Hello Mamas and Papas out there! We’ve had lots of people asking us lately if their insurance companies will cover our services and how they might go about seeking reimbursement. So, here is the run down… of course feel free to contact us with specific questions, we are happy to reply.

First of all, we are paid in full for our services per our normal contract agreement. After you have your baby, we provide you with an invoice with information including: the amount you paid us; our information, including our National Provider Identification (NPI) number; the “diagnosis”, which would be V22.2 Intrauterine Pregnancy; and a CPT code, which would be 99499 – Evaluation and Management Services (Labor Support). Then your insurance company reimburses you.

Our clients success with reimbursement has been relatively good, though most don’t seek it. Clients with Flexible Spending Accounts seem to be reimbursed without any hassle. To get started, I’d recommend calling your insurance company with the information above and see what they say. Let us know if you have any questions. In the meantime,  schedule a free consultation with us to further discuss what you are looking for from a doula!

We wanted to extend an invitation to our “meet the doulas” afternoon tomorrow to any families of Greater Houston that are in search of a birth doula. We will be at the Panera Bread at 13704 Northwest Freeway, near 290 and Tidwell in NW Houston. We’ll be in the meeting room from 2 to 4. We hope to have the opportunity to meet you and hear about your birth vision, and answer any questions you and your partner may have. If you already have a birth plan, feel free to bring a copy. You will have plenty of time to meet both of New Life’s doulas and talk one on one. It’s set up so you can come whenever and stay for as little or long as you want. See you there!

Penny Simkin speaks about the role of a birth doula, what makes a satisfying birth experience, and birth of DONA International.

Our Nation’s soaring cesarean rates have made headlines again. CNN recently published an article titled Five Ways to Avoid a C-Section. The list in short is:

1. Don’t Get induced unless medically necessary.
2. Labor at home until you’re approximately 3 cm dilated.
3. Choose your hospital, and your practitioner, carefully.
4. In the delivery room, ask questions if your practitioner says you need a c-section.
5. Get a doula.

To see the full article, click here: Five Ways to Avoid a C-Section

 And since we are on the subject, did you know there have been major clinical studies that have shown that the support doula reduces a woman’s risk of cesarean by 26%. That’s right, 26!

Hey Sisters,

I’ve been keeping up with a friends blog lately, and it is really great. It is called Savvy Doula. It is all about the business side of being a doula.  Check it out…

Savvy Doula Business Blog

In Doula Spirit,

Lea

The birth doula is one of America’s most overlooked contributors to the maternity care system. While they may be overlooked, doulas play a valuable role in creating positive birth experiences. Doctors have documented that doulas improve mother-infant bonds, as well as “decrease the incidence of complications” in the birth process, as stated in DONA’s Position Paper (Simkin and Way). Birth doulas promote positive birth experiences in many ways – by providing mothers with emotional, physical, and informational support, along with acting as a mother’s advocate.

Birth doulas offer many benefits to both mothers and babies. All of which have been documented consistently in numerous scientific studies. These studies have not only shown families to have better birth experiences, but have also shown improved medical outcomes. In fact, women with the support of a birth doula are: twenty-six percent less likely to give birth by a cesarean, forty-one percent less likely to give birth by vacuum extractor or forceps, twenty-eight percent less likely to use any analgesia or anesthesia, and thirty-three percent less likely to be dissatisfied or negatively rate their birth experience. Some of these studies even found the babies to have higher five-minute APGAR scores (Simkin and Way). Also, women with the support of doulas have also been found to be more successful with breastfeeding, have shorter labors, feel more secure and in control, and be less likely to experience postpartum depression (Meyer, et al).

It should also be noted that doulas provide the benefits listed above without introducing any medical risks to the labor process, because doulas only attend to the non-medical needs of the mother. While doctors, midwives, and nurses are all responsible for the physical health and safety of the mother and baby, the doula is the only trained professional responsible solely for the mother’s emotional wellbeing.  In addition to providing families with emotional support, and as discussed in DONA’s Standards of Practice, the doula is an advocate for her client, always keeping her wishes in mind. Making decisions for a mother or speaking for her is never the role of a doula. Instead the advocacy role is to encourage a mother to ask questions, help facilitate constructive conversations between the family and the medical staff, and to keep the mother’s birth plan in mind (Standards of Practice). Providing physical support to laboring mothers is an additional role of the doula. Doula’s may use effective positioning, massage, the use of a birth ball, and breath work, among many other things to physically help a mother through her labor. Not only are doulas responsible for providing their clients with emotional, physical, and informational support, doulas also have ethical responsibilities, outlined in DONA’s Code of Ethics. Ethical responsibilities to clients include providing reliable services with fair fees and maintaining confidentiality. Ethical responsibilities to her colleges and the profession include remaining courteous, fair and professional (Code of Ethics).

Birth doulas also have an ethical responsibility to society: to promote maternal and child welfare (Code of Ethics). Because it all begins at birth – that is the mother and child’s relationship outside the womb. And to promote a positive birth experience is to start that relationship off in the best possible way. A woman’s birth experience, be it positive or negative, will carry over into her parenting. So, to foster positive birth experiences is to foster positive parenting practices. Positive parenting practices, in turn, foster positive children, which grow to be positive adults. So, to only focus on the physical health of a mother during birth, and to ignore her emotional and spiritual transition into motherhood, is a disservice to our society as a whole – because, again, it all begins at birth.

Article written by: Lea Mock, CD(DONA) fo New Life Doula Services

Works Cited:

Doulas of North America. Code of Ethics. N.p.: n.p., 2008. Print.

Doulas of North America. Standards of Practice. N.p.: n.p., 2008. Print.

Meyer, MD, MBA, Bruce A., Jane A. Arnold, CNM MSN, and Deborah Pascali-Bonaro, BEd, CCE. “Social Support by Doulas During Labor and the Early Postpartum Period.” Hospital Physician Sept (2001): 57-65. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. <http://www.turner-white.com/pdf/hp_sep01_doulas.pdf>.

Simkin, Penny, and Kelli Way. Position Paper: The Birth Doula’s Contribution to Modern Maternity Care. N.p.: Doulas of North America, 1998. Print.

Photo from: Birth Doulas of Pittsburgh