How Long Does a Birth Doula Usually Stay During A Birth and After A Birth?
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Kaely Harrod 0:00
Okay, so we have an unofficial theme of doula timing happening right now on the podcast. So today's question is how long does a birth doula usually stay during a birth and after a birth?
Kaely Harrod 0:22
Welcome to doula tips and tits, the podcast where I answer one question about pregnancy postpartum or lactation. This is a space where it's safe to have questions and we're gonna give you real answers. We're not gonna beat around the bush or give you what we want you to know. We are going to answer in an evidence based way. I'm Kaely Harrod and experienced doula mom of three lactation counselor and a childbirth educator. I started this work in part because of my own lack of answers in my journey of pregnancy and birth. And I'm on a mission for families to be well informed and well supported through this time. This is a space where you will learn about questions that you didn't even know that you should be asking, and have answers to ones that you're already asking. The whole purpose here is for you to feel a bit more educated and informed and competent in this journey that often feels very new, and a little bit disconcerting. If you have not already I would love for you to subscribe to this podcast so that you get updates when there are new episodes, or head to our website, Herat doula services.com to subscribe to our email updates so that you get notifications when we have a new episode Episodes Episode out. Thank you for joining us today.
Kaely Harrod 1:39
Okay, I know I'm gonna surprise you by saying it depends on the doula. But you guys have been if you've been listening for any amount of time, you know that this is what I do. So part of the reason that I do that is that this field actually does function that way, right? Like we really do operate differently. But also the nature of birth work is that it just is different every time you do it, at least slightly. Right. So that's part of that. Now. I want to I'm going to answer this question in layers. Oh, I feel like my childbirth education students will be laughing because this is how I answer questions in childbirth class is like Well, in order to answer that, I need to say this thing. So every doula is different in their capacity to be at a birth for a long time, physically, emotionally, mentally, etc. Okay. Now, I am a big proponent of doula sustainability, and boundaries and self care. So I absolutely think that as a doula one of the things that you should know about yourself or that you should try to learn about yourself is what your threshold is for when you like, desperately need sleep or things like that. I already promised a like eating while you're serving a birth client episode that will come I promise because it is super important. And so many doulas don't do it, which is not okay. So, um, so, so this, the basic answer to this question of how long have the doula with you is that usually if you have a birth doula, that birth doula will be with you for the whole labor, and then one to two hours after the labor. Now, of course, some doulas function differently than that. So this is something to ask if you're hiring a doula. If you are a doula. It's something that you need to decide what is that going to look like for you? So that there's very clear expectations for your clients when they're hiring you and understanding kind of what they're getting from you, right? So that's the first thing. The second thing is that if a birth is really long, so I've supported some incredibly long births. So a couple of my clients have gotten a different doula at the end of their labor, or I have come in for the end of a labor from and like kind of relieved another doula, right. The threshold of that looks different for everybody. A doula contract should include a backup doula, either in the event that two babies are coming at once, which has been my whole theme, for the last year, I've had like, four different times that two babies have come within a few hours of each other. And prior to that it had happened twice. So I was like, Oh, this is like a new thing that never ever happens. And then this last year, eight babies For eight stinking babies came within a few hours of each other. So I had more backup than I've ever had in my entire career in last six to 12 months. So that's a side note. So you should have built in backup for if your doula is not available. Or if you are not available if you're the doula. Also, you should have backup have built in replacement. If it's really long, and you actually can't continue to support right, like physically, emotionally, whatever. Like, psychologically right, family wise, like whatever it is, you can't continue, then there should that should be a clear expectation. Okay, so this again, varies person to person. So I want to break it down into a little bit more context for the rest of the episode. We'll be right back after this quick message. The birth prep blueprint course is a guide from pregnancy to postpartum, giving you the confidence to walk through this journey. However it might play out. It is pre recorded on demand content. So you do not have to fit your busy schedule around a class or meeting time. You can go back and revisit the lessons as much as you need to. And you can watch or listen to them on your own time. This curriculum has left many families feeling confident in their decisions, knowing what questions to ask their providers, and knowing when they should be concerned in all of these periods. One of the biggest parts of this work in terms of preparing families and walking through this journey is knowing that you have a guide to rely on. And that's exactly what this class is. Students have told me they felt like I was walking them along a path to know what to watch for and what to not be worried about. Because you are here as a listener, you will get the opportunity to have a 10% off discount on this class. That code is podcast. It is in the show notes as well along with the link to use to check out for the class, I do really recommend that you go give it a look. Because it is going to make you feel more prepared, calm and confident for your birthing experience. Now back to your episode. So I want to tell you a little story when I was a new doula. The first birth I went to officially as a doula was, first of all, incredibly smooth and fast. And so I was like, I could do this all day, every day. And so many people I knew were like that's called a birth high like you like are feeling the endorphins, etc, from birth. And you're like, yes, I want to do this forever for the rest of my life. Now, as a more seasoned doula, who's been doing this for hundreds of years, well, not hundreds, 100 plus births, that I am grateful that that was my first experience, because some of the rockier birth, some of the longer births that I've had, I don't know if I would have continued in this field, if those were some of my earliest experiences, right? Because they were tough. They were hard on me, they were hard on the family, hard to support a family through like a really hard birth, you know, so there's lots of layers there, right. But when I had my first like, pretty long birth, I want to say it was only Gosh, I really classified it as very long, but I think it was like 17 hours, which now I'm like, that's normal. That's a normal amount. I did not eat, like at all that whole 17 hours, which I do not recommend that as a terrible idea. So when I got done with the birth, I ate something like they had given birth, my client had given birth, they were doing skin to skin, I ate a snack, and I had to catch a lift home. And I threw up as soon as I got home, because my body was just like exhausted, I hadn't had enough food, my blood sugar was low, etc. And I feel felt horrible for like two days. And so in that experience, I was like, Oh, maybe I can't handle long births. Like maybe I need to always have someone come to birth at a certain time. At the time, I was working with an agency, and the agency had a built in part of their contract where you could call in a backup doula after 18 hours of support. And so at that time, I just was kind of like, okay, well, I guess we'll just start telling people like if your birth goes beyond 18 hours, I'm gonna have to call and backup right like I can't, I just physically cannot go longer than that. My clients were incredibly gracious, like super, super gracious about it. And very respectful of that because that was a very well articulated boundary when they hired me. So that's a big deal. Like it's a big deal to know.
