Welcome to another enlightening episode of The Birth Geeks, where we delve into practical and essential topics for doulas. In this episode, TBG 56, join hosts Dr. Hillary Melchiors and Dr. Robin Elise Weiss as they navigate the complex world of setting and raising doula fees.

Discover why it’s crucial to understand your value and charge sustainably, how cost of living impacts your rates, and the importance of balancing personal financial goals to avoid burnout. We'll also discuss how to respond to client pushback about fees, strategies for offering discounts without undervaluing your services, and recognizing when it’s time to increase your fees.

With insights into tailoring service packages, maintaining transparent communication, and advocating for proper compensation, this episode is packed with expert advice to help you thrive in your doula career. Stay tuned as we empower you to confidently set and adjust your rates, ensuring both your well-being and that of your clients.

Overview

• Discussion on doulas raising fees for sustainable income.
• Importance of charging a livable wage and recognizing when to adjust rates.
• Factors for increasing rates include:
  • Experience from multiple births.
  • Rising living costs.
  • Preventing burnout and ensuring job satisfaction.
  • Full calendar indicating high demand.
• Timing for rate increases should focus on future bookings.
• Awareness of local market rates and community positioning is essential.
• New skills or certifications can justify fee hikes.
• Comparison of fee structures across regions, e.g., California.
• Personal financial goals are crucial to avoid burnout.
• Use "doula-of-fee algebra" for pricing strategy.
• Consider yearly expenses in financial planning.
• Strategies for discussing rate increases with returning clients.
• Clearly explain value and handle objections confidently.
• Mistakes are part of business growth.
• Confidently state fees without justification to unsuitable clients.
• Advocate for fair compensation for doula work.
• Consider tiered packages or early signing incentives.
• Maintain prenatal visits for effective support.
• Regularly review rates based on experience and feedback.
• Communicate rate changes transparently and in advance.
• Prepare for pushback on fees with strategies.
• Prioritize financial security for mental health and sustainability.
• Utilize resources like doula fee calculators and cost of living data.
• Engage clients in discussions about fee adjustments.

Links Mentioned in this Episode

• Cost of Living Information
• Doula Fee Calculator

Welcome back to The Birth Geeks podcast! In today's episode, hosts Hillary Melchiors and  Robin Elise Weiss catch up after a long break and dive into a range of exciting updates and developments in the birth and doula community. They talk about Hillary's upcoming trip to France for the European Doula Network conference and reflect on their busy year, including Hillary's rebrand of her doula agency. From discussing the challenges of balancing doula work with personal life to sharing insights from recent conferences and legislative advocacy efforts, this episode is packed with valuable information and heartfelt moments. Stay tuned as they also hint at upcoming topics and interviews that will enrich the birth and doula community. Let's get started!

Links mentioned in this show:

• Cost of Living
• Doula Fee Calculator
• EPDUS-US (Mental Health Screening Tool)

Overview

• Hosts Hillary and Robin reconnect after a long break.
• They discuss a road trip from Louisville to Minneapolis.
• Hillary prepares for the European Doula Network in France.
• They reflect on their busy lives and roles in DONA International.
• Robin organized the Doulas Doing Business Summit for business management support.
• They share challenges doulas face in balancing passion and business.
• Hillary is involved in academic activities related to doulas.
• Both discuss personal challenges, including Hillary's house fire.
• They reflect on parenting and the transition to becoming empty nesters.
• A recent vacation sparked a desire for more travel and reading.
• The speaker advocates for doulas and perinatal mental health screening.
• They highlight legislative progress for doulas and maternal care improvement.
• The agency's rebranding and certification efforts are mentioned.
• Emphasis on community outreach and agency operations amid challenges.
• Upcoming plans include discussions on rebranding and financial sustainability.
• Excitement about interviews and research on perinatal mental health.
• The speaker shares a personal experience attending a memorial for Penny Simkin.
• Light-hearted discussion on fame preferences and humorous birth community anecdotes.

Nurses and doulas working together for culture change is a dream team, and we're breaking down what needs to change about hospital birth in this episode as well as career pivots, online teaching, and so much more in the birth world. 

Elizabeth M. Johnson talks to Dr. Hillary Melchiors about trauma informed care, empathy vs. kindness, and shifting her When Survivors Give Birth course online in this 38th episode of The Birth Geeks Podcast. 

Kelli Brien talks about the many aspects that drew her to birth work and how she's moved within the system to help make it a just an equitable place for all birthing people.

