so positive.

I know personally I ran into this with one of my births before I was a doula. I was on the hunt for a doula and I quickly learned that there are so many great options out there. I talked to my husband and we figured out what we were looking for and what our budget was. From there I contacted at least 8 doulas before I found one that had availability for my due date! That's great that so many families in the DFW Metroplex are using doulas for their births but as a consumer it sure was an extra challenge.

When are you normally hired? What's that process like?

Obviously not everyone hires me right after they learn they're pregnant and I'm rarely hired in the final month. The average time that I meet expecting mothers for a consultation is around the 20 week mark. When an expecting mother reaches out and says that she'd like to talk to me about doula services I do my best to meet with her that week! We can do either a phone consultation or an in person interview! Some people like to chat on the phone first then set up a meeting in person and that's just fine too!
I generally meet about half way between you and me for our initial conversation. Sometimes I need that meeting to be in Denton if that's all that my schedule allows or if I have a client I anticipate going into labor soon in the area. Other times I'm meeting clients or providers in your area so I can come to your town, it all depends! I have met families for doula consultations in McKinney, Allen, Keller, Frisco, Denton, Sanger, Decatur and Fort Worth. I'm sure there are other cities that I'm forgetting, but chances are we can find a place to meet!

Where do you meet for Consultations/Interviews?

Starbucks is undoubtedly my favorite meeting location, it's easy and they're everywhere! I'm also a little addicted to coffee! I also meet families that are bringing older children along to the consultation at Chick Fil A's or other kid friendly places so they're more comfortable. I'm very flexible and open to suggestions. Since Denton is my stomping grounds I love to meet in local coffee shops or cafe's, as I learn new cities and their unique local businesses I try to use those places too!

Consultations are always free and last about 45 minutes to an hour! You can reach out to me here to set one up! I would love to meet you and chat about how I can be a doula for your upcoming birth and help it to be an empowering experience!

Rebekah Lewis is a birth doula, placenta encapsulation specialist and postpartum belly binding specialist serving families in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex. She makes her home outside of Denton, Texas with her husband and two daughters. She serves the greater North Central Texas area including all of Denton County, North Tarrant County, Gainesville, Decatur, McKinney, Allen, Frisco, Plano and surrounding areas.

Interviewing Doulas: Why some questions matter!

Congratulations on your pregnancy and decision to hire a doula! It can be a daunting project to decide what to ask when interviewing doulas and finding the right one for you. Here is a peek behind the doula curtain to see why certain interview questions matter!

You can find lists of questions to ask when interviewing doulas all over the internet and one of the first questions they recommend is how many births have you attended? A better question to ask is: How has your training prepared you to support me in my labor and birth? You might even ask a bit more about what their training was like and what it involved! Everyone has to attend their first few births, I have to say, I did an amazing job supporting my very first client! It is about so much more than numbers. A good training will have your doula ready to support you whether it is her first birth to attend or her twentieth! Your connection with your doula honestly matters more than the number of births she has attended. Do you feel comfortable and supported with her? That's what you should ask yourself!

Speaking of a good training - ask her if she is Certified? If so, with what organization? There are many doula training organizations out there! Some people pick a big name company or a smaller one that they connect with their ideology and philosophys. Sometimes you will have an uncertified doula tell you that she has decided to remain uncertified although she trained with xyz organization because she found their "scope of practice limiting". Honestly, if they found it limiting, they needed to find another organization that has a broader scope or one they agree with more and certify with them. Ask them what about that scope was limiting? Was it that they can't use essential oils? Is it because they aren't allowed to do cervical exams? (if your doula says she will do cervical exams RUN! that is not her job!)
You can be a great doula without being certified but here's why I advocate for certification - it holds the doula to a higher standard! If I was running around doing things I shouldn't (catching babies, acting unprofessional, not showing up to births etc) my clients can contact the 3 (yes 3!) organizations I hold certifications with and I would have someone to answer to. I get resources and materials from these organizations, I don't want to do something to ruin that relationship with my cert org because that's part of me staying in business! Doulas are not regulated (like midwives or doctors) so working with someone who has taken the time, expense and effort to maintain a certification is an indicator that you have found a professional, not someone doing this as a hobby.

