Questions to ask a Doula

During your first contact over the phone:

• Are you available for my due date?
• What training have you had?
• Are you certified? By what organisation? (If a doula is certified, you might consider checking with the organisation to verify.)
• Do you have one or more backup doulas for times when you are not available? May we meet with the backup doula?
• What is your fee? What does it include? What are your refund policies?

When interviewing a birth doula:

• Tell me/us your childbirth philosophy and your philosophy around supporting women and partners through labour.
• May we meet to discuss our birth plans and the role you will play in supporting me/us through childbirth?
• May we call you with questions or concerns before and after the birth?
• When do you try to join women in labour? Do you come to our home or meet us at the place of birth?
• Do you meet with me/us after the birth to review the labour and answer questions?