You are pregnant and you are looking to hire a birth doula. You might be asking yourself a lot of questions, like...
Where do you start?
What questions do you ask?
What kind of services should you expect?
How far along in your pregnancy should you be before you start to look for one?
Do Doulas go to hospitals? Homebirth? Birthing Centers?
What should I expect to pay?

:)  First things first....Breathe.

where to start...
I always recommend that people start by asking around to friends, family and co-workers. Find out if anyone you know has used any of the local doulas. What was their experience like. Would they recommend their doula?
Another approach is to go to the local doula association site www.centxdoulas.org
here they have listings with bios for many of the Austin doulas.
I always recommend that clients meet with at least two doulas.
Pick the one who makes you feel safe and comfortable.

what should I expect....
Most doulas offer similar service packages. most will do 1-3 prenatal meetings (these include get to know you time, practice positioning and coping techniques, some will even do a mini childbirth class). whether they are doing enough or no is a matter of you getting what you need. a doula will meet you while you are in labor, when you get to the point that you feel you need her. sometimes this is in your home sometimes it is meeting at the hospital. all doula are trained to provide support throughout labor. they do not change shifts or leave to deal with their own lives while you need them. some will call in help if labor runs over 24 hrs. they are there until the baby is born. most stay for a few hours after baby arrives, making sure that you are setup in postpartum and feeding baby is underway. there is usually a postpartum follow up a few days to a week after the baby is born. doulas are trained to assist with newborn breastfeeding as well as to watch for issues like postpartum depression.
when to hire a doula....
People often hire a doula during their third trimester but I tell people
that starting early is a good thing. a doula does not charge more if you
hire her early but it does give you some benefits. you have time to look
around and pick who feels right to you. you have a good shot at securing
your spot on her calender (most doulas only take a small number of clients on each month). it gives you a longer time to tap into her resources (asking questions about pregnancy or birth as they come up, getting referrals for other services, etc). you can space your prenatal meetings out a bit. it gives you even more time to form a relationship with her.

where doulas work....
Most of the doulas in Austin work in all of the local hospitals, birthing centers. Most would love the opportunity to support you in a home birth.

the cost...
the price of birth doula service here in central Texas is a wide range. there are volunteer doulas through an organization called Giving Austin Labor Support. Most doula service ranges from a small fee of the doula's cost (child care, parking, etc) for a new or less experienced doula to a much larger fee for doulas who incorporate more than one service into what they offer (such as a doula who is also a massage therapist). The middle range for an experienced doula is around $600. this usually includes all prenatal visits, uninterrupted labor and birth support and the postpartum visit.