Doulas and Childbirth Education

syncreo · 04-27-2007, 01:13 PM

Hi,
A question that I have been mulling over for a couple of years now is do you think that doulas should be providing childibirth education to their clients as doulas? What I mean is if you are a doula and not a CBE?

I ask this because I think a doula's role is to inform and point clients in the direction of resources but not to 'teach' or offer them CBE unless they have further training or are very experienced. Also, even if we are CBEs or very experienced should we be making it clear where the roles are different with our clients? For instance when I have a doula client most of them take my CBE group classes so this keeps things fairly seperate and clear - but what about those situations where my client's are not taking their CBE through me - should I as their doula be offering them education in their prenatals or not? I have my own thoughts but am looking to think deeper about this and would love to hear what others have to say.

Acacia · 04-27-2007, 01:52 PM

Since I am not a CBE I do not teach a class. I do, however give them information if they ask for it and answer any questions they may have.

During our first prenatal I give them a list of things to look at and have them check mark things they would like more info on. After looking it over I discuss it with them and get additional resources to them so they can make an informed decision. I do not go over every little thing about labor and delivery because I am not trained to teach...make sense?

apikailaa · 04-27-2007, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acacia

Since I am not a CBE I do not teach a class. I do, however give them information if they ask for it and answer any questions they may have.

During our first prenatal I give them a list of things to look at and have them check mark things they would like more info on. After looking it over I discuss it with them and get additional resources to them so they can make an informed decision. I do not go over every little thing about labor and delivery because I am not trained to teach...make sense?

I totally agree with you Julie. I am NOT a CBE (I hope to be soon). I too give out a topic list and we go over it and if I can I direct them to our VERY limited resources here. There are no CBEs in town and no classes. So, it's hard for me. That's why I really want to become a CBE. I don't think we should teach classes as *just* doulas, etc. but we should, and do, give information, and resources. I tell people who ask that I do "private childbirth education with clients". It's not a class, it's informal, at their house, and it's just to make sure they get what they need in the form of books, resources, etc. Wow, I can ramble sometimes...

DoulaKaren · 04-27-2007, 02:29 PM

In my VAST experience of one client due in July

-- I asked them what their particular concerns were, what were they really hoping to learn more about. She said she was interested in learning about how to protect the perineum so at my next meeting I have prepared some information about that.

This is the client who has expressed that she was 99% sure she'd want an epidural, so I asked if she wanted me to prepare some information about how to decide how to labor more effectively with an epidural, and how to manage pain without meds before that time, and she said yes, so that's another thing I'll go over with her next time.

They also had some questions about some fundamentals of childbirth and I did a bit of 'education' -- they are 2nd time parents so it was really just jogging their memory!

UtahDoula · 04-27-2007, 02:59 PM

I am both. I tell my doula clients that my prenatals are NOT childbirth education - and they should plan on taking a class. If they would like, I will do (and charge plenty extra for!) private childbirth education classes. Very rarely, a client will choose to do neither, and in that case, I assign "mandatory" reading. Doesn't mean they do it, and I can't make them, but it is pretty darn clear that I expect them to do some learning and not just rely on my prenatals.

AmandaB · 04-27-2007, 03:50 PM

It is one of those blurry lines kind of issues. I would hope that clients would take childbirth prep, but I in no way force them to. I have currently 2 clients using me as their only source of information, but I am currently studying to be a CBE. I am not sure how to unblur that line ... I think that if you are "only" a Doula, then you need to remain neutral in your info and use conversation to direct your clients to find the info themselves. I don't even know if that makes sense since my dd is telling me poems.

RosyDoula · 04-27-2007, 05:11 PM

I do go over the basics for my clients if they want it. I work with low-income and sometimes homeless women, and they do not have the resources or the inclination to take a class most of the time. I want them to at least know what each intervention is and what the risks and benefits are beforehand. Like right now my client is looking at a pitocin induction only because she has no one else to watch her son if she goes into labor spontaneously. I drove her to various charities in town yesterday to get baby supplies and talked with her about the risks and benefits of induction and her other options.

The program I work with has tons of books, and I encourage them to borrow some, and will even drive them over there if they need a ride, but I can't make them. The cheapest class in my area is a $95 Lamaze one, but for people who are living paycheck to paycheck even that amount is too much. If they do have the money, and are willing I encourage them to take a formal class.

I don't see a problem with doulas giving education if you are well read and keep up to date. Part of our role is to give informational support. I'd been reading dozens of books for years before I became a doula so I feel well-rounded.

MothertheMother · 04-27-2007, 05:15 PM

this is why I am heading down the CBE path! I would really like to "require" my doula clients (first time moms that haven't read up much) to attend CBE classes but I have a hard time pushing them to do that if I don't have a couple of great classes to refer them to. I know that it is a bit much to actually require that but I just don't think there is time, as a doula, to actually teach them everything they need to know. Once I finish my CBE cert I plan on offering a discount to combine doula services and cbe classes. I don't think that I should feel required to "give away" cbe education along with my doula services. It is a huge time committment and based on my doula cert requirements I don't feel qualified to teach it.

I do believe that some couples don't need the classes. I did have a client that was as well read as I am and there would have been no reason for them to attend the classes. The only thing they'd really benefit from would be the comfort measures and they had me to teach them that.

In a perfect world the couple/mom would have taken the classes for the general information and then they'd have a doula to refer them to great resources for more specific information.