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Doula Business Advisor: Getting Paid
Doulas should not allow a payment decision to be based on the birth outcome, for example, in the case of a woman whose intention was to have a VBAC birth that ended in cesarean. Does she still have to pay her doula? You bet! You are not responsible for her birth outcome. She is! Everything you do in the course of building your relationship with her should communicate this simple fact—she is central to her own experience. You cannot protect her from the big, bad medical profession or save her from a repeat cesarean. You can support her in her strengths. Teach her how you will support her and help her set up a plan to succeed. Do your best, but, in the end, it’s all on her, and you need to get paid regardless.
At a minimum, doulas should be paid something to reserve time in their schedule and at least 50 percent (if not 100 percent) of the full fee paid prior to the birth. Exceptions can be made on occasion; however, if you are using credit cards to buy groceries so that your client doesn’t have to use her credit card to buy groceries, then your business is not viable.
The Doula Business Advisor blog is designed to support the establishment and long-term sustainability of private doula businesses. Patty Brennan is the author of The Doula Business Guide: Creating a Successful MotherBaby Business.