When do your clients hire you?

[DoulaRissa]

When is a good time for a client to hire you for a birth?

I'm planning to schedule an initial consultation and then 2 prenatals with each of my future clients. If someone calls me early on and wants to schedule, when is the best time to schedule meetings?

Should I be done by 36 weeks or 38 weeks with them?

How far apart would you schedule them if you have more than just a few weeks time?

I will be available for more prenatals or to go to the OB visits with them if they want at an additional cost, so obviously that changes everything. I'm just trying to figure out how to set up a 'rough average'.

[1stimestar]

I like them to hire me at the middle part of their pregnancy the best. No matter when they hire me I like to schedule the first prenatal as soon as possible. This way I can ascertain their birth education level and do any education type of information they need, the sooner the better. Then the last prenatal I like to do about week 33. If we can have a casual lunch or coffee meeting in between (especially for those who hire me early in their pregnancies) then that helps.

[dorothyh]

Ideally, I like to be hired between 20- 24 weeks. Earlier is just fine though!

I usually do 4 prenatal classes, although sometimes I do less than that - if someone is looking for a reduced fee, I will reduce the # of prenatals to go along with that, or if they are hiring me later on where it would be difficult to get in 4 prenatals, we'll do 1 or 2.

I like the last prenatal to be at 36 weeks.

In an ideal world, I schedule the 4 prenatals at 24 wks, 30 wks, 32 wks, and 36 wks - about a month apart. If she hires me after 24 weeks, we just figure out the scheduling and timing so that we're done at approx 36-37 weeks. If she hires me early and we're only doing 2 prenatals, I do them at 32 wks and 36 wks.

When I get hired, if she is earlier than 20 wks, I tell the mom to call or email me after her 20 wk ultrasound, and we'll set up our first prenatal for when she's approx 24 weeks (I figure out the month, for example, if she's due in November, I tell her to call or email me after her 20 wk u/s (which will be in June sometime), and at that time we'll schedule our first prenatal classes in July) If she hires me between 20-24 weeks, we set up the first prenatal right away.

[tlcdoula]

When is a good time for a client to hire you for a birth? I think it depends on the client and what their needs are. Some mothers feel they need that support very early while others don't feel they need as much and might just want a doula there for the actual birth. I think as long as they can find a doula if they want one then any time is a good time.

I'm planning to schedule an initial consultation and then 2 prenatals with each of my future clients. If someone calls me early on and wants to schedule, when is the best time to schedule meetings? Again I think this depends on the mother and her needs. If she wants her prenatals done early then I do them and we stay in contact via the phone and e-mail, but if they want them spread out I do that too.

Should I be done by 36 weeks or 38 weeks with them? Definitely done by 38 weeks, and again it depends on when they hired you. If you can get it done by 36 weeks even better, but not all mothers want that. I believe this business is really personal and each mother should be treated personally according to what her needs are.

How far apart would you schedule them if you have more than just a few weeks time? Again - ask the mother.

[DoulaCBE]

For me, the earlier the better. I don't mind last minute clients, but in tracking my data over 7 years I get the general impression that clients benefit most from my services and those "typical" benefits we all list that doulas can offer (lower interventions, less medication, etc) when they hire me early and we meet several times before labor starts.

Since I'm also a childbirth educator I also build mini CBE sessions into my doula prenatals. Even if they've had a traditional CBE class we still find that they have lots they want to learn that they don't feel most typical classes went into enough depth on.

[emmabella]

It doesn't matter to me when the hire me, although I prefer at least a month before the due date.

I don't limit prenatals so if they hire me early I like to meet once a month (if they want to) just to spend time getting to know one another... like Starbucks or pedicures. We work on the birth plan stuff closer to the due date when she has really started to think about the birth. I prefer to have all the birth plan stuff done by 37 weeks.

All in all I am pretty flexible and try not to be too regimented about prenatals. Each woman's needs are different.