 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
13. I have more questions.....
Finally, if you have looked at all our information and still have unanswered questions, then simply contact us via email or call me at (65) 9475 1585.
12. Can I pay in installments and what payment methods do you accept?
Yes you can!
• Enjoy a $50 discount if you make payment in full.
• We offer an installment payment scheme for our Doula packages. You can pay in 4 installments from the time you sign up to the time you are 36 weeks pregnant. Full payment must be received 4 weeks before your Estimated Due Date.
For example:
If you sign on a Regular Doula Package at 20 weeks, payment of $1,450 will be spilt into 4 easy installment payment schemes and you pay $362.50 upon confirmation of booking a Doula, and your next payment is due 4 weeks later.
• You can pay via Credit Card using our safe and secure online payment services.
• For payment by cheque, please make cheque payable to: " Four Trimesters Pte Ltd " and mail to: Four Trimesters Pte Ltd. VBox 889946 Singapore.
• For ATM or Internet Fund transfer:
Four Trimesters Pte Ltd
Bank: United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB)
Account No.: UOB #352-327443-9
Bank Code: 7375
Branch Code: 001
For Details - Check out www.UOB.com.sg Website
11. I want to engage Doula services, where do I go from here?
Click the link on our booking form, and send your deposit cheque to us. We will contact you within 48 hours of receiving your booking form online.
10. Can I meet with you first before I decide?
If you're not sure whether or not you would like to have a doula at your birth, feel free to contact me to discuss what you are looking for.
Another option for you is to book a birth plan consultation with us to help you decide whether a doula is right for you. During this visit a doula can help you to understand the many options available to you for various aspects of labour and birth in Singapore . She can help you identify steps you can take to optimize your chances of having a positive birth experience, however you define that, and assist you in writing your birth plan. The cost for a birth plan consultation is $180 for 2 hours, $80 every subsequent hour. There is no obligation to book a doula for labour support, but you come away with a valuable tool: a written birth plan. If you subsequently decide you would like to have a doula, the fee for the birth plan consultation will be deducted from your total package price, and the consultation will be considered your first antenatal appointment in our package.
9. Where can I go to chat with parents who have engaged Doula services?
You can join BirthTalk!, a birth sanctuary for women seeking positive and empowering birth experiences. BirthTalk! Members chat online, via the email group or meet at our gatherings. I will be hosting these sessions. Click here for more info on BirthTalk!
8. My Obgyn has never worked with a doula before, what happens?
We have worked with a large and ever-growing number of Obgyns in Singapore , some more receptive of doulas than others. If your Obgyn has never worked with a doula before, your doula would make an appointment to see them well in advance of the Estimated Due Date. At the appointment your Obgyn and doula would discuss our roles, boundaries, work ethics and establish a working relationship to best support and care for the mother and baby.
7. Which hospitals and Obgyns support Doulas?
The most Doula friendly hospital in Singapore is Thomson Medical Centre with their infamous Room 6 which boasts facilities such as a hydrotherapy tub, microwave, birth stool, birth mats etc. and their years of experience from working with Doula s and clients coming in with Birth Plans.
From my personal experience of working with other hospitals, Mount Alvernia is also receptive to working with Doula s, having supported more than ten births there. Mount Elizabeth and National University Hospital are also beginning to be supportive.
The number of Obgyns beginning to be supportive and open to working with Doula s are increasing to meet consumer demand and feedback from some doctors are that they find that a doula helpful is helping their clients achieve the birth that they want.
"Dr. FM Lai thinks Doulas are effective in offering that additional reassurance to couples in the delivery wards because most of the time, doctors and midwives cannot offer dedicated attention." - Young Parents Nov 2005 page 34.
6. Does the Doula replace the partner's role?
No, the Doula does not replace the partner's role. Instead, the Doula supports both the mother and her partner. This helps relieve the partner and he is free to focus fully on supporting the mother.
Here are what some father's say about having doulas at their births:
"Those who haven't experience natural childbirth should go for it, as you feel part of the whole process, unlike before when my wife was induced and I just sat back and relaxed and let the Dr. and nurses handle everything, which was rather disconnecting in comparison" - Seng Hong, who had a Doula at their second child's birth. Read their birth story here.
"I was skeptical during the pregnancy about how useful a doula would be for my wife, but at the birth I realised our doula was worth every single cent. The birth was a wonderful, positive and exhilarating experience for both my wife and myself, we were informed and empowered... every couple deserves to have a doula. It was completely opposite to the medical-intervention nightmare of the first birth". - Terence
5. When is the right time to engage Doula services?
Some women choose to engage Doula services as soon as they are pregnant whilst others engage Doula services when they are days away from their estimated due date. Most women decide to engage Doula services when they have decided that engaging a Doula is the right decision for them, sometime after the first trimester. There is no price difference as to when parents engage Doula services.
4. What if I am planning an epidural or an elective cesarean?
Your doula will support you in whatever decisions you make - this is your birth, not the doulas and not your consultants or midwife's.
Should a mother choose an epidural once labour has begun and found that other pain relief strategies are not working for her, we support her in that decision all the way. Furthermore, we can help her cope with the side-effects of an epidural, and also suggest ways she can help to minimize the possible side-effects of an epidural on the progress of her labour.
Should a normal labour progress to a cesarean your doula will be with you to help you and your partner prepare for this. A doula plays the same role in an elective cesarean and can also help the couple prepare for the birth in the weeks or months before the scheduled date.
No, the Doula is not your advocate nor will she interfere with medical procedures or give medical advice. Your Doula will walk you through your options if you ask for it, and impart skills that you and your partner can use to communicate your birth preferences to your healthcare providers.
The word, "doula," comes from the Greek word for the most important female slave or servant in an ancient Greek household, the woman who probably helped the lady of the house through her childbearing. The word has come to refer to "a woman experienced in childbirth who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the mother before, during and just after childbirth."
A Doula supports the mother and her partner through her pregnancy, birth and postpartum, providing her with information, physical and emotional support throughout.
During the pregnancy, a doula provides the parents to be with information, support and an empathetic ear for any questions or concerns they may have. She helps them prepare for the upcoming labour and parenthood through consultations and classes/gatherings. She assists them to define their expectations and desires for the birth, and communicate these to their Doctor or caregiver through the writing of the parents' birth plan. Parents are also able to borrow from our extensive library .
At the labour and birth, a doula is a calm, comforting, encouraging presence. She is someone who has been through birth herself and can support and help the mother using her own experiences, both as a mother and through helping other mothers give birth. She will stay with the parents for the whole of the birth, however long that may be, unless the parents prefer otherwise. This provides parents with valuable continuity, as the medical personal will usually only see a labouring woman intermittently as they usually have many other clients. With a doula, many women find they have their best chance to have a natural birth, just as millions of women have done. For the mother for whom medical support is appropriate, a doula is there to reassure her that her birth is equally special.
Soon after the birth, your doula helps to establish breastfeeding. Your doula will then visit you postnatally, where she can provide further assistance and information regarding other aspects of baby and mother care. She will also write up a birth story and detailed notes as a keepsake.
2. What are the roles of a doula?
A doula can help you in the following ways: