Has anyone used a Doula before?

[Dalesgirl16]

I'm thinking of finding a Doula when I give birth to my second child next year. It would be for help at home after giving birth.

I struggled with PND after my first birth and I know that I'm likely to have a caesarean again and highly likely to have another child with reflux and allergies. This time, too, I won't have family near me to help so I'm starting to worry about coping, especially with a toddler at home too.

Has anyone used a doula to help them after birth? If so, how long for and what kind of hours a week? It is going to be a huge expense but I am hoping it will be very worth it.

I haven’t had a Doula but I was extremely fortunate that my DH had a month off work after the birth of DC2. My advice would to call a few local ones and see which ones you click with. One of my closest friends is a Doula and she is totally lovely, I’ve met others though who I wouldn’t be having in my home when I was vulnerable with a new baby.

One thing that really helped me with my second was reading Baby Calming by Caroline Deacon. It’s not prescriptive so you won’t feel like a failure if your baby doesn’t comply to a set routine. It ores if you ff or bf and I ended up with a very chilled baby. Hope you do to

Thanks for the advice. Yes, I'm concerned about what the person would be like, especially at a time like that. I will look up that book too.