Doula Business Advisor: Use of Forms with Clients

Overall, doula forms are useful if they help you provide better care to your clients. Every item on a form should be scrutinized for its usefulness and whether or not it is appropriate. Consider the purpose behind every question and eliminate those that are overly intrusive and unnecessary. A good filter to apply is whether or not you will do anything different based on the answer to the question (e.g. a health history). We must trust our clients to share what they feel is important for us to know and follow their lead.

I’m a minimalist when it comes to client forms for private-practice doulas (doula programs are a different beast altogether!). Basic contact information, due date, planned location for the birth, family members’ names, directions to their home, birth history, expectations, and preferences should do it. Let the medical care providers do the charting as we focus on the mother. Less may be more (as in better) when it comes to forms.

I am not saying that questionnaires or tools for the clients’ private use should be eliminated. Some of these are designed to be tools for self discovery or to facilitate communication among all the parties. What are your favorite useful questions or tools that enhance your ability to provide excellent service to your clients?

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.

Posted by Patty Brennan on November 16, 2010 • Filed under Doula Business Advisor
Comments (1)

Comments

One Response to “Doula Business Advisor: Use of Forms with Clients”

  1. Alice Turner on November 24th, 2010 at 3:51 am:

    I am in complete agreement about less is more regarding forms. Like Patty says, if you aren’t going to do anything differently with the information then why do you need to gather it.