looking for student doulas in Northern NJ

[elizabethsmom16]

Hello Everyone,

My husband and I are pregnant with our second baby due at the end of July.  We used an amazing doula for our first birth, but unfortunately, she will be away for most of the summer and can't take on any births.  We were considering using a student doula.  I'm not sure where to find one.  Do you have any leads/ideas?

We live in the Montclair area.

Thank you so much!

-Laura

[phathui5]

Have you tried www.doulamatch.net ?

[lindsaygray]

Just food for thought: A friend of mind used a student doula and she proved to be somewhat useless as this was her first birth to attend.  Because I wanted my birth to go as smoothly as it could, I chose to pay top dollar for this service.  Since you've been through birth before, perhaps this won't be such an issue.  I just thought it might be important to bring up the quality of service gap between an experienced and inexperienced doula.  I don't mean to offend anyone, however, with this.  I just think every woman deserves the birth she envisions.

[2Peaches]

First of all, congratulations!  There is a student doula on these forums, MamaSerio, who lives near you. 

If you decide to go with a professional doula, I hear that Kelli DeFlora is awesome.

[budwana birth]

I can put the word out to the network of doulas I know.  Where are you intending to birth your baby?

[bolobear]

I've hired a student for my birth in May.  I can give you her contact info.  I found her through a friend of my sister.  The recommendation came to me even before I was ready to search for doulas.  I also interviewed three experienced doulas and they were kind of judgmental and my doula's not.  We totally clicked.