Anyone use a Doula? Especially NZ.

[Tui]

Hi everyone. Can those who used a doula for their birth and/or post partum care please tell me about your experience, good and bad. How much time did you have them there for, what they did to help, what did they charge you, etc. I'm thinking of training to be one and I'm interested in how everyone got on.

(I have also asked the same question in the birth section, as I didn't know where to put this.)

 

[Zephram]

Hi, I'm in NZ too. I have to say I have never heard of anyone in New Zealand using a doula. I actually never heard of the occupation or even the word doula until I joined this forum. I'm not meaning to put you off, but there may not be any actual demand here for a doula. It's really something to consider in that you may not want to spend the time/money to train and then not get any - or much - work doing it to make it worth it. With our midwife based system, which is already fairly grassroots, I'm not sure that there's a need for doulas as well. However, that is just my opinion and I'm happy to be proved wrong! Is there any reason you wouldn't consider training as a midwife?

 

[Tui]

There are two different aspects of being a doula, both birth and after care. They are actually becoming quite popular here, but I guess it depends on where you live. I would love to train as a midwife but we couldn't afford the fees for the 3/4years it takes unfortunately. Training and certification to be a doula is considerably less as they aren't medically trained. More like a relaxed and helpful person with a good knowledge base of birth etc.

I had a traumatic birth myself and my midwife just didn't say the things I needed to hear to reassure me about what was happening. She left me half way through with her backup,(which I'm thankful for as she was great when it all went wrong) and picked up the next day. She was functional, but no empathy if you get what I'm trying to say.

 

[Zephram]

That's fair enough. I had a very positive experience with my midwife with my second birth so I do think the midwife system works very well if you get the 'right' one. Obviously you don't know until you get there though.

If you are a NZ'er/permanent resident then you'll be able to get a student loan to study midwifery, so no need to worry about paying fees. It's totally fine if it's not your cup of tea though. Just curious, where do you train to be a doula in NZ?

 

[Tui]

Still finding all that out right now. And a loan is just that unfortunately. You still need to pay it back, lol. I have two degrees already. Not sure I want to do all that again.

And before anyone asks, my degrees led to a career which isn't family friendly. I'm looking for alternatives, hence the post.

 

[Tui]

Oh and doula's work WITH midwifes, not instead of them in case anyone didn't realise.

 

[minties]

I'm from NZ and wouldn't ever pay for a doula. I would always make sure I chose a midwife that I meshed well with. I changed midwives with this baby at 12 weeks because the first one didn't feel quite right.

I think it would be lovely to BE a doula but I'm thinking it would only be quite well-off ladies who would or could pay for one, especially if it became trendy.

 

[Tui]

Yes I wish I'd had the courage to chose another midwife, but we were further down the track than you when things felt a bit off. I'm also the kind of person that hates to offend people, so I just carried on.

Thanks for your thoughts.