Posted on 15. Feb, 2015 by in Uncategorized
When I started my career in 1995, “doula” was not a household word, but that is changing quickly. Why do more families think of a professional birthing coach as a necessity? One study sheds a clue: mothers assumed their nurses would spend approximately 53 percent of their time on labor support, but nurses spend less than 10 percent of their time in this way.
And as one husband put it, “Asking a first-time father or partner to be an expert labor coach is like asking him or her to coach the Olympics after taking a weekend class on a sport he has never seen.”
What do doulas do? To start, labor can be the most challenging event of a woman’s life. A doula serves as an “encyclopedia” of coping techniques, relieving parents from remembering it all under pressure. Doulas may offer such skills as professional massage, positions to prevent a baby from getting stuck, and feedback about whether pain levels are normal.
The advantages of doula care have been documented since the 1970s. Rates of epidural, Pitocin, and cesarean use are reduced by 25 to 60 percent. Mothers experience less postpartum depression, have an easier time breastfeeding, and couples report a strengthening of their relationships.
Doulas now are available all over the world. They can be located by word of mouth through friends, your doctor or midwife, or the teacher of your childbirth class. Perhaps the easiest way to find a doula is by visiting the Web sites of the national doula organizations:
Or use a search engine such as Google, and type in “doula” plus the name of your city.
What about paying for your doula? Some doulas work for a hospital or community program, with no additional charge for their services. Approximately 80 percent of doulas are hired privately by parents though, with fees ranging from $300 for a newly-trained doula in a small town, to upwards of $2,000 for an experienced doula in cities with the highest cost of living, such as San Francisco or New York.
You may want to budget for your doula just as you would for the expenses of a wedding. If you choose to ask family and friends for financial help, consider using a “gift registry” that allows you to receive cash gifts, such as www.myregistry.com. Some families pay with pre-tax dollars though a Flexible Spending Account for healthcare expenses at their workplace.
As of October 2009, doulas achieved an important success within the insurance industry. U.S. doulas are now able to register for what is known as a National Provider Identification (NPI) number. An NPI makes payment from health insurance companies possible.
To file for insurance reimbursement, pay your doula in advance (or work out a payment plan with her). Call the customer service number at your insurance company, and state that you would like to file a claim for a doula. Most insurance companies will reply that a doula is not normally a covered service, so do not insist on making a verbal claim over the phone—simply ask them to send you the paperwork for a written claim. Your doula can help you fill out these forms.
If your claim is rejected, call your insurance company again and ask to file a written appeal. You may even need to appeal a second time, but insurance experts report that the majority of patients who file appeals are eventually paid. Doulas are seeing this happen more and more.
Many parents search for a doula in their second trimester. But even if you find yourself without a doula at the end of pregnancy, it is not too late to locate one. Explore the world of doulas and discover an option for your family with numerous benefits and no unhealthy side-effects.