Sliding Scale Guidance

Sliding Scale Availability

All doula support options that include labor/birth support are available based on a sliding scale. For postpartum-only support options, please inquire about current availability of reserving support based on a sliding scale. All doula services are eligible for the automatic monthly payment plan option, with no additional fees or qualifications, in order to create more affordability and accessibility for doula services.

How Much Will You Pay?

Atala Doula Services does not use income or other types of verification to determine whether you should pay at the high/middle/low range of the sliding scale. Instead, the below checklist is offered to guide you in assessing where you likely fall within the sliding scale range and to assist you in determining the fee you will pay for the services you wish to use. The information you provide on the checklist will not be used by Atala Doula Services to approve/deny the payment amount you choose within the accepted sliding scale range. Honesty, trust, and acknowledgement of complexities in life are essential in working with a doula, so your judgment in assessing what you can genuinely afford to pay for the services will be respected.

Atala Doula Services has been inspired by the following resources in creating this sliding scale guidance and checklist:

• Ride Free Fearless Money – Sliding Scale: Why, How, and Sorting Out Who
• Worts & Cunning Apothecary – The Sliding Scale: A Tool of Economic Justice (aka The Green Bottle Method)

Why Should I Choose to Pay More?

When you pay the full suggested price, the standard/middle-of-the-range fee, you support:

• The ability for your doula to accept only a sustainable client load, allowing the doula to maximize the personalized care you receive.
• Continuing education opportunities your doula can afford to participate in, helping to provide exceptional support to all.
• The availability of bereavement doula services at no cost to the recipient.

When you pay at the higher end of the sliding scale range, you will support:

• Routine bodywork (chiropractor, massage, ELAN) for the doula to ensure optimal physical readiness to provide the best support when you need it.
• The availability of supporting 2 low/no-cost birth clients each year to those in need.
• Recurring donations to maternal/perinatal organizations, such as:
  • The Root: Birth-Babies-Beyond
  • Sharing Parents
  • Sacramento Breastfeeding Coalition
  • Bumi Sehat
  • Postpartum Support International
  • Planned Parenthood

A Note About Sacrifice Versus Hardship

There is a difference between paying for a higher-priced service that involves making a financial sacrifice versus creating a hardship. You are asked to take this information into account when choosing the fee you should pay.

If paying at the high-end of the scale is what seems to be appropriate for your life circumstances and would not be detrimental to your finances, even if it doesn’t seem easily affordable, this would be viewed as a sacrifice. Making a financial sacrifice for the benefit of using the service and supporting the service-provider to the best of your abilities is an investment; you may be able to temporarily cut back on other spending in order to pay the appropriate amount without causing any long-term harm in your life.

On the other hand, if paying at even the low-end of the scale would lead to you being unable to afford food, rent, or transportation, that is creating a hardship in your life that may have long-lasting effects on your current and future well-being. Atala Doula Services does not want anyone to create hardships in their life in order to pay for doula support. If paying at the low-end of the accepted sliding scale range, even with utilizing the monthly payment plan option, would create a hardship in your life, please reach out to discuss other options that may be available.

How to Use the Checklist

The more life qualities that apply to you in a specific section of the scale, the more likely you are to be able to afford the fee within that range of the scale. For example, if you check 5 life qualities in the higher-end section, 10 in the middle-range section, and 3 in the lower-end section, then you would likely be able to pay the standard/middle-of-the-range service fee for your chosen doula package.

Checklist Definitions

Basic Needs: food, housing, health care, and transportation
Expendable Income: money available for non-essentials, such as coffee/tea at a cafe, going out to the movies, attending a concert, buying new clothes/books/decor, etc.