Exactly. My husband is very helpful but not exactly a birth expert. He was more than happy to follow through on the doula's suggestions but he wouldn't have come up with all that stuff on his own.

The doula really is there for the partner too. Mine was great with both of us (also she took the first post birth pictures so that my son can see exactly how goopy he was fresh out of the womb. :-)

I was actually born in Wimbledon in a private hospital because the local one had a bad track record when it came to births (in the 80's anyway). My parents had to drive more than an hour to the hospital. Knowing now how quic my mother gave birth and having had a baby, this sounds like insanity to me.

Wait, but I'm married. So, aren't I supposed to submit to my husband? Because under my circumstances, without taking the (clearly) baby-killing birth control, I'm pretty sure that I'll end up pregnant over and over and over...

Oh my god that freaks me out. I was exactly 12 minutes from the hospital where I gave birth (and you better believe I timed it), and that drive was still hella uncomfortable whilet contracting and stuff. This sounds like my nightmare.

From my perspective, I trust my husband to keep a cool head, and without a doula he would've been fine. Still, after being awake for more than 24 hours and going through a lot himself to help me, I think it helped him to know that there was another person who could go get him a sandwich so that he didn't have to leave…

Exactly. I moved after finishing school so my family support network and many of the people that normally would fill the role of helper and reassurance weren't available. So sometimes, you need a service like this to fill the void. The jury is still out on whether I think that insurance coverage makes sense,…

Regarding the correlation with fewer interventions, I have a feeling that you are right - the women who can afford doulas are more prone to births with fewer interventions anyway.

My doulas had a sliding scale of cost based on income, and apparently there are studies suggesting that various kinds of birthing assistants are correlated with fewer c-sections. I don't think that's necessarily gospel and I know that I come off pro doula because I personally liked my experience. I am concerned that…

Although I think there is a good point to the doula movement and the unmedicated movement going together, I will say that for various reasons I had pitocin and an epidural and still thought my doula was useful. The second she busted out a pushing soundtrack, lavender face wipes, and a disposable toothbrush, I decided…

Exactly. 17 hours into labor, when I was having horrible back labor and wasn't seeing much progress, I needed a calm, reassuring presence to think through the options (also she went to get my husband snacks and to provide updates to people waiting for Baby Michigander to arrive). In case you couldn't tell, for 25…

I would not be against certain training requirements for doula and such, but personally I thought having a doula was a great decision for me. I know that my doulas also volunteer with organizations that offer their services to mothers who can't afford to pay out of pocket - including many young mothers who were…

So I don't think anyone I know would describe me as a hippie (think boring lawyer nerdy type :-)), and I found my doula so helpful. My husband and I were both first time parents living far from family and I ended up with a long birth. The reassurance of a knowledgeable person who stuck with us the entire time (the…

Privacy attorney here. US privacy laws are incredibly different and do not protect personal information to nearly the degree that European laws do. I work a lot with US companies that are tring to navigate what to do with their European employees because they can't just tell employees in Europe that the have no…

At this point we should both be in a sugar coma from our delicious, delicious Michigan snacks, so that should ease the pain of thinking that the Supreme Court might be sending us all to legal hell. :-)

I'm still chastising myself for knowing exactly who he was with no more information than "Teen Mom" and "Gary."

I am a cheater and split the baby, so to speak. :-) I went out of state for college but Michigan for law school, but my husband and some other family members attended State. So my loyalties are divided and I'm not a rabid sports fan so I'm generally happy to meet alumni from either. I'm also quite familiar with the…

I like you and send back Mackinac Island fudge. :-)

I only got that once from a dude who is no joke about 80. Otherwise our ratio of male to female associates is about even so most people don't make that mistake. Still, the structural issues inherent in the legal profession are real and awful. I have seen so many brilliant women shunted away from serious potential…

Given my son's reaction to solids so far, I may be right there with you.