Hiring a doula can be your best and easiest decision to make when planning your pregnancy, birth, and postpartum period. Doulas are a HUGE resource for all things related to prenatal health, birth planning, breastfeeding, infant care, postpartum healing, and beyond! Doulas also have extensive professional referral lists to send you to the best specialists in your area, including OB’s and Midwives, Lactation Consultants, Prenatal Massage Therapists and much more!
But how do you know you’re hiring the RIGHT doula for you and your family? By taking the time to interview doulas, whether over the phone, on a video conference, or in person, and asking the right questions, you can ensure you’ve chosen the doula that will be able to best support you and your family in all the ways you’ll need them to (and probably some ways you may not have even thought about!).
Step 1:
Start by searching online for doulas in your area or asking local friends and neighbors who have recently had a baby if they have doulas they recommend. Read their reviews online, check out their websites and social media pages, and start to compile a list of your favorite doulas. Reach out through email, phone call, or text and be sure to let them know your Estimated Due Date (EDD), where you’re located and/or planning to give birth (if you already have that decided), and what services you’ll anticipate needing (labor doula services, postpartum doula services, breastfeeding support, etc.).
Step 2:
Once you’ve narrowed the list of doulas to the ones who are available for your due date, serve your area, and you’d like to continue with the interview process, start scheduling phone/video calls or in-person meetings to get to know the doulas better. Ask my Top 10 Questions below to get all the information you’ll need to make a well-informed decision on the best doula for your family.
Interview Questions
“How long have you been a doula and how many families have you served?”
It’s important to know how long they’ve been working professionally as a doula, but it’s even MORE important to know how many families they’ve worked with. While it may sound substantial when a doula says she’s been working professionally for 5 years, some doulas work part-time and in turn have only worked with a few families, limiting their experience and knowledge.
However, keep in mind that it’s not always a bad thing if a doula is somewhat new and hasn’t served many (or ANY) families yet. They may have just finished their training and are looking for clients for “certifying births”, and can offer you a great price. Just because they’re new doesn’t mean they’re not knowledgeable. Doula trainings are extensive, require a lot of reading, and usually have hands-on technique practice built into their curriculum.
“What training courses and workshops have you attended and when did you take them?”
Training and certification programs for doulas are extremely helpful in giving your doula the best and most up-to-date information and practices on all things birth-related. Knowing if your doula is certified by one of the many programs available will give you a lot of insight into how they serve their clients. Most certifying programs require their doulas to follow a Scope of Practice and a Code of Conduct to ensure their integrity and quality of work and also require them to have continuing education hours in order to keep their certification current. If your doula is certified, you can ask for a copy of the Scope of Practice and Code of Conduct to better educate yourself on their limitations and proper practices.
Although there are many highly experienced doulas that have had no formal training or certification, it should definitely be a high priority to hire a doula that is continuing to educate themselves by attending workshops and keeping up with the most current research and evidence-based information available.
“What do your labor doula services (or postpartum doula services) include?”
Most labor doulas have a set package that they offer their clients. For example, some may include 1-2 prenatal visits, 24-hour on-call availability starting 2 weeks prior and ending 2 weeks after your EDD, and 1-2 postpartum visits. Find out what these prenatal and postpartum visits include and whether or not they allow for you to text, call, or email them periodically with questions.
Postpartum doulas typically work on an hourly basis, but some may require a minimum contract. Some postpartum doulas have packages available that have a certain amount of postpartum care hours and include other services they may offer like meal prepping, belly binding, bodywork and massage, or breastfeeding education. Be sure to ask what their services and packages include, and what their typical working day (or night) looks like so you can better understand exactly what you’ll be getting from them.
“Do you offer any additional services, aside from your doula services?”
This is a slight spin-off from the previous question. From birth photography to lactation consulting to reiki healing…most doulas are not JUST doulas. We wear a lot of different hats, because we want to make sure our communities are being served in the ways they need it! I can speak from my own experience on this one: birth work is ADDICTING. I’m constantly wanting to take new trainings and learn more skills to help my families in every aspect that they may need. Your doula may also offer services that you might be interested in like belly binding, prenatal yoga instruction, sleep training consultation, and household/nursery organization.
“What made you want to become a doula?”
This question is a great way to get a feel for your doula’s passion for birth work and give you a taste of their background and personality. Some doulas started because they attended friends’ births and loved it, or maybe they grew up in a big family and have always been in that “caretaker” role, or maybe they always knew they wanted to go into the birth work field as a career. Get to know your doula and what makes them passionate about their job!
“Do you have strong views on anything related to birth or postpartum that I should be aware of? (Anti- or pro-vaccination, breastfeeding vs. formula, against any kind of birth interventions or pain medications, religious or cultural practices, etc.)”
This is a big one. As doulas, we really shouldn’t press our opinions or beliefs on our clients in any way, since we’re there to be supporting you in the ways you’ve decided are best for your family (unless it’s something that could potentially be harmful to you or your baby). However, I know lots of doulas who have very strong opinions on certain topics and try to only work with families that align with their same philosophies. So make sure you both are on the same page as far as what you’re planning to do for your birth and postpartum period.
