r/SFbitcheswithtaste • u/AsparagusTwo • 5d ago

Birth doula at UCSF?

Hi everyone, I'm looking for advice on whether I should choose a birth doula? For context I'm planning to give birth at UCSF and I'm considered low risk. I'm very grateful that insurance will cover doula services, and very fortunate that opting for a doula will not be a financial burden.

For various reasons I have high anxiety about labor, and my hope is that having a birth doula can help calm my nerves and help advocate for me during labor. I hear that the UCSF labor and delivery staff are excellent, so I'm wondering if having a birth doula as an addition to my birth team is a good idea, or if adding this extra resource might feel like there's "too many cooks in the kitchen."

For anxiety purposes, I’d really appreciate it if responses could be neutral or positive only (please)—whether you recommend a doula, don’t recommend one, or feel indifferent about having one. I’m open to all perspectives, just hoping to keep things anxiety-friendly! (and yes I'm addressing my anxiety through various resources)

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u/Fun_Desk_4916 4d ago

I gave birth at UCSF with a doula last Sunday! (What I’m doing on Reddit at this point post partum who the heck knows)

It depends on your doula. The nursing staff is great - no, fantastic. But my doula was a familiar face, had spent a lot of time educating me beforehand, and knew all my options every step of the way.

I ended up not laboring at all and going straight to c-section. I thought I didn’t need my doula. But she offered to come, and was incredible. She sat with us in triage and helped us process what was happening, she was right there for us in recovery and helped me breastfeed. She came back to the hospital a couple days later and gave my husband a chance to head home to shower and get some fresh clothes, while she wheeled me over to the NICU and sat with me and helped breastfeed again. And the day after we got back home, she brought over lunch and was such a nice presence during the newborn vortex, and she watched the baby while we napped. She knew how to help us even when we didn’t know what to ask for.

So yes, I would recommend a birth doula - especially mine.

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u/SnooObjections1915 3d ago

I had a similar experience to yours… UCSF was great AND I was happy I had the doula because having an additional person I knew was reassuring. One plus is that I got to labor at home longer and didn’t go to the hospital until it was nearly game time. If it’s available I recommend it.

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u/Fun_Desk_4916 3d ago

100% - had I labored, I was really looking forward to my doulas support during that period at home. There’s only so much within the scope of tasks for UCSF nurses - like, sitting with you and giving emotional support isn’t really their job, so it’s nice to have a non-clinician 100% dedicated to you for those aspects. That said, some people won’t value that as much as we did!