What goes into a doula's fee?
Couples having a first baby may imagine that their doula will only be spending a few hours with them during the labor and birth. In reality, an eight-hour labor would be considered pretty fast; most first labors last at least 24 hours. At least 4 hours are spent in prenatal and postpartum visits, in addition to travel time and expense, parking fees at the place of birth, phone calls, research, and email support.
A typical full-time doula will accept up to 4 clients per month to ensure that she is reasonably rested when you go into labor. When I put your due date on my calendar, I commit to being available two weeks beforehand and two weeks after that date. This means that when I schedule a vacation, attend a conference, or have a commitment that I cannot miss, I have to add another four weeks during which I cannot accept clients. My clients may hire me with my backup on-call during times that I may be unavailable.
The amount of money I earn is reduced by deductions for vacation and sick time, self-employment taxes, insurance, business expenses, continuing education expenses, and transportation costs.
Being on call requires a high level of personal sacrifice, including a willingness to be woken in the middle of the night to attend a labor for an indeterminate amount of time. I may have to cancel or reschedule appointments, miss holidays, birthdays, or other family events. Trips and events, even going to a movie, have to be carefully planned, knowing that the plans might need to change at any moment. Doulas definitely do this work for the love of it, not for the money, and it's always impossible to know what hourly rate we'll make on any given birth, since there's no way to guess the length of labor a woman can expect.
As a doula, I am constantly striving to learn and grow by reading books and studies, watching videos, searching the internet, and taking continuing education courses. Doulas see the variations from hospital to hospital and between care providers. I must be able to work with many different care providers, but I learn from each of their different approaches and tricks. Every birth and every family teaches me something new that I will take into the next births I attend.
Nobody's getting rich doing doula work. Every doula should be able to make a decent living as a doula without making her life unbearable. I wish I could offer my services at a rate than everyone can afford, but that would require making even greater financial sacrifices than I am already making to do this work. If you need free doula services, I may be able to help you find a free doula; otherwise, by paying the standard fee you are doing future birthing women a great service by making labor support a true profession that can attract and keep talented, skilled individuals.
Adapted from Carrie Kenner, Big Belly Services
A typical full-time doula will accept up to 4 clients per month to ensure that she is reasonably rested when you go into labor. When I put your due date on my calendar, I commit to being available two weeks beforehand and two weeks after that date. This means that when I schedule a vacation, attend a conference, or have a commitment that I cannot miss, I have to add another four weeks during which I cannot accept clients. My clients may hire me with my backup on-call during times that I may be unavailable.
The amount of money I earn is reduced by deductions for vacation and sick time, self-employment taxes, insurance, business expenses, continuing education expenses, and transportation costs.
Being on call requires a high level of personal sacrifice, including a willingness to be woken in the middle of the night to attend a labor for an indeterminate amount of time. I may have to cancel or reschedule appointments, miss holidays, birthdays, or other family events. Trips and events, even going to a movie, have to be carefully planned, knowing that the plans might need to change at any moment. Doulas definitely do this work for the love of it, not for the money, and it's always impossible to know what hourly rate we'll make on any given birth, since there's no way to guess the length of labor a woman can expect.
As a doula, I am constantly striving to learn and grow by reading books and studies, watching videos, searching the internet, and taking continuing education courses. Doulas see the variations from hospital to hospital and between care providers. I must be able to work with many different care providers, but I learn from each of their different approaches and tricks. Every birth and every family teaches me something new that I will take into the next births I attend.
Nobody's getting rich doing doula work. Every doula should be able to make a decent living as a doula without making her life unbearable. I wish I could offer my services at a rate than everyone can afford, but that would require making even greater financial sacrifices than I am already making to do this work. If you need free doula services, I may be able to help you find a free doula; otherwise, by paying the standard fee you are doing future birthing women a great service by making labor support a true profession that can attract and keep talented, skilled individuals.
Adapted from Carrie Kenner, Big Belly Services