Austin Mamas, Have you tried GALS?

[kristandthekids]

I'm a single by choice mama and won't have a support person in the delivery room. I didn't have one with my first two births but I'm trying for a natural birth this time. I had a natural birth accidentally last time since it happened so fast and in the end liked it way better than my medicated one.

Having a 3rd means some big expenses.  Bigger car, bigger house, and since it's been 6 years since I've had a baby having to re-buy every last thing.  I'm not sure I can swing a doula in the budget.

Had anyone tried GALS?  They look interesting.  They're not doulas, but have gone through some birth support training.

"GALS is a volunteer program which seeks to provide emotional and physical support to women during their birth experience. Anyone can access a volunteer birth support person during labor by contacting the dispatcher."

http://givingaustinlaborsupport.org/

[SouthernStormy]

Hey Krist! Good to see you here.

I don't know anything about them, but I'll ask my MW next time I talk to her and see if she is familiar with them. Its looks like a pretty good program.

BTW, since you mentioned buying baby stuff- have you visited any of the consignment shops in town? Are any of them worth a visit, or are prices so much its just better to buy new? Yelp reviews seemed to be mixed.

[kristandthekids]

yay! Stormy!

I haven't tried the consignment shops yet. I'm holding off on buying things till after we move into the bigger place. Anything I buy now would just mean more money to the packers and movers.

Thanks for checking into it for me!

[SouthernStormy]

I know what you mean about the movers!

I'm due the exact day our lease is up. Still trying to decide what we want to as far as moving goes. Our size place is nice, but the fiance is now working at Central Market- so we'd like to be closer to his work. Plus, being in this area (4 points) is somewhat isolating- I don't drive, so I'd really like to move somewhere that has things within walking distance I can get out and do, especially if I decide to be a stay at home mom for a little while. So we are holding off right now and buying big stuff as well- the fiance doesn't want to lug it all up 3 flights of stairs, only to lug it back down in a couple months.

[teachermom]

GALS does employ doulas, though many are still "in training" they have great people working for them.

the way they work is by a rotation system. you see all of the doulas' through out your pregnancy and get who is on call when you go in. it works well for some people and is a cost saver.

you can have your own doula who is assigned to you by paying an extra fee. they have a great ala cart system where you can pay a small upgrade fee to get pretty much whatever you want. I think that their prices range from about 350 - 750 per birth depending on whast you need/want.

I would recommend visiting with them as well as other doulas to see what is the best fit for you.

another place to look is http://centxdoulas.org/  . it is our local doula association's page. there are doulas who work in every price range,

[teachermom]

ugh. I got halfway to school and realized that i answered your post about the wrong organization!!

GALS (giving Austin labor support) is a great group. they train and offer volunteers to give labor support to woman in the hospital. they work primarily through Brack. some of their volunteers are doulas, some are not but all are trained.

[kristandthekids]

If there are other organizations, I'm willing to take suggestions.

Thanks!

[teachermom]

give GALS a call. they are a good group. I just am not sure if they are working outside of Brack right now.

the other group I  answered about is get babied. I also found out that if you take a certifing doula through them, it can be as low as 150ish.

the central texas doula association list a lot of doulas who work for themselves. that is the link I put above. I do know that there are experienced doulas who will take some clients each month on a pay what you can basis.

I think that most important thing is to find someone who you feel good about and comfortable with.

[onlygirls]

I know people who work with GALS and Get Babied. 

The way GALS works, is the doula that is on call has a cell phone and then they get a call from the mom in labor and meet her at home or the hospital.  I think that at Brack, the nurses can call if someone comes in with no labor support.  Sometimes people are dropped off at the hospital to give birth alone. 

Definitely contact both groups and see who you feel more comfortable with.

http://www.getbabied.com/

http://givingaustinlaborsupport.org

[kristandthekids]

Originally Posted by teachermom 

give GALS a call. they are a good group. I just am not sure if they are working outside of Brack right now.

Just an update: They came out to St. Davids North to help me with my really awful, scary, induced labor. Way above and beyond what I was expecting. They were awesome.