Midwife and a Doula? Needed?

[LillyLee]

So I've almost made it to my halfway point (YAY!) and I've been contemplating perhaps also hiring a doula.

I guess I want to know anyone's thoughts on whether or not having a midwife and a doula is normal or slightly overkill. The only person I'm planning on having with me for now is DH but when I broached the subject of hiring a doula with my midwife she said, "We act as your support system." Is this normal?

I guess I'm just worried that in a birthing center they could perhaps be dealing with other things and not necessarily be there the whole time, but do they need to be? DH is also pretty squeamish so I'm not sure what sort of support I can rely on him for yet as this is our first rodeo.

Thanks ladies!

 

[booflebump]

Midwives can be a great source of support - but they also have a clinical role to fulfill which may prevent them from being able to give you their full emotional and physical attention. A doula however is there to emotionally and physically support you and your partner, with no clinical needs interfering with her attention. She will be your advocate, and support you in your choices for your birth.

 

[Feronia]

It really depends on exactly why you want a doula. Personally, I would hire a doula if I gave birth in a hospital because I would want one to advocate for me in an environment where medical intervention can happen quickly. I don't trust myself NOT to ask for an epidural if one is offered to me and I'm in extreme pain -- I have no idea what I would do in that situation, but I'd regret it afterwards, I know that. I also think that my husband may freak out at seeing me in that much pain and recommend the epidural as well. A doula would hopefully keep me on track and encourage me to try other options and positions, which I think would be wonderful.

However, since I've decided on a home birth, I've decided against hiring a doula. I know that doulas can be very helpful to people at home as well, but for what I want, I know I can depend on my husband for emotional support at home without any fear of unnecessary medical intervention.

I did ask my midwife about this as well, and she said that midwives and doulas can work very well together. She said that there is some overlap in what they do, but that at the end of the day the midwives are looking out for you and your baby medically and sometimes cannot provide important emotional support for that reason, while doulas are dedicated to it.

 

[MindUtopia]

I think it also depends on how much support you want from someone before you go into labour and in the postpartum period, or if having a familiar face there to support you besides your husband is important. For me, the main reason I am hiring a doula (besides just feeling like I need to have an extra advocate to make sure my wishes are respected by the midwives) is because I want the extra support preparing for birth and after that a doula can provide (and that midwives don't). I expect my midwives that I see for my appts will help with the clinical side of preparation, but I'd like someone I can talk to more in depth and who has a similar philosophy as me. Also, I really want the extra postpartum support from a doula, especially help with breastfeeding and someone to debrief with me about the birth in case I have any worries about it. Not all doulas do postpartum work, but that's something I'm looking for. Plus, I have no guarantee that the midwives who are on call the day I go into labour will be ones I'll have met before, so having a doula there means I have someone to support me who I'm already familiar with and comfortable with. That's important for me. To be honest, I think maybe your midwives are being a bit unrealistic. They definitely aren't there to provide the same kind of support as a doula would. I would ask them more about how much they've worked with doulas in the past and their experiences. It sounds like maybe they've had a bad experience or something?

 

[fides]

we hired a doula before we switched to a home birth, so I ended up with both - the doula ended up being overkill. the midwives wet towels to fan me with, told me when to slow breathing, broke out the scented oils, etc - they were doing more support like that than she was, and she really ended up taking a back seat role just to stay out of their way. she did take pictures, though.

i don't know how it would be at a birthing center, but if your midwife said they already act as your support system, i may ask her for examples of the kinds of support she typically offers, and see if they are similar to what a hired doula would be doing.

 

[NaturalMomma]

This is my 3rd baby, 2nd homebirth and I'm hiring a Doula. She is a good friend of mine and I just feel like I need that extra support. I like having people I trust around me to remind me that every thing is ok and I'm doing good.

 

[Mervs Mum]

Depends where you are. In North America I would imagine its worth considering both as the role of the Mw can be white different to the role of the independent Mw in the UK. In the UK (IMO) if you're hiring an IM then she should be able to fulfil both roles of you get the right IM. If you want someone for very practical reasons like help with kids etc then a doula is a fab extra pair of hands. Obviously it's personal choice but if I were hiring an IM I probbaly wouldn't employ a doula but if I were birthing in the NHS I absolutely would.

 

[bassdesire]

Midwife and doula for our first birth and we did the same for our second. Second time around the doula was way overkill. First time, essential.

 

[gryphongrl]

We're doing a homebirth with a midwife, a "junior" midwife (certified but still gathering birth experience) and actually I am welcoming a midwifery student as well... I am really concerned about DH's expectations for birth and think he's expecting to be more useful than he really will be. So I'm leaning towards overkill on the support team. DH keeps joking that he's going to be making pitchers of margaritas to keep them all happy and entertained.

 

[lozzy21]

It depends on your midwife, mine despite being there all the time (prem baby) only filled a clinical role, there was no emotional or practical support at all.