Dr. Amy Brown discusses working with families around choices for infant feeding, breastfeeding grief, and more! 

Ever dreamed of what you would say if someone asked you how to change things to improve maternity care? In this episode, we talk about being asked that exact question as doulas and scholars, and how we approach those answers. Hint: it doesn't just involve changing the pictures hanging on the walls. 

Darcy Sauers is the founder of The Postpartum Doula Academy and has been a DONA certified postpartum doula since 2010.  She talks to The Birth Geeks today to emphasize that we need to band together as birth workers – it’s about collaboration NOT competition. And Hillary and Darcy lament about how we spend a lot of time trying to explain what doulas do before we can ever get to the “hire me” phase!

Training nursing students to be doulas helps them no matter where they end up working according to Barbara Hotelling. She talks all about the Duke-la program she helped start, creative ways to test for anemia in resource constrained places around the world, and so much more. You'll love this conversation between her and Robin on this 33rd episode of our podcast.

We talk to Denise Bolds of Bold Doula in New York City. They talk about Denise’s journey to becoming a doula and being a Black doula and what that makes hospital staff think when she’s working with her clients. Denise explains how we’re always evolving and shares her outlook going forward. Enjoy our conversation with the amazing Denise Bolds.

Meagen & Julie from The VBAC Link join us to talk about VBAC in a pandemic, special VBAC doula considerations, and how shifting landscapes make it even more important for processing traumatic past events so you can let go in the moment. 

Hillary & Robin chat from the comfort of their beds at home about their recent experiences working virtually: Hillary as a birth doula and Robin teaching new doulas and childbirth education. How is it easier? What makes it harder? What are we reading to help our mental health right now? Geeking out together from home definitely has its perks!

How do you stay awake on the drive home at 3am after leaving a long birth or postpartum shift? In this 47th episode of The Birth Geeks Podcast we talk about scream therapy, streaking through your house, our go-to meals and self-care routines. After helping our clients, a post-shift ritual is so important to shift your mind out of work mode and actually contributes to helping stave off burnout. Our tips and a few fun references are included in this episode!

Intentional movement can help childbirth professionals build strength, release stress, and increase their professional longevity, and Erin Underwood is passionate about helping us do all those things! Self-care doesn't have to stop when you are working with clients either, and she gives some great tips and tricks for things to avoid and to pay attention to especially when working long hours. 

How are you holding up and holding space for yourself as a childbirth professional during this pandemic? Are you pivoting quickly or finding yourself struggling to meet all kinds of new demands? Join us as we talk about what's going on with our businesses and learning as well as our favorite pandemic impulse purchases that are helping us with self-care. Hint: It is NOT toilet paper! 

Shifting your doula services to offer virtual support requires some planning, and Nichole Joy is here to talk specifics! In this special bonus episode we discuss marketing, pricing, and more for your virtual doula services. 

Who knew orgasm was such a divisive word? Debra Pascali-Bonaro joins us for our 27th episode all about her work to bring pleasure back into the birthing and postpartum space. She discusses her newest book that is being released on April 9th too: The Ultimate Guide to Sex After Baby. This is a fantastic episode all about re-framing our thinking and approach to birth, and we just know you're gonna love listening.

As we talk about the needs of a new family and how dealing with social distancing and various hospital policies make this period harder for families, we also need to address how a postpartum doula can be effective at helping new families when they may not be with them physically. 

Connie Sultana has been a doula for over 900 families and was the Director of Certification for DONA International for many years. Here she shares her thoughts, tips, and tricks on making the act of a virtual doula work for families in your care both during the pandemic and beyond.

Join us as Sharon Muza talks about taking your childbirth classes online in the age of COVID-19, Robin and Hillary share their take on answering the "Did my water break?" question and share their handout for you to use with your clients. There's also links to updated information on maternity care in pandemics.

Certified Professional Midwife Augustine Colebrook talks to Hillary about sustainable midwifery practice, traveling the world, social justice in the birth world, and so much more. She has such an important perspective to share about not just how we can do better in the United States, but also about training, adversity, and why exporting the obstetrical model of care around the world is not a good idea even though it is happening. Robin also discusses what childbirth professionals need to know about the corona virus! 

In this short 24th episode of The Birth Geeks Hillary & Robin talk about prodromal labor. How do you tell if it really is prodromal labor? Why is this happening? What can you do about it? We also cover some research about and resources for hyperemesis gravidarum. A free handout about prodromal labor is available for download at thebirthgeeks.com/shop too!! 

