Hospital Doulas

So last night my boyfriend and I went to an Irish pub in honor of my fathers birthday. He would have been 49, instead he is forever 46 years old and am sure is loving it, not having to grow old.


So while we were at this pub we met 2 wonderful women. A mother and daughter, both visiting Portland. After an hour of screaming over a bunch of drunken idiots and an amazing traditional Irish band we decided to go to the restaurant side of the pub to eat and be able to actually talk without having to nod and pretend we understood each other.

Upon talking about careers and goals in life, I had mentioned mine, only to find out that the mother was also a doula herself. Me being so new to this whole world I was ecstatic to finally meet someone who was a doula in real life and be able to get some insight on it all. The hospital she works at in the bay area sounds fantastic. She didn't know the cesarean rate, but knew it was minimal, and they are a more natural hospital when it comes to labor and delivery and let the women have free reign. That is, besides when it comes to doula care.
She works through the hospital, not the mother. She is only allowed to work 8 hour shifts and whatever doula is on duty at the time, that is the doula the mother got. Granted I am thankful for any form of doula..but it kind of set me off and irked me a bit.


Why should the hospital be allowed to chose who your doula is? Isn't that kind of going past what a doula is all about? What if the mother doesn't connect with a doula and instead connected with another doula that can not be with her? Or the mother connects with a doula then once her 8 hour shift is over she has to leave and the mother has to re connect with a NEW doula, a woman that she may not connect with again.

With all the mothers care providers being wishy washy and her not knowing for sure who will be there to help deliver her baby, shouldn't the doula be the ONE stable thing, the ONE secure thing in her labor?  If the hospital can not even provide her that, or allow her that then that is one thing they do need to fix.

I know there are some hospitals that wouldn't even allow a doula into the room with the mother, those stupid doula bans. But to me, this is somehow the same. In their own twisted way they are still controlling the mother by chosing her doula for her. The one person that should be there for the mother and not the hospital.
As already covered here this happens all the time, and by doing so it inhibits the mothers ability to birth well, if at all. A doula being the one person that is supposed to help the most intimate experience, why would the mother want a stranger?