My Doula Decision

I think the first true test of being single mom for me is going to be...the actual labor!

I will be honest, it is so easy to feel jealousy toward those women who have a supportive partner throughout their pregnancy. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances of conception, I have no such partner. This certainly makes some things more difficult (as I am discovering). Some things I anticipated (aka: lifting the GIANT bag of dog food). However, I never realized what a battle lotion application could be.

Due to the new-found difficulty of some things, I've decided to spend some extra cash and contract services. I have a company scheduled to mow my lawn and remove snow throughout the winter, I pay a doggie daycare to watch the pup when I need to get certain things done, and I have paid a woman to be my go-to labor support.

Yep, I have a doula.

I am possibly the last person on earth I thought would contract with a doula service. I am a well educated medical professional, and the perception I had was that doulas are all touchy-feely, medical intervention avoiding people generally on the opposite side of my comfort spectrum. While that may be exactly what some people want and need throughout labor, I am not one of those people. However, I do need someone to take me to the hospital, hold my hand, and help me focus throughout the labor. As much as I pride myself in being a strong single woman, I do not feel I should go through the labor of my daughter alone.

So, about a month ago, I began my search for a doula. Here are some recommendations for those currently searching or considering a doula for their labor:
1)Does your insurance cover (at least partially) doula services?
2)Is the doula certified? Is this an important factor for you?
3) What is it you are wanting from your doula (for me, I wanted to know someone would be with me the whole way through. Some agencies only covered 12 hours of labor, which was not adequate for me)?
4)What is your personality/feelings toward doulas (I will admit, I was not super fond of the idea of a doula at first, largely because I am terribly blunt, and was afraid I would hurt someone's feelings, and I didn't want the stress of that on top of labor)?
5)What services do they offer? How many prenatal consultations/planning sessions are included? Do they offer postpartum services?
6)What is their back-up system? Are they part of an agency? Can they guarantee SOMEONE will be with you in labor?
7)Do they help with home-birth labor? Are they familiar with your hospital/birthing center?
8)What is their cost?
**I feel that most importantly, it is imperitave you find someone with whom your personality matches well. You need to have a connection with this person. After all, they are going to help you through one of the most important events of your life**

So, after interviewing with several doula agencies (I live in a large metropolitan area), I have selected a wonderful woman who is very naturally-inclined, but comfortable with modern medicine. In the ideal world, I will have a spontaneous labor that progresses quickly and I will require no meds (the recovery time is so fast!), but being high-risk I recognize that I may have to be induced early, and may even need a c-section. My doula (Jamie) has done a fantastic job reminding me that my birth plan is about me, and my preferences, and while my type-A self would love nothing more than to write a 14-page plan, just knowing my basic preferences on things is probably ideal for my situation.

I will have continued updates on my relationship with my doula, but for now I am just so excited to have found my "doula match"!