Look at the results of our survey
Economy affects birth choices
We asked respondents to tell us whether they had noticed
changes in the past 6 months in terms of the choices women
were making for their births. They identified several key
areas that had changed:
-
51% of respondents said more women were planning
midwifery care and/or homebirths
-
45% of respondents found the number of enquiries had
decreased significantly in the last 6 months
-
42% noticed more women were asking for discounts
-
20% found that less women were choosing planned
epidurals and/or cesareans
-
20% had noted an increase in the number of
uninsured women they were working with
-
13% of respondents were having increased numbers
of clients not paying their bills
Economic downturn reduces income
We found that many birth professionals were finding they
were making significantly less money and this was causing
some to have to contemplate moving into other jobs as they
could no longer manage on their birth income. While many
respondents stated that the income from their birth business
was a minor source of family income, a staggering 77% wanted
their income to become the main or a significant part of the
family income.
Few birth professionals are experienced in running their own
business and struggle with identifying ways to make their
business more efficient, attract clients and promote their
businesses. Setting fees and asking for money from clients
is commonly cited as a problem area amongst birth
professionals. The Childbirth International "Business of
Birth: 7 steps to success" course will help you to gain
control of your business and watch it develop and flourish.
Demographics of the survey
Respondents came from 6 countries - USA, Canada, UK,
Australia, Malaysia and Hungary. All were birth
professionals with more than 1,000 clients a year between
them. There was a mixture of birth doulas, antenatal
teachers, postnatal doulas, breastfeeding counsellors and
midwives. Nearly half the respondents had been working as a
birth professional for less than three years, while almost
40% were seasoned professionals and had been working for 5
years or more.
Read more about the
Business of
Birth: 7 steps to success course
|
