When should you hire your Doula?

I see this question often on social media. It goes something like this: “I don’t want to schedule too early, but when do you think I should hire my birth doula?” My answer: AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE!!! As a busy doula in Maryland, my calendar fills up usually 5 months in advance, with several earlier due times scattered about before that. I have repeat families send me photos of their positive pregnancy test and say “What are you doing in March 2023? Make sure you have room for us!” And I would love to see that for the norm for first time pregnancies as well. Schedule your birth support early!

My best advice- interview doulas when you know you are pregnant. Ask your loved ones, friend circles, social media, Google…. And start your list. Scour websites. Poke around on the doulas’ social medias (ours: Instagram and Facebook) to see what their content is about. Then reach out to schedule to interview. Most doulas offer free consults so that you can get an idea of what you can expect for their support services. For Maryland Birth Services, we hold due dates from consults for 5 business days. If someone needs more time, we encourage them to reach back out and let us know. While business is booming here, its so important for us to take the time with each prospective client - listen to their goals and needs, discuss topics of importance, give information about our personal Doula support and Childbirth Classes - consults are important!

When you’ve found your doula- don’t let time pass! Reach out to them! Get on their calendar as early as possible. For us, at MBS- this allows us to start the partnership early. This allows us to be a large part of your team from the beginning. To form that bond and trust. And we encourage this for all of our clients.

So don’t worry about being “too early”. Your doula is an important part of the birth and postpartum process and we are so very glad to be with you from the beginning of your journey. Be well! (And I can’t wait to hear from you!!)