Most of our potential clients prepare for interviews by googling a list of questions to ask a doula.
These questions are a great place to start! But they don't always get to the root of who we are as birth doulas, and the answers don't give clients much insight into whether or not we're a good fit for each other.
To get a better sense of our style, try adding these questions to your list:
1. "Tell me about your experience in birth doula work"
Instead of asking about certification, or how many births the doula has attended, try asking what experience the doula has instead. Doulas don't have to be certified to practice, and it really doesn't mean much if they are. In fact, many doulas have a bit of a bone to pick with the ethics of the largest certifying org: DONA International (see #3 below for why).
Life experience counts here too! You might want a doula who's attended hundreds of births, and that's ok. But keep in mind that newer doulas have fewer biases, and are often more open to trying anything to support you 🙌 (same with doulas who have never given birth themselves! Fewer personal opinions about the "best" way to birth). Newer doulas also often have smaller client loads, and are able to dedicate more time to you prenatally or postpartum.
Specific medical experience (common examples: clients who conceived via IVF, planning a VBAC after a previous c-section, or pregnant with multiples) can sometimes be useful, but also isn't really necessary. As doulas we really don't treat our clients any differently based on their medical chart - we leave that up to your midwife, OB, or family med doc to manage. Our job is to help you prepare for the birth you desire, and to help you navigate the conversations and options with your medical team.
What's more important than experience is that you vibe with your doula and want their energy in your space!
2. "Who is your back-up doula, and why did you choose them? Can I interview the back-up doula as well?"
Back-up doulas are important! You hired a doula to be your constant companion throughout pregnancy, labor, and birth, but every once in a while we might not be able to make it (example: if we're sick, or have a pre-planned vacation). It can affect the birth process to have a stranger in your space. Find out more about your doula's back-up team, and ask to meet them in advance if it's important to you.
Here at The Reclaimed Village, our doula team rarely misses a birth for the clients we're working with as primary doula. But if we had to miss, we sub in for each other. Each doula on our team has different styles, but we all have the same core values so our clients know they're getting the support they expected.
3. "What is your advocacy style, and how will you support my birth plan?"
Advocacy. We can't talk about this enough. Almost 100% of our clients expect that we'll advocate for them in labor, but did you know that not all doulas advocate the same way?
DONA International is one of the largest doula training and certifying organizations. They train their doulas to "encourage her client to ask questions of her care provider" (DONA Code of Ethics). This is a good first step...but if abuse is happening, we believe a doula should say something.
🚩 A red flag in an interview is when the doula says: "I teach you how to advocate for yourself!"
This is great in early labor, but very very difficult when your brain goes into labor land. Sometimes you don't know what's going on, or you don't have the energy to repeat yourself for the 10th time. In these cases, your doula should step in and amplify your voice.
This doesn't mean your doula speaks for you! Examples of different tactics we use to amplify your voice might be:
Repeating what you said. Example: "hey doc, I heard the client say ____. Did you hear that too? Is that something we can do?"
Asking questions to further the conversation with your care provider. Example: "thanks for your recommendation, doc! The client's birth plan states that they don't want ____. Can you help explain some of the benefits and risks of ____ at this point in labor?"
Flat out asking the provider to stop or pause. We'll never interrupt a true emergency, but we will interrupt if we see unnecessary things happening.
We also teach you all of our tips and tricks in prenatal meetings so you can feel confident advocating for yourself too, when you're in the right headspace to do so!
🚩 Another red flag in an interview is when a doula says: "I don't speak directly to your medical team".
Many doulas have been taught that they should only speak to the client or the client's partner, and then the client should speak to their nurse/OB/midwife.
This isn't our style at all! We find that we're most effective when we work with the medical team. Our goal is to facilitate conversation and build a circle of support around the birthing family.
✔️ A green flag in an interview is when the doula says: "I learn your birth preferences and amplify your voice in labor. If I see something happening that I know you don't want, I'll call it out, or will ask questions. It's my goal to work with your medical team (not against them), but ultimately you are my #1 priority."
Or something to that effect 😉
One final note on advocacy:
Advocacy does not mean that your doula pushes their own preferences onto you. When we're advocating for clients, our whole quest is to help the client achieve what they want. Sometimes this means I’m asking nurses to please stop offering unwanted epidurals, and sometimes this means I’m asking anesthesia to please move faster to get a client who deeply desires a medical birth an epidural at 8cm after they dilated faster than a race car.
Interested in learning more about doula services? Book a free consultation with our team today! We serve the Twin Cities area of Minnesota in person, and offer virtual services as well. Looking forward to working with you!
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