House of Doula is a professional network of highly qualified service providers who work with expecting, postpartum and growing families. Membership standards are set forth by Industry Experts to ensure the highest quality referrals. Interviewing a Doula General Guidelines Be a smart shopper. Educate yourself about the care options in your own community by interviewing several doulas. Respect your own intuition to make sure you can feel comfortable with the person you employ. Choosing a House of Doula member makes your search easier and more efficient since our doulas have already submitted clean background checks, are trained and certified(or certifying) by a national organization and keep current certification in CPR and First Aid. Birth Doula What training do you have? What is your philosophy about childbirth and supporting women and their partners through labor? What do you provide that is different from my physician/midwife? What do you provide that is different than my partner? How do you support my partner? What makes you different from other doula? What does your fee include? How many prenatal and postpartum visits do you do? What is your fee? Is any part of the fee refundable if you or your backup does not attend the birth? Do you have any other responsibilities that might keep you from being available when I’m in labor? How many births have you attended? (With good training and references, don’t discount newer doulas with less experience. They may fit your budget and personality better.) Can you tell me the range of situations that you’ve worked with? How many clients do you work with in a month? May we call you with questions and concerns before and after the birth? Have you worked with my OB/midwife group? Have you worked in the hospital I am delivering in? When do you typically join women in labor? Do you come to our home or meet us at the hospital? Do you work with backup doulas? May we meet them? Can you provide references? Doula fees and packages vary. Most include at least one prenatal visit, on call from 2-4 weeks before your due date until you deliver, labor support, and at least one postpartum visit. Postpartum Doula What experience do have caring for newborns? What is your training? What made you decide to become a postpartum doula? What makes you unique as a postpartum doula? What is your philosophy of parenting? What do mothers need to know about their babies during the first few weeks of their newborn’s life? How does that change over the next few months? How do you help the mother and newborn in the first few weeks—and the first few months of their baby’s life? What is a typical day with the mother and her newborn? Do you provide assistance with older siblings? Do you help with breastfeeding? What is your experience with supporting mothers with breastfeeding? Can you be flexible if we need extra hours or if we need to change working hours or days? How do you keep track of feeding and sleep patterns or problems? What are the signs of postpartum depression and how can you help me if I experience depression? What has been your experience caring for multiples? How is this different from caring for single babies? What has been your experience caring for medically fragile newborns-premature infants, babies with genetic disorders or other special needs? How is this different from caring for healthy babies? Can you provide references? Postpartum doula fees vary with most charging a 4-hour minimum per day. They work a flexible schedule starting when the baby comes home and continuing over a period of time, usually from one week to several months. Some parents schedule their doula to provide night coverage only while others want a minimum number of hours daily and adjust the hours as needed. Doulas contract with parents several weeks before the baby is due. Their contract is generally set to start at the baby’s due date, with some flexibility to accommodate an early or late birth. Featured Provider Coming Soon! © House of Doula, LLC • 720-219-8482 • contact us All rights reserved • Photography by Rachel Kemble Photography used with permission Graphic Design by O'Connor Graphic Design House of Doula takes the work out of finding a doula. We are a co-op of certified birth & postpartum doulas, breastfeeding educators and childbirth educators along the front range spanning from Castle Rock to Boulder. House of Doula believes that professional training, association, and certification creates standards within our industry that protect families and the doula community as a whole. Doula services make unique baby shower gifts.