Doula

We deliver about 8500 babies a year and see a doula only on rare occasions. I don't believe I've seen one in the past year or so.

we see them on occasion and they can be lifesaving.......for info see:

http://www.dona.org

Yes, doulas are helpful. Yes, it seems more women are hiring doulas (depending on the area). And yes, I was a doula before I was a L&D nurse. :)

We see a doula every couple months. We have about 100 deliveries/month.

Our hospital actually has an entire staff of Doulas. You can hire them through the hospital and we can get and on call doula for anyone that we think is in need of one. Because of this service we see Doulas several times a week. They are a great help in labor and after the delivery they help with breasfeeding. Because we have a staff of doulas the RN's work very well with them and we get to know them and they get to know us. They will request a specific RN that is working that day based on the Pt's needs. They follow them after delivery also, doing rounds on PP and a home visit. We also get a few private Doulas, but mostly people use the hospital doulas.

We are seeing more doulas (not with our CNM patients though). Most are THE GREATEST! I especially like the fact that they are seeing them in the PP period.

Some of our office personnel (LPN, MA's) are trying to get a class close to home so they can all go.

It probably varies according to the area of the county you are in...

Our hospital actually has an entire staff of Doulas. You can hire them through the hospital and we can get and on call doula for anyone that we think is in need of one. Because of this service we see Doulas several times a week. They are a great help in labor and after the delivery they help with breasfeeding. Because we have a staff of doulas the RN's work very well with them and we get to know them and they get to know us. They will request a specific RN that is working that day based on the Pt's needs. They follow them after delivery also, doing rounds on PP and a home visit. We also get a few private Doulas, but mostly people use the hospital doulas.

This sounds great. For the people in need of a doula, is it a volunteer program? I would like to try to set up a program like that at our county hospital when I do my leadership clinical there. I anticipate a lot of resistance, but I think it could do a lot of good. So many low income or single moms who could use some help or can't afford a doula but may want one. Does anyone else have a program like that? How well does it work? do the nurses like it? Thanks.

This sounds great. For the people in need of a doula, is it a volunteer program? I would like to try to set up a program like that at our county hospital when I do my leadership clinical there. I anticipate a lot of resistance, but I think it could do a lot of good. So many low income or single moms who could use some help or can't afford a doula but may want one. Does anyone else have a program like that? How well does it work? do the nurses like it? Thanks.

Our doulas are paid by the hospital. The pt's pay a small fee for the service ($50-$200 based on your finanacial need) But if the pt is not pre-arranged and the MD or RN think that they are in need of one and can't afford one then the hospital pays. It has been so great when we get a pt who has no support system with them we can just call the doula service who has doulas on call 24-7.

This sounds great. For the people in need of a doula, is it a volunteer program? I would like to try to set up a program like that at our county hospital when I do my leadership clinical there. I anticipate a lot of resistance, but I think it could do a lot of good. So many low income or single moms who could use some help or can't afford a doula but may want one. Does anyone else have a program like that? How well does it work? do the nurses like it? Thanks.

I completely agree. Low SES moms need doula services probably more than the higher SES ones who usually can afford their services. There are two organizations in Chicago which are already doing this:

Check out the Ounce of Prevention Fund in Chicago, which has a doula program for teen moms:

http://www.ounceofprevention.org

Click on "programs," then on "doula."

http://www.ounceofprevention.org/index.php?section=programs&action=program&program=3&page=10

And Chicago Health Connection, which has a very successful peer doula program for at risk moms and teens:

http://www.chicagohealthconnection.org/news/news_events.htm

A documentary was made about them. I want to start up a similar program wherever I wind up working after school, too, if one doesn't already exist.

Yup I'm a doula

Did you have any particular questions?

Our hospital actually has an entire staff of Doulas. You can hire them through the hospital and we can get and on call doula for anyone that we think is in need of one. Because of this service we see Doulas several times a week. They are a great help in labor and after the delivery they help with breasfeeding. Because we have a staff of doulas the RN's work very well with them and we get to know them and they get to know us. They will request a specific RN that is working that day based on the Pt's needs. They follow them after delivery also, doing rounds on PP and a home visit. We also get a few private Doulas, but mostly people use the hospital doulas.

What a great thing . . .most doulas around here are not looked on favorably. I guess there was an incident where a doula was performing cervix checks and the hospital was very upset and banned them at one place.

When I was doing army nursing and so many of the guys were away there were a lot of doulas hired to be support, I thought that was wonderful for those women.

The vast majority of us stick to a non clinical scope. There are a few that know how to do vag exams (are nurses/MW's) and I wish there was some consistent use of the proper term of "monitrice" instead of "doula". I think alot of the confusion is from that.

A hospital dictating who a mom could hire for help- that's pretty bad. I hope the moms then choose another hospital. We do have one that requires us to sign a form saying we will only do non clinical tasks. A no brainer for me.

For military wives/GF's theres a program called special delivery which provides volunteer doula services if the dad is away http://www.operationspecialdelivery.com/

Hmmm yeah. I am working on my cetification through DONA. I am pretty sure you lose your certification if you are practicing outside the scope of a doula when you are working as a doula, whether you are a nurse or not.

Also, Operatio Special Delivery is a great program, I have a lot of friends who have used it. Definitely recommend it to anyone who needs it :)