Kaely Harrod 9:53
If there's a threshold at which point you will need to leave and call it a backup just like on a regular basis. Usually not accounting for emergencies, extenuating circumstances, etc, etc. But just in general, if at 18 hours, you're like, I need to go home and sleep, then your clients that are hiring you, or you as the client hiring should know that, at the time of hire, that should not be a surprise in the midst of your labor. Okay? Now, that's so so I'm not saying that if you have like an a labor that 36 hours, a client that needs support for multiple days, that you have to be the only person there as the doula, right, you can absolutely have it built into your contract built into your business model to be able to call someone else in and then kind of have that like continuity of support from a doula for your clients just not support from you that entire time. However, most doula contracts do include support through the time of giving birth and, and lactation time, that like initial skin to skin and, and attempting the first latches and things like that, if that's desired by the client, and if that's continues to be allowed by the hospital. So what I mean when I say that is right now, for, for instance, in the midst of the COVID, pandemic, policy, changes in hospitals, etc, etc, etc, etc. One of the things that has changed slightly is what it looks like to support a birth that turns into a C section unexpectedly. And that's just because the post op time and space tends to be much smaller, and also a lot more hands on for the nurses like a lot more vital checking, etc, because the person has just gotten out of surgery, rather than having a vaginal delivery that went really smoothly, etc. And they don't need as much vital sign checking after that, in most cases, as they do after a surgery. And also, policies just differ, right. So sometimes you're allowed to be with someone in a birth scenario in a labor room. But if they have to go to a C section, you're not able to stay for the postpartum time after the C section. Now, I'll get into i One of the questions that I actually was just asked recently to answer was about supporting a C section as a doula. So we will get into that in one of the upcoming episodes. But I just want you to know that that transition can also be there, which means that that's not entirely your up to you, right? It's not up to your client. That's not a decision that either of you are making that's a decision. That just is kind of a like a consequence of how the birth is playing out. Right. So I hope that adds some context to how long will a birth doula typically stay? And what does that maybe look like? In terms of logistics? I am loving getting questions. So I think I have three questions right now kind of in the lineup that are that were just recently given to me. For the record, when a question is given to me when someone comments on a post on Instagram, or asks a question or review or emails me or sends me a DM on Instagram, all of those, I try to fit them in pretty quickly into the episodes because I would rather that question get answered in the next couple episodes when you asked it, then for you to wait for months and months for that to come up. So while I batch a lot of my content, I don't wait typically for a month or two months to do an episode of a question that has just been asked to me by one of the listeners. So please do send me the questions that you have and know that I will answer them relatively soon. Okay, so um, that is all for today. We are going to continue on this theme of doulas for the next little bit. And so whatever questions you have, please send them to me. In the meantime, I wish you consent filled, well informed, birthing experiences. So all of this information is intended to be educational and entertainment. Please use it as such. And if you have questions about your own medical health, or need recommendations from your own provider, please do speak to them. This is not intended to replace them in any way. We are so happy that you are here joining us in this walk through pregnancy postpartum and lactation. Please take a second to like and subscribe, leave a positive review. That is how other families get to hear about us and get to learn from all the answers that we have here on this podcast. As always, I would really love to connect with you. I love answering questions. I know that you know that because you are here, but I would love to hear what your questions are. So If I have not yet answered them on the podcast, I would love to add them to the list of questions to be answered. please do reach out to me on Instagram or via email Kaely at Herat, doula services.com so that I can answer whatever question you have and so that I can hear the feedback that you have about the podcast. Until we meet again, I wish you well informed consent filled birth and postpartum experiences
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
How long doulas stay during and after a birth varies widely, but today’s episode goes into what’s typical and how to have clear expectations on both sides!
Key Takeaways:
Most doulas arrive once a birthing person is in active labor
Most doulas include in their contract to stay for the remainder of the labor or to have a backup come if the labor is long and that is allowed by the hospital.
Most doulas stay for 1-2 hours after delivery to help with transition, again this varies person to person
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Kaely Daily is produced by Kaely Harrod of Harrod Doula Services
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Music by Madirfan: Hidden Place on Pixabay
