if you had a doula, did the MWs ignore you even MORE?

[monkeymoma]

the main reason we want a doula this time is to support DH, based on last time

but also, me and DH wasn't enough, I did NOT have my own MW because it was night time and they refused to wake the on call, so just had someone else's MW popping her head round from time to time - I needed further introvention which was missed for a while because of this, was also left alone (with just DH) in the birth pool when I was unable to hold my body up and DH was scared I might drown.

So on the one hand, we fell that we need a doula, and DH is really keen, but on the other hand we're worried that over stretched MWs will say "oh she has extra support, we don't need to be in there as much", when I need a MW AND a doula, they are different and a doula wont necessarily notice medical problems developing

any experiences of this?

Nope. On balance I think a watched midwife delivers better care. A doula-ed woman gets a more experienced midwife.

really? interesting!

The MW's are supposed to check the fetal heart rate every 15 mins whilst you're in active labour. They should be popping in and out that much at least.

Is homebirth an option this time? A midwife stays with you the whole time at home.

3 births with a doula at each, here. Birth 2, the MWs ignored us a lot. They correctly saw that I didn't need much from them, and they were massively overstretched with several emergency CSs. Births 1 and 3 pretty constant MW attention. I don't think they count the doula as a medical person at all.

Homebirth would be a great option. A midwife there constantly and 2 of them during 2nd stage.

I had a doula for ds1 and 2. I don't think it made any difference. They were happy to see her but were in and out as and when they/I required. They were over stretched and didn't stay with me but came when needed.

As crossbones says they didn't see her as a medical person (quite rightly as she's not) and were just pleased that I was supported by dh and the doula.

As starlight said - we didn't have a doula 1st time round and it all went pear shaped.
Had. A doula with DC2 and the midwife and doctor were really supportive of my vbac during labour!
I was amazed!
Having a doula again this time and been once to hosp with her for monitoring and it was great!
I really recommend one!

I think it depends what you want.I like to be left alone when im in labour,i feel more relaxed and kind of zen like in my own space,i only ever had monitoring when they first checked my cervix at the beginning,but then my 3 were all under 3 hours long.I also found that at home -if you want to-they leave you to it more and are really just there if you need them and to catch the baby and check them over-unless you need more than that-my mw sat drinking tea and chatting to dh about god knows what with my dds birth,it was great!but then like i said,i know a lot of people would like the reassurance of a mw right next to them.

Personally,i think a good doula would be able to spot medical problems as easily as a midwife would.

Even if you were to be left alone like last time, at least you would have two birth partners, one to stay with you (and hold you up in the birthing pool if required!) and the other to go and get help.

Firstly can I just say that a doula is not there to "spot problems" and even those that have been medically trained (some are retired midwives) should not be relied upon to do so. As a doula myself I feel that one of the greatest assets of my job is that I do not hold medical responsibility for my clients, and that frees me to focus only on supporting her choices and being there for her on an emotional level. I personally believe that the "doula effect" (which has been shown to only apply when the doula is not part of the medical system) has a lot to do with this.

A doula may be very well qualified, very experienced and yes, she may have that capability, but it is not her job, she is not insured to make medical assessments and attempting to do so would distract her from her proper role as well as being unethical and potentially illegal. Medical assessments need to be made by an official midwife who is trained, current and insured. That's not to say that if a doula noticed something she thought might be an issue she is going to ignore it, just that this is a safety net, not a replacement for proper midwife care.

I'm also a qualified teacher, but I wouldn't take over a Biology class in a school that didn't employ me if I happened to be on site teaching prenatal yoga!

To the original question, not in my experience. I tend to find midwives increasingly understand and respect the role of a doula, and I have found that they tend to be very attentive, very thorough in their explanations etc. If they are not, you have someone who knows the process who can ask the right questions, who understands the NICE guidelines and can tactfully remind the midwife if they (or the birth plan) are not adhered to. Also, as someone said above, sending a real person out of the room to find a midwife is much harder to ignore than a buzzer.

I had a HB last time, option? And had not 1 but 2 MWs the whole time!! However, I made it clear "I vanted to be alone" and that worked beautifully. Get a doula best descion ever.

I was never under the impression that doulas were there to spot medical problems, I was worried that the MWs would leave me alone more because I had more support, therefore there'ld be noone there who was more clinically aware.

But seems like it works the other way round, which is good, and good point about sending someone out of the room, when i was nearly drowning in the pool DH was torn between letting go of me and going to press the buzzer, then when that wasn't answered he was too scared to leave me to go outside to get a MW - we could really have done with someone else on our side!

Sorry OP, the spotting problems came from another post upthread, wasn't directed at you.