Some other certification/training questions: Do you have to recertify yearly? (or did they get a lifetime stamp of approval regardless of how they practice?) Tell me about your training? (was it an in person hands on training or was it all distance education and books or a combination of both? There isn't a good or a bad here, just what fits their learning style best. If they've only attended a handful of births, is it important to you if they had hands on training?)

Ask about continuing education. A professional doula should always be working towards learning and growing, if her certification organization requires yearly recertification she will be working on something. This is also great for you! Continuing Education is when doulas pick up skills beyond the basics they learn at training. Accupressure, TENS, Massage, advanced situation training (ie bereavement doula), rebozo, spinning babies etc. These are just an example of things a doula can add to her tool belt to help you have a supported birth!

What unique or challenging experiences have you faced as you have supported clients? This is where the number of births comes into play, you can have a doula that has been to 50 births, but they all happen to be uncomplicated vaginal births. You can have a doula who has attended three and all three had a complication arise that has afforded the doula unique and invaluable experiences.

Some people ask how many children a doula has. That might be important to you, but I know doulas that do not have children and they are awesome at their job! Instead ask, Do you have reliable childcare? How long will it take you to get to me when I am in labor? Doulas who do this professionally have some awesome on call childcare options! When I take on a client I have a game plan of where my children can be dropped off at a moments notice for the 5 week on-call window, 24/7!

What is your birth philosophy? is a common interview question -  it isn't a bad question, but a better question would be if she can support you in your desired birth? (water birth, hospital birth, birth center birth, home birth, vbac, unique complication, c-section whether planned or emergent)

How do you work with my husband/partner? Doulas and dads should complement each other. A doula should not take a partners place (unless that's what the birthing person and partner want!). Sometimes I'm at an interview and a pregnant mother wants me to convince her husband that a doula is a good idea. Doulas love to talk about what we do and how we can help you have an awesome birth but please understand we can't make him do anything. I don't know the dynamics of your relationship and if he doesn't really want me there and it has been forced on him, it probably won't be the greatest birth environment when half of the birthing couple doesn't want the doula present. Hopefully after meeting a doula your partner is on board with a supported birthing experience!

Another frequent question is whether or not a doula has worked at your particular birth place or with that provider. I am in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex, we have hundreds of care providers! While there are some providers I have worked with more than once, chances are I won't ever work with all of them! It still might be nice to know if the doula has worked with them, but don't put a lot of stock in that response! You should ask the doula instead, I am planning a ______ birth. What questions would you suggest I ask my care provider to see if he/she will support my wishes.

Do you have any "black out dates" around my due date? This is a great way to also learn about their back up doula! Doulas are people too and sometimes we need to go out of town or attend a wedding etc. There's about a 3% chance of going into labor on any given day, so the chances of you laboring on the day(s) that your doula isn't available are slim but she should have a solid back up relationship regardless of black out dates! If your doula does have a black out date, ask if you can meet the back up doula if you'd like!

Do you have an hourly clause in your contract? Hourly clauses work a couple of different ways: Some doulas charge a base rate for their services and if your labor exceeds a certain number of hours an hourly fee begins to retain your labor support. Sometimes it's 12, 15, or 18 hours of labor support that is built into the existing fee and hourly labor support varies but it's anywhere from $12-$20/hour. I do not charge more based on the length of your labor nor do any doulas that I have a back up relationship with!

Most doulas have a clause in their contract about bringing in a back up (if needed) if labor goes beyond a certain number of hours. For example, 15 hours, if your doula is with you for 15 hours she reserves the right to bring in a back up doula to relieve her and bring in fresh awesome support for you (so she can get some rest! We're pretty awesome but we're not super human! Trust me, you want a rested doula). Check to see if you are responsible for paying the back up doula or if that is covered in your fee.

These are just a few questions you might consider asking in a doula interview. At the end of the day, I believe that it matters most how you personally connect with the doula. If you feel on edge, or like you're being judged by the person you are interviewing - she isn't the doula for you! It should be a pretty easy connection and someone you look forward to seeing.

Check out this post for a more complete list of doula interview questions!

Rebekah Lewis is a birth doula, professional belly binder and placenta encapsulator serving families in the North part of the Dallas Fort Worth area. She serves families in Denton, Cooke, Tarrant, Dallas, Wise and Collin counties.