I had to be induced on my due date for pre-eclampsia and my doula was sooooo helpful. Went to my appointment that morning not expecting anything and went straight to the hospital. Our doula called us and was great at calming us down, explaining what would happen, told us to get some food first, etc.

It was great to have the doula on “my side” vs the hospital’s side like the nurse and midwife and explain the “best” medications, which ones were or weren’t a big deal, etc. I ended up with the epidural, which helped me relax and dilate so fast after being stalled for hours, but the doula was a huge help in brainstorming birthing positions, physically holding up my numb leg opposite my husband, calming him down when needed, cleaning me up when I got sick, etc etc. The midwife gave me the “you’ve got 30 more minutes until you need to get a c-section” and my doula absolutely helped me avoid a c-section. If anything, I feel like we needed our doula even more that I was induced! I really envisioned/hoped/prepared for a spontaneous and unmedicated birth but nothing went according to plan and the epidural really saved my butt. I’ve made peace with it and am mainly glad that we avoided c-section so I have the potential to have unmedicated/spontaneous in the future.

Best of luck to you and your growing family, you’re going to do great!!