Financial Balance - Are Doulas a Necessity?

So what exactly differentiates between a luxury and a necessity?

I could go on and on . . .

But that would be terribly boring. I don't have all the answers, or hell, even most of them. 

I can and have given a few tips and I'm sure I'll give more.

But right now, I'm going to talk about ME. 

I'm in the midst of a debate right now, with myself and a few other important people. It's on whether a doula for birth is a luxury. 

A doula is a trained non-medical professional to help you get through labor. They are much more likely to be involved with a non-medicated labor but have even been known to offer support during a c-section as well.

Their job is NOT to take away dad's (or other support person's) job during labor. They are there to let the dad take a few minutes to collect himself/eat/bathroom and to suggest different approaches such as new positions to labor in to assist with pain or progress.

There are plenty of reasons that doulas are recommended.

• "Research has found that women who have continuous one-on-one support during labor tend to use pain medication less often, have slightly shorter labors, and are less likely to have a c-section or a forceps or vacuum-assisted delivery."  Should you hire a labor coach?
• "Numerous studies have documented the benefits of having a doula present during labor." Having a Doula
• "A doula can provide the information to help parents make appropriate decisions and facilitate communication between the birthing woman, her partner and medical care providers." Dads and Doulas
• "I can't stress how much having a doula helped me, as a husband, support my wife better. The weird part for me was to realize that superdad could be a superhusband by asking for a little help. Our doula was worth every penny of her fee." Doulas From the Dad's Perspective
• "I paid attention in childbirth class. I’d hear enough horror stories to realize that there was a huge, comprehensive final exam for this course – childbirth. But when push came to shove, no pun intended, the knowledge went out of my brain. Those early hours of labor I couldn’t remember if we were supposed to eat or sleep, which positions were good or not so good." 5 Reasons Dads Should Demand a Doula

This is just a quick list of quotes of articles I found real fast. What it truly boils down to is that doulas are not medical professionals, but they are birthing professionals. They have enough experience with enough different situations that they can make recommendations for different scenarios that might not have even been covered in birthing class. They can help determine what's "normal" and not to parents, and can help interpret the reason for a doctor's urgency or insistence. A great doula can make sure that your doctor wants to implement a procedure or start a process for the right reasons for YOU, not just to make him/herself happier with the birthing experience.

Okay, so what's my point?

$500-$1000 is the expected price range for a doula. Now, it's easy for someone to say that it's a small price to pay for what could be a life changing experience. Having a doula could help me and my baby have a safer more comfortable and more enjoyable birth. It could free up my husband to hold my hand more and prevent the stress that can happen if both of us freeze up and can't remember a thing about how to cope with labor once we're in the moment. 

At the same time, is a doula absolutely necessary?

Well hell, if I knew that, my decision would be made. We're not in the best of financial places right now. We're going to have a rough time making sure that we have a decent place to live, a crib, stroller, car seat, high chair, and a baby friendly car available to us during our newborn phase. We're doing our best to dig ourselves out of this and make changes now. We don't spend money on food out, we don't buy things other than food and a few pregnancy staples (new bras, belly support band, etc). We're doing our best to not even buy anything baby related until after the shower, so we can figure out what HAS to come home and use our "registry completion" coupons at stores. Even so, this chunk of change could turn into instant debt. 

So is it a necessity or a luxury for us? It's a hard call to make, as it's a one time fee for health. But still, we already will have a midwife and a birth assistant nurse. We can't guarantee there will always be one in the room, but probably most of the time they will be, right?

Or what if we end up having to change to a hospital birth. A doula would be able to accompany us for the venue change, helping to give us a sense of continuity and concern for the natural aspects of birth. 

I don't think I can exactly put "huge chunk of change for a doula" on my baby registry, but I almost wish that I could. 

Otherwise we're just going to keep debating this one over and over. 

Feel free to provide any insight!