Terms and Tips for Interviewing Your Doula

Term	Consumer Tip	Interview Question
Type: Doulas can be both birth and postpartum doulas.	Some families appreciate the continuity of having their birth and postpartum doula be the same person.
Type of Birth Doula Practice	A doula’s type of practice will affect the number clients they are able to serve every month. For example, large group practices can share call schedules which allow the group to serve more families. Doulas in solo practices may serve fewer clients, but may also almost always attend all their own clients’ births.	What kind of back-up arrangement do you have? How often do you attend your own clients’ births?
Number of Clients per Month	A doula should always work within a practice style that allows their clients to be covered by back-up doulas when they are unavailable.	Same as above. Are you available 24-hours a day? When are you unavailable? What happens if you have two clients who are in labor at the same time?
Number of Births Attended	The doula who is able to provide the best support to you may not be the one who has attended the most births.	How many births have you attended? What have those births taught you?
Fee	Level of training, certification, and experience usually factor into the fee a doula sets as well as well as the going market rate in your area.	When do you expect payment(s) to be made?
Lives in	Do you need your doula to live within your neighborhood, town or city?
Travel Range	What is the maximum number of miles you consider reasonable for a doula to travel to reach you?	How long does it take for you to get to my home/birth place? How much lead time do you need from the time I call to the time you arrive?
Certification	Not all doula certifications are created equally. Visit the organizations where your doula had chosen to certify. What are the standards of practice and the code of ethics which they have chosen to practice by? For more help understanding what goes into a quality certification program or organization, review our page on the Doula Interviewing, Researching, and Hiring Process	Where are you certified? Why did you choose that organization(s)?
Breastfeeding Training, Education, and/or Certifications	Additional training, education and certifications can factor into the doula’s fee.	How do you help assist parents in breastfeeding/chestfeeding? At the birth place? Follow-up at home?
Childbirth Educator Credentials	Additional training, education and certifications can factor into the doula’s fee.	Where do you teach? What is the philosophy of your classes?
College Education	Additional training, education and certifications can factor into the doula’s fee.
Other Credentials	Additional training, education and certifications can factor into the doula’s fee.	How do you use your other credentials as a doula? How do you stay within the scope of a doula’s practice?
Specialized Training and Experience	Find out how and where the doula came by their experience or specialized training. Does their experience match your special needs?	Tell me about your training and experience with _______________.
Attends Hospital Births	Some doulas will limit their practice to certain hospitals where they feel most comfortable.	Are there any hospitals where you don’t practice?
Attends Birth Center Births	Same as above	Same as above
Attends Home Births	Some doulas limit their home birth attendance to certain midwives or need to work in non-smoking or no-pet environments.	Are there any home birth situations where you prefer not to practice?
Volunteer Experience	Many doulas take active roles in their communities promoting and advocating for family centered maternity care, transparency in hospital interventions, normal birth, etc...	How does your volunteer or advocacy work inform your doula practice? Why did you decide to volunteer with: _________?
Number of Postpartum Clients/Month	Some postpartum doulas have a maximum number of consecutive days or nights they’ll work.	How many families do you work with each month? Do you have a maximum number of consecutive days or nights that you work? How do you schedule your postpartum clients?
Postpartum Hourly Rate	Level of training, certification, and experience usually factor into the hourly rate a postpartum doula sets as well as well as the going market rate in your area.	What are your hourly fees? When do you expect payment(s) to be made?
Years as a Postpartum Doula	The doula who is best suited to support your family may not be the one with the most experience.	How long have you worked as a postpartum doula?
Families Served as a Postpartum	The doula who is best suited to support your family may not be the one with the most experience.
Postpartum Doula Certifications	Not all doula certifications are created equally. Visit the organizations where your doula had chosen to certify. What are the standards of practice and the code of ethics which they have chosen to practice by? For more help understanding what goes into a quality certification program or organization, review our page on the Doula Interviewing, Researching, and Hiring Process	Where are you certified? Why did you choose that organization(s)?
Type of Postpartum Practice	Postpartum doulas work in many different arrangements from solo practices and small partnerships to contractors with postpartum support agencies.	How do you schedule your work? Will I always work with you or do you have partners who cover you when you’re unavailable?
Number of Clients per Month	A doula should always work within a practice style that allows their clients to be covered by back-up doulas when they are unavailable.	Same as above. Are you available 24-hours a day? When are you unavailable? What happens if you have two clients who are in labor at the same time?

Terms and Tips for Interviewing Your Doula

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