Written by Anna Rodney, Doula and Childbirth Educator
Anna Rodney is the owner and founder of Chicago Family Doulas and Birth and Baby University. She is a leader in the perinatal field and a trusted resource for expecting families and perinatal professionals.
Are you expecting and considering hiring a birth and/or postpartum doula? Did you know that many workplaces are providing stipends or have partnered with companies such as Carrot Fertility and Progyny to offer their employees a stipend for doula care?
YES, you read that correctly. We are seeing families with stipends between $2,000 and $70,000 from their employee benefits.
The process is easy and many doula agencies are skilled at helping you through the process. Also, your workplace and the benefit companies are usually super helpful with sharing what is needed to approve your claim. Many doula agencies will have labor doula packages tailored for your family to utilize your employer's benefit.
If your workplace offers a general doula stipend, you can use this for birth doulas or postpartum doulas. Postpartum doulas typically offer both daytime and overnight support. Postpartum Doulas are amazing and incredibly helpful. They care for you, your baby, and your family. Postpartum doulas will also help you get sleep, rest, be nourished, and help with some light chores. They are also there to teach you and help you adjust to your little one. Postpartum doulas will support your entire family.
Find out if you have benefits
Follow these steps below to access your employer’s doula benefit:
Reach out to your employer’s human resources department and see if they have a doula benefit and clarify the amount and what paperwork needs to be completed.
Reach out to doula agencies near you.
Arrange a call with the doula or the agency and ask if they are familiar with workplace benefits. If so, they will be helpful in helping you navigate the process. If not, the process is fairly easy and they should be able to help in all the ways needed.
Once you find the doula agency that works best for you, you will need to be matched with a certified birth or postpartum doula. They will need to complete all needed paperwork and submit their certification and proof of insurance to you.
You will submit all documents including the completed form, proof of certification, and proof of insurance to your employer.
You will need detailed invoices that include all the information your employer requires.
In addition to the above, you will need to pay the invoices and submit to your employer for reimbursement.
Many companies are offering workplace benefits
Some amazing companies that offer doula benefits include Carrot, Salesforce, CVS, Progyny, and The Trade Desk. We are so happy that workplaces are offering this incredibly important and valuable benefit to their teams.
Congratulations to you and your family! To learn more about our services at Chicago Family Doulas here.
Read more from Anna Rodney
Anna Rodney, Doula and Childbirth Educator
Anna Rodney is the owner and founder of Chicago Family Doulas and Birth and Baby University. She has been a leader in the perinatal field for over a decade, and continues to grow her offerings in order to support more families and to help her colleagues grow. She supports thousands of expecting and new families each year through both of her businesses. She is a passionate leader and a force of change and inspiration for families and birth and postpartum professionals.
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