What To Ask During Your Doula Interview
So you’ve decided you are looking to hire a birth or postpartum doula, its now time to start the interview process. It is important that the doula you hire meshes with the support you are looking for and you feel comfortable having her with you during a very vulnerable time in your life. Here are 10 great questions to ask during your interview:
Where did you receive your training? You’ll want to make sure the doula you hire is properly trained!
How many births have you attended, or how many families have you served? While this question will let you know how experienced your doula is, please don’t discount a newer doula if you feel like it's a good match. A trained doula that you feel comfortable with will provide more support than an experienced doula you don't vibe with.
Why did you become a doula? This question will tell you the doula’s reasoning for getting into birth work and what her values are within her work.
Do you have a backup doula partner? Things happen, you don't want to do all this planning and preparation for an emergency to come up with your primary doula. You want to make sure your doula has a back up partner that can step in if needed.
How long do you stay with your birth clients? Do you have a time limit? Your doula should stay with you for the duration of your labor and birth, and 30 minutes to two hours after delivery. If the doula you are considering has a time limit on her services, you want to be sure that you’re comfortable without her support if you reach your time limit.
How do you feel about epidurals? Whether you are looking to get an epidural or have an unmedicated birth, you want to be sure your doula will be supportive of whatever your planning.
How do you work with my support person? Doulas support mothers but also their partners. You want to ask what the doula does to support, include and prioritize your support person on this journey as well.
Have you attended any births at my birth location? If so, how was your experience? This allows the doula to go into detail about the birth locations she's visited for the past births she's attended. If she has been to the location you are looking to use for your delivery you can ask questions about her experience, what the staff was like and find comfort in the fact that she knows the lay of the land!
What are your fees and what do they include? This is a big question for you to include in your interview. You want to make sure the doula you hire is within your budget but also what her fees include. Many doula’s include prenatal and postnatal visits and are fully available a few weeks out from your due date. You want to be sure your needs align up with the services the doula is offering.
Do you have any client reviews? This is a great question to ask to wrap up your interview. It gives you insight to how past clients feel about the doula service they received. You may be able to reach out to these past clients directly if you want to hear more feedback about their time with the doula.
The interview is both for you as the client and for the doula. You want to be sure it's a good fit for both of you as this will be a very intimate relationship and experience.
If you have any further questions, please reach out!
Love, Morgan
