DoulaJane

Sorry, but it IS like that! I am a hospital based doula, and if you go to OB with that attitude, you will not be welcomed with open arms I'm afraid. Nurses follow doctor's orders, and what I see every day is inductions, epidurals and pit. More often than not. You will do better to find a Birthing Center to work as a nurse. Don't get me wrong, nurses are independent critical thinking professionals, but the real world forces time constraints and setting priorities. They don't blindly follow doctors orders, but alas, an order is an order. We all hope the parents to be come in EDUCATED and INFORMED about the childbirth process, interventions and procedures so that they may make an informed decision about their care. THEY are the ones to question the doctor, NOT the doula, NOT the nurse.

In Illinois, eye med is law.

As a hospital based doula, I am very careful to avoid stepping on toes. Although I don't meet my couples until they are admitted, I trust our childbirth educator to ensure that couples are informed so that they can make a decision about their care based on benefits/risks. It's not my place to speak for the patient. My role is to protect their birth experience by providing a calm and relaxed environment and empowering the woman to trust her body. I love this job!

Priedom, I would love one of those cheat sheets you use! I am a certified birth doula, RN and Lactation Counselor on the cusp of transferring to the well baby nursery. I've been out of nursing for over 6 years now and boy am I nervous! Please email it to me.

Here in Belleville, Illinois there is a program called Versant Residency for RNs. It is 19 weeks of intense classroom and hands on training.

Doctor, your patient has been awake all night after being admitted at 12 am for induction of labor. Please, please PLEASE let her have her epidural BEFORE you break her water!

That was a postpartum doula.

What? I hear this all the time!

My story is just the opposite. I'm an RN who quit nursing to become a Doula! I love childbirth and newborns! Albeit the pay is not nearly as good, but I am happy doing what I do. I know my limits. I'm 52 years old and decided that the stress and charting was just not worth it. I worked in surgery, not L&D. Too stressful! I admire all of you L&D nurses. The responsibility you carry is daunting. It's just not for me.

Jolie is absolutely right. What mattered at that moment was the mother and the baby, not tact. I have been there; new and green in the OR. My problem was, I was so scared I would miss something I lost sight of the big picture. I needed to relax and let it flow! My priorities got all screwed up: I would stop everything to take care of a minor detail cuz I was afraid I would forget if I didn't do it right that minute. In the meantime, more important things were ignored. Prioritize! It will come if you just relax and believe in yourself. Don't give up!

As an experienced doula, allow me to answer that. A BIRTH doula is a woman trained in childbirth who provides emotional support for the whole family during labor and a few hours post-partum to help with breastfeeding if so desired. She suggests comfort measures such as different positions to try, massage, talking and breathing with mom during her contractions. And thirdly, she provides INFORMATION so the couple can make informed decisions. A doula does NOT make decisions FOR them or speak for them! A woman facing a scheduled OR an emergent Cesearean birth needs a doula too! Same with moms who get epidurals. We are there to help mom get the birth she wants, not to brow beat her into having a natural birth. Although inductions increase the number of interventions and complications, I never try to push my agenda on them! Personally, I have given birth to three children and all three births were different. No hidden agenda here. I have experienced labor with IV demerol only, non-medicated and epidural. I also had a cesearean birth with my last, so I can relate to almost every birth through personal experience. A POST PARTUM Doula takes care of mom after birth when she goes home by providing meals, doing laundry, generally freeing up mom to take care of herself and her baby. I hope this answers your questions. A final note: There are hospital-based doulas who are employed by the hospital and there are private doulas who find their own clients. Both are great!

So glad you asked!:redpinkhe I am a DONA certified birth doula. I took a weekend workshop, completed the required readings and attended a childbirth class series. In order to become DONA certified, I had to attend 3 births as the birth doula, get good evaluations from 3 different doctors, 3 different nurses and 3 different clients. In addition, I was required to write three birth stories along with providing the basics of the birth; ie: times, results of exams, how the mother reacted to the childbirth experience and to my suggestions. Then, I wrote a short paper on the purpose and value of labor support. I work as a hospital-based doula, so I got my 3 births in 2 short days! I take 12 hour call shifts with 10 other doulas. I don't carry insurance on myself as I don't perform any medical interventions or suggest anything until I clear it with my client's nurse. She has the last word. If you would like to learn more visit http://www.dona.org

check out www.dona.org and find research that labor support shortens labors by two hours and reduces the cesearean rate by 50%

i'm a retired rn working as a hospital-based doula. 99% of nurses i work under have been extremely supportive and friendly. but i hear some horror stories online sometimes about "nazi-doulas"....meaning they come in and tell everyone; including the patient what they are allowed to do. i would love to hear comments good and bad about your experiences with doulas.