The Cost of a birth and postpartum doula
The cost of doula services in Los Angeles can feel like a significant financial commitment, and we understand why some people hesitate or question the need for a doula altogether– especially those fortunate enough to have an emotionally attuned partner eagerly taking notes during childbirth ed classes. Statistics for how doulas impact birth outcomes aside, the value of having an experienced doula who has taken the time to get to know your unique needs and desires can’t easily be quantified. But aside from the value, we wanted to briefly outline what goes into the calculation of what doulas charge.
First, I daydream about a world in which doula support is free or bartered for. In this daydream, the cost of living doesn't need to be accounted for and we can accept grapefruits and knitted socks in exchange for our support. This fantasy is only superseded by the fantasy of everyone being a doula, of birth and death no longer being taboo, but being normal parts of life in which everyone is supported by their sisters or aunts or neighbors who are all experienced, comfortable and educated on these parts of life the way we have been throughout history. But I digress....
One of the most transformative decisions of my life involved sitting down and looking at how much it costs to live in Los Angeles and factoring that into my rate. Early in my career, I didn’t charge a living wage out of the noble idea that everyone deserved a doula and I wanted to be that solution. I supplemented my income with side hustles, and the way I was able to show up as a doula was immensely impacted by that.
Brana and I have a combined 40+ years of on-the-job experience. A lot of time and work and sleepless nights went into getting to becoming experienced doulas. We charge what we charge so that we can give all of ourselves to you. We want to show up to your birth without stress or distraction, grounded in the knowledge that we’ve done the work to prepare ourselves for the sacred role of holding space for your family. In order to show up for the families we work for in our ideal way, fully holding them through the threshold, we do a lot behind the scenes:
1. The Time You See and the Time You Don’t
It can be tempting to see our job as "labor support" and to calculate our value by the hours spent doing the double hip-squeeze and replenishing cold compresses, but that's only a small part of the work we do. Our work begins the moment we're hired, and we put a lot of time and energy into getting to know the specific needs and desires of each family. We're there to hold space for all the fears and anxieties that come up along the way, months before that first labor contraction occurs. In many ways, how we prepare our clients prenatally matters just as much as what we do in the birth room. We spend an average of 14 hours educating and supporting each family before labor even begins.
One of the biggest sources of unseen labor a birth doula provides is the labor of being on call. Limiting the clients we take on so we can effectively do our job is an unseen part of the calculation, as is the work of arranging our lives so that we can step out of it at a moment's notice, day or night, over the course of a five-week period. We sleep with our phones nearby and our ringers on LOUD (which often means bolting upright at 2 AM to questions about bassinets a pregnant client has sent while up for a middle of the night pee!).
I've personally missed multiple weddings, multiple funerals, most of my daughter’s third birthday and Christmas morning with my small child to be there for my clients’ births, because those clients trusted me, not some backup doula they’d never met before. And because I took that responsibility seriously. Preparing mentally, physically, and emotionally to hold space for our work requires having childcare and dog walkers on hold and paying them accordingly for short notice care.
Less quantifiable is the mental load itself of keeping track of the unique situations of each family and ensuring they feel seen and heard and responded to. Our clients are always in our thoughts, and we’re regularly gathering resources, reading new research, actively looking for answers for our families and holding threads of conversations in our heads as we sit on the sidelines of soccer practice or walking the dogs.
2. Replenishment Enables Us to Serve You Better
Being a doula isn’t just a job for us. We're invested in each family we work with. We hold intense physical and emotional space for our clients, and help shoulder the mental load of each unique pregnancy. In order to give fully and maintain the capacity to stay attuned to our clients needs, we need to ensure that we are well ourselves.
We often need bodywork to recover from doing hours of counter pressure and massage in funky positions (more than once I’ve spent hours crouching behind a hospital toilet to push against someone’s sacrum!). Processing the emotional weight of our work with therapists and paying for continuing education workshops and apprenticeship programs adds up, but we are much better doulas when we invest in our own care.
3. We Believe in Making Birth Better for All Families
Birth work is sacred to us, but women’s work, and caregiving in general, is extremely undervalued in our society. By paying your doula a fair rate, you’re helping elevate this work of nurturing families, protecting birth spaces, and empowering new parents.
This investment has ripple effects. When doulas are supported financially, we're able to offer resources and support to underserved families at a discount. Each month we offer a significantly discounted rate depending on need.
The Green Bottle Sliding Scale: A Commitment to Equity
In our practice, we use the Green Bottle Sliding Scale, which allows us to meet families where they are financially. When families with more resources pay at the higher end of the scale, they enable us to offer support to those who truly need financial assistance. Your decision to invest in us doesn’t just help your family and ours, it helps us extend care to those who might otherwise go without.
When you pay what you can at the top of the scale, you’re allowing us to hold the larger community in balance, ensuring we can serve everyone with the same level of devotion, care, and energy. It’s an act of solidarity and a commitment to uplifting birth experiences for all families, regardless of income.
4. Investing in Your Values
The average cost of flowers for weddings is between $3k-$5k. It's worth examining how normalized spending thousands of dollars on a wedding planner has become. Because we expect these expenses and budget for them, we don't question them.
I think of how often couples ask for help with a "honeymoon fund" on their wedding registries and wonder what would it be like if we understood the true need for support on the horizon for these couples? How might their financial decisions differ if they understood that, yes, having those fancy kitchen gadgets and new furniture is nice, but what about budgeting for a birth doula and substantial postpartum support the same way we do for honeymoons? We can’t help but wonder if the couple who asks for a significant discount just before their Hawaii babymoon truly values the time, energy, and work that goes into their support.
Why This Investment Serves You
Ultimately, when you invest in a doula, you’re investing in:
• Someone who will stand by you, no matter what twists and turns your birth takes.
• Knowing there’s someone focused solely on your emotional and physical well-being, not hospital liability, protocol, or their brunch plans.
• The reassurance that you have a skilled advocate in your corner, helping you navigate decisions, advocate for your needs, and honor your values.
A Final Note from the Heart
To us, our work isn’t just about birth support. It’s about building and maintaining a relationship with our clients so that we can more fully support them. It’s about truly being with them during one of the most transformative experiences of their lives, and walking with them over the threshold of the postpartum experience. The truth is, this level of care comes with sacrifices on our part. But we make those sacrifices gladly because we believe so deeply that a better birth experience changes the world one baby at a time.
Thank you for investing in us, trusting us, and making it possible for us to do this work sustainably. When we feel nourished and whole, we can show up for you fully, the way that you deserve.
Warmly,
Dawn and Brana