The day is almost here! You’ve been planning and preparing for months on end. You’ve checked and re-checked your lists, talked endlessly to your friends and family about the big day and dreamed about every detail from start to finish.
Is your budget in order? This special day will never be here again. I mean, technically, sure it could happen again, statistics are in your favor, but THIS day, with these people, in this time and space….you only get one shot. Let’s make sure you’re prepared.
| Attire & Accessories | $0-$100 |
| Beauty & Spa | $0-$50 |
| Entertainment | $0-50 |
| Flowers & Decorations | $20-$200 |
| Gifts & Favors | $50-$200 |
| Invitations | $0-$200 |
| Jewelry | $0-$200 |
| Photography & Video | $0-$1295 |
| Planner, Consultant | $0-$800 |
| Venue, Catering & Rentals | $300-$25,671 (depending on insurance and unexpected events) |
Wait, what? Insurance?
Well yeah, this is a Doula blog. You didn’t think we were talking about weddings did you?
Now look at the chart again. Do those numbers seem strange to you? Why is that?
$370-$28,095 seemed on the low end for what we know of wedding costs right?
According to the website, Cost of Wedding.com, the average cost of a wedding here in El Paso County is actually $26,840. In Douglas County it’s 37,932….. Higher than the chart above, except that this chart is actually the cost for an even MORE special day….the day your baby arrives.
Have a another glance at the chart. What do you think about those costs to give life to your child?
These are extreme numbers, with one being a homebirth with insurance, no bells and whistles, all the way up to a hospital cesarean with complications. (2010 numbers, sure to have increased in five years)
What do these two days have in common?
For one, it can never be repeated. Sure, you can have other children, you may get divorced and re-married, but THIS day, THIS wedding, THIS birth, will never come again. Both events should get the extra special attention they need to make them unforgettable.
What has happened to our culture that a momentous occasion such as the birth of a baby has less value than a wedding? Bringing forth new life, expanding a family, a new soul emerging into humanity should bring about more joy, more expectation, and more celebration than any other day in our lives.
Let’s take a look at that chart again, this time with different labels and look at it with fresh eyes, while comparing it to the price of a wedding.
| Comfy nightgown, yoga pants to go home in | $2,000 |
| Toiletries, makeup, Don’t forget your brush | $134 |
| IPod, headphones, DVDs maybe | $1,000 |
| Candles and aromatherapy | $1,500 |
| Birthday cake? Celebration cigars? | $700 |
| Birth announcements | $900 |
| Maybe a little something special from your significant other? | $4,000 |
| Photography & Video | $3,000 |
| Birth Doula | $1,500 |
| Birth Location | $12,000 |
Does this chart seem a little extravagant? Seems silly to compare the two side by side and realize that as a society, here in Colorado we are placing SO MUCH MORE value on a one day (albeit important and fabulous) party and so very little on our birth experiences, which can have a long lasting, physical, emotional and mental effects on our entire lives.
A few things I’d like to point out…….
The true cost in Colorado Springs for well trained, educated and experienced Birth Doula = $850 Wedding planner =$4,000
Interesting.
Evidence for having a Doula at your birth:
- 31% decrease in the use of Pitocin*
- 28% decrease in the risk of C-section*
- 12% increase in the likelihood of a spontaneous vaginal birth*
- 9% decrease in the use of any medications for pain relief
- 14% decrease in the risk of newborns being admitted to a special care nursery
- 34% decrease in the risk of being dissatisfied with the birth experience*
Decrease in overall cost associated with low risk birth = $530.89 per low-risk delivery, or $28,997,754.80 annually in one state alone.
Increase in satisfaction of birth experience with a Doula= Priceless!