Dr. Britta Bushnell joins us to talk about why preparing for childbirth by teaching with a story can help recreate the hormonal state and how the process of becoming parents works and how we can help new parents and her new book, "Transformed by Birth."

How do you define confidence for yourself? You may have a supercomputer in your pocket, but that still doesn’t mean that you have to know all the things or that all the things you can know are in there. In this episode we talk about “doula dysmorphia” and mastery development. There’s always something more to learn as a birth geek, but there are more important confidence boosting ways to learn than taking all the trainings and reading all the books. What bursts your confidence bubble and how does your sense of humor play into your work confidence, earned or otherwise.

Childbirth education deserves to be celebrated! Robin and Hillary talk about how they became educators and the value that parents get from childbirth education. There is also a discussion about International Childbirth Education Week.

Andrea Hewitt talks about her job as a doula agency owner, her skills from life prior to birth work that she still uses today, having an inclusive business model and more at The Birth Geeks.

Robin and Hillary talk about things you should keep in mind as you do a year in review for your birth business. There is a discussion of how to know what data to share, and what to keep private, to whom and how to send thank you notes for your business, the trick to making sure you track what you want to track, words of the year and so much more!

Dr. Robbie Davis-Floyd talks with the Birth Geeks about birth and the medical model and also specifically how doulas and childbirth education play a role in outcomes.  They even tackle the big topics like - why are people so afraid to question obstetrics today and discuss mentorship.

Hillary and Robin have a conversation about the basics of bias in research. You'll hear what some of the most basic forms of bias are and how you can guard against them in your practice. You'll also get to hear Hillary's birth story - trust us, you won't want to miss that! And Robin dishes on some tech tools to help you with remembering key dates in your practice.

In this special bonus collaboration episode Hillary talks to Sara Pixton from the Birth Words Podcast! This conversation focuses on  3 ways to better communicate for pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period, and we hope you will find it helpful and a thought provoking consideration of language including pronouns, nouns, intention, power, prepositions, and more. If you are interested in the intersection between language, birth, and anthropology, this is a great episode for you. As childbirth professionals the words we choose to use can make a huge difference in our efficacy and how people think about their experience and even themselves sometimes. 

Birth Geeks Drs. Hillary Melchiors and Theresa Morris talk about cesarean birth in the United States, the pressure labor nurses are under, and so much more - including how birth professionals can help shape and change policy.

Robin and Hillary talk about questions new doulas ask about life as a doula, the ABC Expo in Las Vegas, how to change policies, and a bit about triage and the doula - with lots of laughs on their road trip to the Grand Canyon.

Cris Cunningham is an award-winning director and producer and he talks about the types of video that can help you advance your business.

Dr. Amber Price, CNM works in Nashville, TN and she talks to The Birth Geeks about collaboration across specialties, what birth works can do to improve birth no matter where they work, and how disrespect for the birth process happens so easily, particularly on social media. 

This episode is all about MONEY! We talk about all different ways that childbirth educators and doulas feel about money. What is your money mindset? Do you have an abundance mindset too? We talk about shortcuts to keeping good records and a few key moments that you need to recognize that you should ask for help from people who’ve been there. We also delve into multiple revenue streams and passive income as a childbirth professional. If you’re a birth professional entrepreneur, this episode is especially for you!

Come listen in as Dr. Vanessa Hildebrand and Hillary geek out about birth anthropology. They talk about a wide range of things from Dr. Hildebrand’s research on birthing in an Indonesian Village to what anthropology has to say about childbirth education. You even get to figure out what the three basic things are you need to know about cultural competence to bring to your everyday work in birth. And the key will be challenging your assumptions. Always.

Dr. Mary Jo Podgurski joins The Birth Geeks to talk about what birth workers need to know about adolescents, how can we turn the conversation about teen pregnancy from doom and gloom statistics into something more proactive, and so much more! Plus Robin discusses the latest article on predicting "failed induction" in pregnant people diagnosed as obese.

In this 11th episode of The Birth Geeks Podcast, Hillary interviews Dr. Ginger Breedlove. They talk all about activism as a childbirth professional, Midwestern kindness, the importance of qualitative data, how childbirth professionals can help March for Moms, and her latest co-authored book: Nobody Told Me About That. Dr. Breedlove has a treasure trove of stories and information at her fingertips, and you are sure to love her practical advice and smile (which we swear you can hear in the recording)! 

