Fees

Fees for my doula services range from $900-1800. There are four ways to work with me as your doula. (Please also see table, below.)

  1. Doula services with me guiding you through extensive prenatal preparation, providing postpartum support, and with me as your primary doula to attend your birth ($1400-1800). This service is also available as “dial-a-doula”, for distance support.
  2. Doula services with me guiding you through extensive prenatal preparation, providing postpartum support, and with a fully-trained but new doula as your primary doula to attend your birth ($900).
  3. A variety of prenatal classes and guidance for preparation, without doula services. Classes range in price from $15 – 135. Private consultations are available to create birth plans or simply to answer questions and help you prepare ($60 for 1 hour, $85 for 90 minutes). Full birth prep is also an option, without a doula attending your birth – please see below ($500).
  4. Prenatal preparation and birth support for planned caesarean births (please contact me directly).

Option #1: If you’d like me to attend your birth:

My current fees are a sliding scale of $1400-1800, which is a fair reflection of my extensive experience, skills and knowledge.  Besides the often long and unpredictable hours, there are costs associated with being a professional doula. Some of these are monetary such as training, missing other work-shifts, association fees, parking and all the normal expenses related to self-employment.  Other costs are not measurable, such as missed family events, being on-call (700+ hours per client), and recovery time from long births.  Experienced doulas are worth the expense and in fact are the first to fill their client list.

Why a sliding scale?  Quite simply, because I need to make a living wage and did the math.  Lots of clients with whom I work can afford to pay a higher fee. However I don’t want to miss out on working with an ideal client due to financial constraints.

  • Everyone gets the same excellent care and attention.
  • After we agree to work together, clients have 48 hours to let me know what fee works for them.
  • The Client Agreement will be set at that rate.  Half is due as a retainer upon signing the contract (Doula-Client Agreement).  The other half is due by 37 weeks.  Other plans can be arranged if needed.
  • I am willing to set up payment plans and I offer gift-certificates for my services, in case someone wishes to contribute to your doula service fees.

To understand doula fees, please see http://www.cordmama.com/blog/2015/3/23/why-doulas-are-expensive-and-why-youre-glad-they-are

If you have a partner who doesn’t understand paying for extra support, please see http://goodmenproject.com/families/new-dads-advice-just-hire-a-damn-doula-jrmk/

If you wish to benefit from my expertise but the cost is out of your range, then you might be interested in attending prenatal classes or accessing other services such as Birth Plan Preparation, or working with me and one of the doulas I’m mentoring.

Option #2:  Work with me and one of the newer doulas I’m mentoring for $900. 

Prenatal preparation is vital for having your ideal birth.  Therefore you’ll have all prenatal consultations, including creating a birth-plan and any questions answered along the way, with me and the new doula, who is fully and professionally trained, and meets the requirements of mentorship with me.  She’s a professional doula who is building her birth experience.  The newer doula will be your primary doula for your labour and birth.  We both attend the postpartum visit.  (I train Birth and Postpartum Doulas of excellence through Birth Ways International.)

This means we all have prenatal and postpartum meetings together, I help you create a birth plan, am available for all your questions through pregnancy and birth, and you have access to the “client-only” documents and web-pages, and my lending library.  The fee for this is $900 (regular fee is 1400-1800).  I train new doulas and have a select few that I collaborate with in this way.  They are fully and professionally trained, but not very experienced yet, and are lovely and competent people.

Option #3: A variety of consultations for birth preparation and prenatal classes, without doula services.

Classes range in price from $15 – 135. Private consultations are available to create birth plans or simply to answer questions and help you prepare ($60 for 1 hour, $85 for 90 minutes). Full birth prep is also an option, without a doula attending your birth – please see below ($500).

Optimal Birth Prep Package:  I educate and set up clients with the same care my doula clients get. It’s up to you to arrange for another doula or perhaps you are not working with a doula at all.  This involves 3 meetings prenatally to go over options, unpack previous births (if applicable), and create a vision of their ideal birth, and extensive educational support (e-mails, client hand-outs, referrals to local health practitioners, help with birth-plans and sibling-prep), a Directory for the Childbearing Year, a Roadmap to Optimal Birth Prep, and a Postpartum Prep list.  These clients have access to the “client-only” section of my site and lots of great info, and we prepare a birth plan together.  They can also ask me questions via e-mail any time through their pregnancy – to pick my brain or get answers to things that come up along their pregnancy. This is currently $500.

Packages 2022

Other Options if finances are a concern:

  • Raise funds e.g. a collection-box at your baby-shower or Mother-Blessing, or ask people to contribute to your doula rather than buying other gifts.
  • Find a less experienced doula, as they usually have lower fees.  See The Doulas of Regina for a listing of local doulas.
  • If there’s no way you can pay for birth support, check out the Doulas of Regina  Relief Fund.  They pay for doulas to attend the births of women who qualify based on financial need.