Doula Recommendation?

H

hkexpat2010

Registered User
Hi,

My husband and I recently decided we want to try for a natural, unmedicated birth plan. We're thinking of using a doula as part of the plan.

Can anyone recommend their doula? I'd love to hear recommendations and more details on the experience with a doula. In general, I've heard Mother's Touch and Annerely have experienced doulas.

Some questions....
How often do you see the doula before birth?
Was your doula able to do into the birth with you?
If you deliver at Matilda, is the midwife/nurse in the room with you all the time as a doula would be?
Did anyone use a birthing pool before going to the hospital?

Any tips and advice would be great!
 
I am using Hulda from Annerley - and because she's a midwife I could also do my antenatal checks with her too. So I would go in for my monthly check and also discuss the birth with her at the same time.
 
Hi

I'm also using Hulda for the birth of my 1st baby in Sept. I also really liked Kathy from Mother's Touch, who has special focus in massage therapy and calm birth techniques. What swung it for me, is that I also wanted a medical professional so I could labour as long as possible at home before going to public hospital to deliver - Hulda is able to monitor baby and mother's heart beat and I liked the idea of having midwife and doula exeprtise combined. If I was going private - I might think about this requirement differently. I am not able to have Hulda in the delivery room as I'm in public hospital but still believe in the benefits of experiencing most of the labour at home.

Would love to hear from others using doulas in Hong Kong and their experience too.
 
Ok, thanks for sharing! I've kind of decided not to look into Hulda since she doesn't go to the hospital with you, but I'm meeting Liz and Kathy to find out more about their services.

Has anyone been able to get their insurance to cover doula services, antenatal parenting classes, prenatal massage, etc?
 
Hulda does go to hospital with you - but if you are birthing in a public hospital they won't let any doula in to accompany you.
 
I checked at Baptist hospital. They said that they don't allow outside doulas or midwives into the laboring / delivery rooms.
They can help you in early pregnancy / after the birth if you are in a private room, though.
 
I was at Matilda for the birth of our first baby and they allow you to have your doula + 1 other person with you through the entire time you are laboring (a godsend for me, since it was ~30hrs!). Public hospitals do not allow you to have anyone with you in the early stages of your labor and then you can only have 1 person (baby daddy or doula, not both) when you are far enough along. The key there is to go in as late as possible!!!

I was originally working with Hulda, but late in my pregnancy when I finally got into Matilda, I found out that Hulda could no longer accompany you at Matilda. I was lucky to find Liz and Kathy at such a late date, and when I finally went into labor, Kathy was tremendously helpful in assisting me throughout the long labor. I definitely would not have made it that long without her! Having a doula made all the difference!
 
I had Hulda for the birth if my baby girl in Feb this year. We wanted to spend the least amount of time at the hospital prior to the actual birth as possible mainly because the nurses will want to make you lie down as much as possible so that they can strap the baby heart rate monitor to you. Like the others have mentioned, Hulda was able to check my dilation and monitor the baby's heartbeat. We only left at the very last minute, my hubby drove us from Tung Chung to Matilda, thereafter even though Hulda couldn't be with us, Nurse Wendy (if I remember correctly) took over. She was a star too.

A Mother's Touch was newly set up at that time, for us there wasn't really a choice. I have since attended baby massage classes and mums & babes group hosted by Liz. She's a very warm and lovely lady, a motherly figure. If we have our second, I'd probably engage Liz given that she can be with us all in the hospital. Plus location wise, she's only 5 mins from our current place!
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Thanks for providing the latest info on Matilda and doulas, Edaizie!

I also liked Kathy and Liz from Mother's Touch alot when I met them. I'm still doing a cost benefit analysis given that there are so many unknown factors (ie how long labor will last, chances of my husband traveling at that time, likelihood of getting a good midwife vs a bad one at Matilda, possibility of c-section needed, etc). Doulas in the US are typically around 3000-4000HKD and up, but in Hong Kong hiring a doula is a fair chunk of money...
 
Doula

Brooke from Gravida is lovely. I did my childbirth education classes with her, and she has since started offering doula and birth support services. She is kind and calm, but also knows a lot about natural birth and nursing. I wish I'd been able to have her at my birth back home. I think doulas are especially helpful not only for the Mum, but the Dad also! Her contact details are on her site http://www.yourgravida.com/ once you meet her you'll know what I mean :)
 
Update: I ended up having Kathy Kitzis from A Mother's Touch as my doula. I can't recommend her highly enough! I also took Kathy's Calmbirth class as we were aiming for a natural, unmedicated birth plan. However, due to high blood pressure and some other medical issues, I was induced and finally had an emergency c-section. Thankfully, our little one was born healthy!

Despite the final outcome, I did labor naturally with no drugs for quite awhile and Kathy was invaluable during that time. She was a calm, positive, and supportive force in a difficult situation. To be honest, she did a much better job keeping me relaxed and helping me get through the pain than my husband did, but she is the expert :P I think it helped alot that she is a massage therapist, too!

Kathy was great before the birth, too. As different issues arose, I always felt comfortable calling and discussing my options with her. She was a great sounding board and very supportive, especially since my husband was out of town when some of the problems began.

If we decide to have #2 in Hong Kong and are able to have a natural birth, I would definitely have Kathy as my doula again! Although hiring a doula here is a fair chunk of change, it was worth every penny for me.
 
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