Let them know if you’re planning to breastfeed exclusively or bottle feed formula. Tell them your family’s practices and routines so they can be familiar with what your anticipated needs will be. If you’re part of a certain religion or culture and have rituals or rules that must be followed, now is the time to voice those to your doula. Make sure you both fully understand what will be expected during your time together!
“When will you arrive at the birth, how long will you stay, and will there be a time that you could potentially need to leave during the birth? Is there a chance you won’t be able to attend my birth? Will you have a ‘backup doula’ available?”
I put that first sentence because your doula’s answer to these questions may differ based on the birth you’re planning to have. They should say that they’ll arrive at your birth whenever you, as the birthing person, say you need them. That may be while you’re in early labor at home, once you’ve checked into the hospital, or not until you’re further into active labor. When you need them to come support you is fully up to you and how you’re feeling in the moment.
This should also be the part of the interview where your doula will tell you of any other births or personal plans she has on her calendar surrounding your EDD. Most doulas have more than one birth client per month, so there may be a chance that another client could go into labor the same day you do and your doula won’t be available to arrive at your birth the moment you ask them to, or at all. However, every doula should have “backup doulas” that they have available for these moments. Should something out of their control inhibit them from attending any or all of your birth, they will have the backup doula come in their place. Your doula may also have a stipulation in their contract that after a certain amount of hours of continuous in-person support (usually around 12-16 hours of continuous support), they can leave to rest for a few hours and will call in their backup doula to take their place should you want that.
You can absolutely ask for their backup doula’s name and contact information so that you can interview them and decide whether or not you want them potentially attending your birth. If you have any issue with their backup, you should voice these concerns to your doula and either they can resolve the issues or hire another backup doula for your birth.
“For postpartum doula services, how does scheduling work? Is there an hourly minimum ‘per shift’ requirement?”
This one varies from doula to doula. Some will want to start services the day you get home from the hospital, birthing center, or the day the baby is born at home. Some may be available to support you during your stay at the hospital immediately after the birth. Some will only have certain days and times available, since they’ll likely also be working with other families. Some doulas are able to give you a certain number of days per week and can work out the schedule later once you’re closer to your due date or after the baby has arrived and you’ve had time to figure out your family’s scheduling needs. This will all depend on the doula, what their availability is, and how they run their schedule.
Most postpartum doulas have a minimum amount of hours they require per shift. This is typically a number that in their time as a doula they’ve found to be the least amount of time they should work per day to be beneficial to the family, depending on the services they offer. Usually for daytime shifts, you’ll be looking at a minimum of 2-5 hours and for overnight shifts, around 6-8 hours minimum.
“What is your rate?”
Now let’s get down to the nitty-gritty: MONEY. I was going to put this as Question #1 because that’s usually the first thing that comes to people’s minds when hiring anyone…how much is this going to cost me? However, I felt that you should first be asking questions to better know your doula, their expertise, their services offered, and their personality before you even need to know how much they charge. You should have a pretty good idea after the previous questions if you even like the doula and want to pursue hiring them.
Average price range for doulas can vary depending on the area you live in, so I suggest doing some quick research prior to interviewing doulas to find out what doulas in your area are charging. A lot of doulas have their pricing right on their websites so you can quickly get a ballpark figure of what you’ll likely be spending. Labor doulas should have a set package rate (in LA, that can range from $500-5000, depending on their experience level and services offered in their packages) and postpartum doulas will typically have an hourly rate (in LA usually from $20-80/hr).
“Do you have previous clients I can call as references?”
Finally, once you’ve decided this doula may be “The One” and you’re almost ready to put a ring on it, you can ask for references. Every doula should be able to give you at least 1-3 previous clients for you to contact and learn more about their experiences with your doula. It would be a major red flag if the doula doesn’t want to give you any references or doesn’t have any to give you (unless, of course, they’re a new doula…in which case you can ask for personal or previous employer references).
When speaking with their previous clients, be sure to ask how the doula worked with their family (labor, postpartum, consulting, etc.), how long the doula worked with their family, what was their experience of their time with their doula, and would they hire them again. You can also ask more in depth questions about their time with the doula like how often she changed the schedule or was late for a prenatal or postpartum visit/shift, how her communication skills are, whether there were any times they felt she didn’t give the support they needed, and what they would have liked to change about their time with their doula.
Finishing Up
Now that you’ve got all your questions answered, it’s time to go inward and ask YOURSELF some important questions so that you can make a decision that you can feel confident in. Take some time to write down your immediate impressions and answer the following questions:
“Did they answer all of my questions thoughtfully and thoroughly or did they seem rushed?”
“Did they seem knowledgeable?”
“Did our views and philosophies align or were there possible clashes?”
“Did we vibe well? Were our personalities compatible?”
“Did they ask ME any questions? Did they fully understand and agree to my anticipated needs?”
“What was their demeanor (calm/active/quiet/loud) and is that something that will be appreciated or annoying?”
“Were there any ‘red flag’ answers from them or their references? Have those ‘red flags’ been addressed and/or resolved?”
“How were their communication skills? Do I feel comfortable and confident in our future communications?”
Now you’re ready to make your decision! Hiring a doula should help you to feel at ease in your upcoming birth and postpartum period. Take the time to get all of your important questions answered and boxes checked so you can feel confident that you’re creating the best birth and postpartum team for you and your family!
