More and more companies are offering their employees comprehensive birth and postpartum coverage with Carrot Fertility Benefits. So much so that we regularly have families inquiring with Doulas of Orange County asking about finding a doula that is approved and meets the requirements for Carrot. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about hiring a doula with your Carrot fertility benefits.
What is Carrot Insurance?
Carrot Fertility is a private health plan company that is provided as a corporate employee benefit by many companies around the US. Carrot boasts of “Comprehensive support and access to care for maternity through menopause — and pre-pregnancy through parenting”. Depending on the employer’s plan, they can cover everything from fertility and IVF treatment, egg freezing, prenatal support and childbirth education classes, doulas, midwives and OBGYN’s.
Does a Carrot fertility health plan really cover birth and postpartum doula services?
Yes, absolutely! Birth Doulas provide comfort, education and encouragement during pregnancy, labor and birth to improve overall maternal health and wellbeing. A postpartum doula provides in-home care during the first 12+ weeks for a new mother and her baby.
Carrot recognizes the impact that a doula has on improving the overall maternal health outcomes and wellbeing of parents and by partnering with corporations; they set up a health plan that covers an allotted amount of doula care.
Are there any requirements that Carrot requires for doulas to be approved by their network?
Per their website, they share that, “Carrot members currently have unlimited access to chats with doulas for labor, birth plans, and postpartum questions. Members can use their Carrot funds to pay for eligible doula services. To ensure members receive high-quality support that promotes healthy birth outcomes, doulas must meet specific criteria –– like obtaining accreditation from an approved organization, participating in an adequate training curriculum, and having an appropriate breadth of experience.”
As of October 2024, those requirements include:
Certification
Doulas need to hold a current and valid certificate. Some commonly used certification programs include (but are not limited to):
BirthWorks International, CAPPA: Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association, ToLabor, DONA International or ICEA: International Childbirth Education Association
Training
The doula must have attended at least 24 hours of evidence-informed training that included one or more of the following areas:
Physiology of labor, Labor doula training, Antepartum doula training, Postpartum doula training or Bereavement training
Their training must also require periodic certification renewal and/or continuing education.
Experience
The doula must be at least 18 years old and within the last 3 years they must have spent a minimum of 15 hours providing doula services in one or more of the following areas:
Continuous labor support for at least three childbirths as the primary labor doula supporting the birthing parent. At least two of those births must be vaginal births. The doula must also have provided antepartum and postpartum support for at least one birth.
Postpartum support following at least three childbirths
Bereavement support for at least three pregnancy losses
What is the process to get your doula support covered by Carrot fertility?
Every company can choose and set up their desired health plan for their employees. Doula coverage by Carrot may include 6 weeks of daytime and overnight doula care, in addition to prenatal and birth support, but does vary from company to company. So double check with your employer!
Depending on your employer’s plan you will either need to request a “superbill” from your doula that includes a detailed invoice showing the price and services included and you can submit this to Carrot for reimbursement. Other plans include a “Carrot Card”, similar to an HSA / FSA card that you can utilize to pay your doula invoices directly.
How to Find Birth and Postpartum Doulas approved for Carrot Fertility Benefits?
You will need a doula that is approved or willing to be approved by Carrot based on their requirements above. Many of the certified doulas on the Doulas of Orange County team have previously worked with families who utilize their Carrot Fertility benefits and are very familiar with the process.
How can i hire a doula in orange county that meets the requirements for carrot fertility benefits?
That’s exactly where we come in! Doulas of Orange County is available to match you with doulas in OC (and throughout Southern California) who meet the approval requirements for Carrot. How does that process work? First, fill our our inquiry form. Make sure to include details on your overall budget, location, and care requests… the more information you share, the better! And don’t forget to mention that you’ll be using your Carrot benefits! From there, we will match you with qualified doulas who closely meet your criteria and who have either worked with Carrot families before or meet the criteria for approval. You can review their member profiles and decide who you’d like to interview and hire. All doulas are hand-selected by owners, Lauren and Chelsea, and are matched individually - we don’t use any algorithms to do this work for us!
If you have any questions, reach out and we’re happy to walk you through the process!
