By Jennifer S. Wilson
I need to start by thanking everyone for your kind words regarding my health care situation. Even with these less-than-ideal changes, U of I employees are very fortunate to have good insurance coverage. I’m feeling much less apprehensive about it all now, no doubt in part because of support from the chambanamoms.com community!
Several of you suggested that I may find extra reassurance by working with a doula. I’ve heard from many friends and acquaintances that a doula can serve as another advocate for my care, but I don’t really know much more. DONA International says that a doula’s presence at birth:
- tends to result in shorter labors with fewer complications
- reduces negative feelings about one’s childbirth experience
- reduces the need for pitocin, forceps or vacuum extraction and cesareans
- reduces the mother’s request for pain medication and/or epidurals
I believe these would be attractive benefits to most women, and my personal preferences for a natural (i.e. drug-free) childbirth coupled with drug allergies (opioid-class drugs in particular) have me considering this more strongly.
However, my largest concern is my husband. While I am certain there are many awesome husbands, he is definitely not your run-of-the-mill man. He genuinely wants to be very involved every step of the way and we’ve discussed using the Bradley Method (husband-coached childbirth) as part of our birth plan. While he admits to never having even heard of a doula (and therefore unable to form educated opinions), he’s initially skeptical of having someone else in the room with us. We’re committed to a “go team” approach to our entire marriage, so I want to find the best solution for both of us.
Since I’m a beginner here, I have a lot of questions and I’d love to know what you think. Real people can offer so much more than a Google search. Here are my questions for you:
- Why does a woman choose (or not choose) a doula? What did you do?
- What is the husband’s role when a doula is involved?
- Does the Bradley Method replace the need for a doula?
- Do either of these options eliminate the need for my hospital’s “Prepared Childbirth Education” class?
Jennifer Wilson feels quite a bit more optimistic this week and can’t wait to paint the baby’s room in just a few days! Jennifer writes 31 and Pregnant, a column about navigating first time pregnancy in Champaign-Urbana.