In this 10th episode of The Birth Geeks Podcast, Robin interviews Sarah Juliusson who has been a birth doula & childbirth educator for more than 20 years, and The Website Doula for more than 8! They talk all about making your website stand out and how to be a more effective and attention catching content writer. Hint: self-care is an important component! Hillary also reviews some brand new qualitative breastfeeding research. 

In this 9th episode of The Birth Geeks Podcast, Robin interviews Sharon Muza about being an independent childbirth educator in Seattle, Washington, along with all the other hats that she wears as a childbirth professional. They talk about competing with Elvis for students' attention, the horrors of Seattle traffic, & how to communicate with expecting parents without scaring them. Hillary reviews some health literacy resources that just might change the way you communicate with your students. 

Let's face it, living life on call comes with some challenges that not all new childbirth professionals know. On this eighth episode of The Birth Geeks podcast, Hillary and Robin talk about what the day to day looks like when they are on call including dos and don't. Family impacts and strategies for mitigating planning challenges are also part of the conversation, as well as some geek reveals and a special shout-out at the very end of the episode. 

Listening is a skill that we have to really perfect as childbirth professionals, and hearing birth stories again and again can be challenging for many different reasons. In this 7th episode of The Birth Geeks Podcast, Robin & Hillary discuss ways to stay grounded and fix your face even when listening to misinformed horror stories at a party. There is also a little assignment at the end for those true geeks out there. 

Michelle Branco talks with The Birth Geeks about health communications and risk-based language in childbirth education and interactions in pregnancy and early parenting. 

In this 5th episode of The Birth Geeks Podcast Hillary chats with social media guru Liz Jostes from Eli Rose Social Media. They chat about the best reason to use social media for your small business marketing strategy, specific tools for better targeting your marketing across platforms and warming up your audience, and why content creation is so important. Liz even shares a few equipment tips and other pearls of serious social media wisdom. As you will hear in the interview, Liz is not only funny but also ridiculously knowledgeable about both social media and how truly tiny businesses work.  

In this 4th episode of The Birth Geeks Podcast, Robin interviews Ann Grauer, AdvCD/BDT(DONA), AdvPCD/PDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, IBCLC, RLC who celebrates 2019 as her 30th year of working with expectant, birthing and new families. A past president of DONA International (2003-05), Ann created Wisconsin’s first hospital-based doula program and has consulted for programs in other states. She trains birth and postpartum doulas through DONA International and Lamaze educators through NYC Lamaze. The 2007 recipient of Lamaze International’s prestigious Elisabeth Bing Award. Ann is a mom of two adults and Mamaw to one spirited granddaughter. This episode is full of insights from a seasoned perspective about the childbirth professional path, postpartum doula progress, and why childbirth professionals need to have a more holistic view of our clients. 

In 2020, birth professionals were all navigating all kinds of shifting policies and ideas about how to keep safe while continuing to serve families as a novel virus and resulting pandemic emerged. As we close in on the 3rd year of learning and pivoting through it all, we’re seeing some things go “back to normal” and others remaining changed. In this episode of The Birth Geeks Podcast, Robin & Hillary talk about COVID changes that we’ve seen come and go. What is the science behind these changes and what is the new normal looking like where you are? We dive into our observations and frustrations with it all, while keeping in mind the structural, social, & policy perspectives that are shaping the way that birth workers approach their jobs now.

In this 3rd episode of The Birth Geeks Podcast Hillary interviews Molly Mendota AdvCD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, CLS, SpBCPE.  Together they discuss the importance of self-care as a doula and how Hillary tried to skip Molly’s lesson about it at a conference! They also talk about different ways that doulas practice, being a doula trainer, and non-profit doula organizations. Molly is a delightfully insightful interviewee who shares her wisdom about ways to make sure we nurture ourselves before we try to nurture other people, and spoiler alert, it doesn’t always have to include a fancy spa day!

Last time, you met Robin, but this time, we're going to introduce you to Birth Geek Hillary! She's a wicked smart and funny doula and childbirth educator who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the podcast. With her background as an anthropologist, she's got a real eye for details that most of us miss on initial observation and she uses her special powers for good. 

Of course we wanted to start our podcast with an introduction to who the heck we are! In this episode Hillary interviews Robin Elise Weiss, her fellow Birth Geek so that we can get to know her a little better. Robin was the 20th DONA certified doula (trained by Penny Simkin herself) and is amazingly knowledgeable about all things birth and beyond. She also has some great long-game perspective about changing the birth scene locally and nationally too. 

This is a short silly little introduction to our podcast. You can find out more at out website and seriously, we've got some BIG plans coming!