BIRTH DOULA SERVICES CONTRACT
ABOUT YOUR DOULA
As a doula service provider, I help you stay strong and calm during birth. I will offer comfort measures, coping techniques, and constant presence to help you create a satisfying birth experience. I want to get to know you and your birth companion(s) prenatally, and will continuously support you and your loved ones during the birth. I will work to provide comfort and perspective to you and your partner, make suggestions as issues arise, and assist with massaging, positioning and relaxation techniques as required.
As your doula, I work for you directly, not for your caregiver or hospital.
My goal as your doula is to be completely present for your birth experience--physically, emotionally and energetically. Through using active listening techniques, I will adjust my role according to your needs and seek to promote communication among all members of your birthing team.
BEFORE LABOR
After our initial meeting, I will meet with you and your birth companion(s) for two prenatal visits. This gives us a chance to get to know each other before the birth. During the prenatal visits, we will discuss your priorities for the birth, any concerns or hopes you may have, and go over scenarios and comfort measures you can use. I also offer an optional visit to meet your medical provider, or any friends and/or family you plan to have present at the birth. I want to know how we can best work together to create a positive birth experience.
I can support your preparations for birth and parenthood by offering exercises, activities, roleplays, and referrals to other resources as necessary. I will want to remain in touch by telephone and/or e-mail in the weeks leading up to your birth.
I also offer a prenatal breastfeeding course as an additional service. This is scheduled as a separate prenatal meeting and has a fee.
WHEN YOU ARE IN LABOR
Please call me when you think you are in labor, even if you do not need support at that time. If I am unable to pick up the phone, please leave a message and I will call you back shortly. I will decide with you if I should come then or wait for further change. In the case of a long early labor, or an induction, I can check in periodically and come when you are moving into active labor. I need approximately 60-120 minutes to get to you from the time you ask me to come depending on your chosen place for delivery. We will also decide together where to meet--at your home, the birth center, or the hospital. Except for extraordinary circumstances, I will remain with you throughout labor and birth. In the rare circumstance that I cannot attend your birth, I will make every attempt to have a back-up doula attend. If you go into labor before 37 weeks, I will make the best effort to join you as soon as possible, or make an attempt for a back-up doula to be present.
During labor, I offer a variety of comfort measures, including massage, counter pressure, guided visualization, positions and movement, breathing techniques, hot and cold packs, focus points, verbal encouragement, and other logistical support. I bring my knowledge of the stages of labor and can offer reassurance and suggestions as labor progresses. Depending on our conversations prenatally, I can either be your primary labor support or assist your partner in supporting you. I believe that all birthing persons can successfully cope with labor in a variety of ways, and my goal is to support you in finding the method that works for you in each moment.
AFTER BIRTH
I will remain with you for an hour or so after the birth, until you are comfortable and ready for quiet time with loved ones. I am a Lactation Counselor and can also help with initial feeding, as desired, and help you create the environment you want for those first few critical hours of bonding with your new family.
I will schedule your postpartum visit in the week or two following your birth to see how you and your family are adjusting, assist with any breastfeeding issues, and listen to your birth story. Taking the time to process joyful or difficult moments from the birth with your birth team and your doula can influence greatly how you remember your baby’s birthday for years to come.
AS YOUR DOULA I DO NOT:
- Perform clinical tasks. This includes tasks like taking blood pressure, fetal heart monitoring, and vaginal exams.
- Make decisions for you. I will help you get the information necessary to make an informed decision. I will also remind you if there is a departure from your birth plan. My role is to observe, listen and reiterate rather than to give opinions.
- Speak to the staff on your behalf. I will discuss your concerns with you and suggest options, but you or your loved ones will speak directly to the clinical staff. I am there to encourage communication with your care provider.
EXPLANATION OF FEES
I will make every effort to provide the services described in this contract. If I show any symptoms of contagious illness, I will make every attempt for a back-up doula to attend your birth.
If your medical care provider or the policies at your birthing location prevent me from providing services, my fee is still due in full. If hospital policy prevents me from being with you during a cesarean birth, I will still provide immediate postpartum support, and my fee is due in full. I recommend you discuss your plans for doula support with your provider before the birth.
If you have a cesarean birth that is planned before you go into labor, I will be available to support you before, during (as permitted) and after the birth.
It is your responsibility to call me when you are in labor and to leave a message if I am unable to answer the phone. My fee remains the same no matter the length of your labor and birth.
If you call me when you are in labor, and I am unable to attend your birth and you were not attended by a back-up doula, there will be no charge for birth services and I will refund the non-registration portion of your birth fees. In any of the aforementioned circumstances, I will always be available for postpartum and/or lactation counseling visits, if needed. If you go into preterm labor and do not receive an additional chosen prenatal meeting or prenatal breastfeeding course you will be refunded the fee(s) applied for the service(s) if they have already been paid or you have the option of using them as additional postpartum visits within the first 4 weeks of your postpartum period. The fee for photography is non-refundable as it covers the cost of material for you to obtain your photos. I cannot guarantee any satisfaction of birth photos taken as the atmosphere can change very quickly during labor and delivery. If you go into preterm labor and I am in attendance of your birth and taking photos for you, payment will be due at our postpartum visit for that service if not yet paid. The fee for birth photos is non-refundable if you request my presence as your Doula and leave no time for me to step away to take photos.
This contract may be terminated by any party, at any time, for any reason.
FEES
The fees for the birth doula service package are outlined below. The registration fee is
due with the signed contract, and the balance for birth services is due at 35 weeks gestation. If you choose additional prenatal meetings, a prenatal breastfeeding course, and/or birth photography, payment for those services will be due in full at 35 weeks gestation. If you are signing the contract at 35 weeks gestation or more, all chosen service fees are due in full at contract signing.
The registration fee is non-refundable as once you have contracted my services, I will be declining potential births with other clients for the same timeframe.
BIRTH DOULA SERVICES:
Registration: $300 (non-refundable, due at contract signing**)
Balance: $385 (due at 35 weeks gestation)
Total: $685 (due in full upon contract signing if 35 weeks gestation or more)
ADDITIONAL SERVICES:
Additional prenatal meeting with your care provider and/or birth partner and/or additional support persons: $50 (due upon contract signing)
Prenatal Breastfeeding Course (given as an additional prenatal meeting): $65 (due upon contract signing)
EXTENDED TRAVEL FEES:
For travel outside my normal service area I charge a travel fee on a sliding scale depending on travel time and distance. This is to be agreed upon mutually before contract signing and will be billed separately.
If you require a unique payment plan that should be arranged with you before contract signing.
Acceptable forms of payment are:
Cash
Personal Check
PayPal
Income Qualification or Under-age birthing person Proof (in the form of a Medicaid and SNAP recent awards letters, or proof the birthing person is 16 years of age or younger)
**If you are UNDER 35 weeks gestation and are paying by personal check, your Birth Services Fee balance will be due at 35 weeks gestation. You will be billed for this one week prior (34 weeks gestation) unless payment of that balance is already received.