Are Birth Doulas Covered by OHIP
Having a doula on your birth team or making postpartum visits makes such a difference for your experience as a transitioning family. One of the most asked questions that I get is, “Are doulas covered by OHIP?”.
OHIP is the government-run health plan in Ontario and it pays for many different health care services. Most basic and emergency health care services are covered by OHIP. These services include doctors’ visits, lab tests, ambulance services, and travel for norther Ontario residents.
Doula care is unfortunately not covered by OHIP. However, there is a silver lining for us Ontarians! Some private insurance plans have begun to cover doula services.
In Sun Life’s personal spending account, maternity services and accessories such as doulas, midwives, and classes are covered! So, what is a personal spending account? A PSA is used for wellness costs like fitness, health products and services. PSA’s work by your employer allocating credits into your PSA and you use them to pay for a wide variety of wellness services.
Another option is Carrot Fertility, but they only do reimbursement. They also have some service requirements and some documentation requirements for doulas.
Sometimes private insurance may be out of reach for some families. And for those families, there are doulas who are working towards their certification and are willing to work with a sliding-scale price or even pro-bono.
One more option for setting up doula services for yourself is to include them in your baby shower. It’s hard to ask for support pre-baby. It’s even harder to ask for support postpartum. By setting up a postpartum doula support fund your family and friends can help fund doula services. Both birth and postpartum support are immensely important for mental health, your personal experience, and getting through a momentous transition in your life.
While the answer to this question may not be the one we want, hopefully this other information may be useful to you. I wish you the best of luck moving forward with welcoming your little one into your family.
