Full disclosure, my husband was not excited about having a doula at the birth of our daughter. Ultimately it came down to this:
me: I want to hire her.
him: Fine.
And I think many families are in the same situation. But now in hindsight, I wanted to know what really made moving forward with having a stranger in our intimate space alright.
I asked, this is what he said:
Things I Liked About Hiring (Our Doula):
1) Ariel (my wife) wanted to hire a doula, she believed that it would make her more comfortable going into the experience than without one, and I am not against anything that will make my wife's life happier/easier--within reason.
2) It also made me more comfortable going into the birth experience. Harper is our first child and not having attended a birth previously, it was good to know that there was going to be someone there assisting Ariel, as well as assisting me assist Ariel.
3) Being an attorney and familiar with the concept of liability (medical in this case), I understand that hospital employees may have to say things that they might not necessarily totally believe because that is what their employer (mostly the employer's attorney) needs them to say in order to try and avoid any liability. I thought that it was worthwhile to have a doula present to a) translate from medical jargon into understandable language and b) to give her opinion as why the hospital employees were saying something or suggesting a particular course of action and give her thoughts on whether or not these suggestions were negotiable or mandatory.
4) Having a doula allowed me to feel comfortable making more frequent trips to the waiting room to keep the assembled family members updated as to the imminent arrival of their new granddaughter/niece.
What about you? What does your partner think about doulas?
Authored by A Swift Doula *with special guest Mr. A Swift Doula
me: I want to hire her.
him: Fine.
And I think many families are in the same situation. But now in hindsight, I wanted to know what really made moving forward with having a stranger in our intimate space alright.
I asked, this is what he said:
Things I Liked About Hiring (Our Doula):
1) Ariel (my wife) wanted to hire a doula, she believed that it would make her more comfortable going into the experience than without one, and I am not against anything that will make my wife's life happier/easier--within reason.
2) It also made me more comfortable going into the birth experience. Harper is our first child and not having attended a birth previously, it was good to know that there was going to be someone there assisting Ariel, as well as assisting me assist Ariel.
3) Being an attorney and familiar with the concept of liability (medical in this case), I understand that hospital employees may have to say things that they might not necessarily totally believe because that is what their employer (mostly the employer's attorney) needs them to say in order to try and avoid any liability. I thought that it was worthwhile to have a doula present to a) translate from medical jargon into understandable language and b) to give her opinion as why the hospital employees were saying something or suggesting a particular course of action and give her thoughts on whether or not these suggestions were negotiable or mandatory.
4) Having a doula allowed me to feel comfortable making more frequent trips to the waiting room to keep the assembled family members updated as to the imminent arrival of their new granddaughter/niece.
What about you? What does your partner think about doulas?
Authored by A Swift Doula *with special guest Mr. A Swift Doula
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