to Doula or not to Doula, that is the question

actually, there's not much question about it. I am pretty set on having a doula present during labor for support. so far, I have met with two... one is training to be a midwife, so she has more of a holistic/medical background. the other started as a doula after the birth of her 1st child (she has 4 now... the littlest one was adopted from china). I will probably meet with at least one more before I make a decision.

so why do I want a doula? well, as you know by now, I am pretty set on having as natural/normal of a childbirth as possible. with labor, one intervention leads to another, so the longer I can put off or avoid interventions the more likely I am to have the style of birth that I envision. induction/epidural lead to IVs and continuous fetal monitoring which restrict movement and make laboring more difficult, which in many cases leads to a c-section. yes, guy is going through the childbirth class, but since he's new to all this too, he might need a little extra support once we get to the hospital. and the nurses aren't there to cater to my needs only... they have all their patients to focus on. so a doula will help us both get through labor and childbirth as comfortably as possible.