"There is a special sweetness in being
able to participate in creation."
~ Pamela Nadav
able to participate in creation."
~ Pamela Nadav
What is a birth doula?
The word doula (pronounced DOOLAH) means "a woman who serves." A birth doula provides loving support to families before, during and after labor.
Before labor, a birth doula supports families by asking them about their desires for birth, helping them with their birth plan, providing them with information they need to make informed choices for their birth, and reviewing comfort measures and establishing roles for labor.
During labor, a birth doula provides continuous emotional, physical, and informational support for the family. A birth doula is available to join the family at home in the early stages of labor if desired. Throughout labor, a birth doula can remind the couple of the birth process, provide positive birth affirmations for encouragement, facilitate effective communication between the family and care providers, assist with various comfort measures and position changes to help the laboring mom, and even be a positive encouragement to the partner or family attending the birth. The ultimate goal of the doula is to be a nurturing presence that provides the family with a satisfactory birth experience.
After labor, a birth doula can provide assistance with postpartum care and breastfeeding help as needed. Also, the doula can meet with the family some time after the birth and review the birth experience with the couple and offer encouragement to them. The doula can also provide additional resources to the couple as needed.
Before labor, a birth doula supports families by asking them about their desires for birth, helping them with their birth plan, providing them with information they need to make informed choices for their birth, and reviewing comfort measures and establishing roles for labor.
During labor, a birth doula provides continuous emotional, physical, and informational support for the family. A birth doula is available to join the family at home in the early stages of labor if desired. Throughout labor, a birth doula can remind the couple of the birth process, provide positive birth affirmations for encouragement, facilitate effective communication between the family and care providers, assist with various comfort measures and position changes to help the laboring mom, and even be a positive encouragement to the partner or family attending the birth. The ultimate goal of the doula is to be a nurturing presence that provides the family with a satisfactory birth experience.
After labor, a birth doula can provide assistance with postpartum care and breastfeeding help as needed. Also, the doula can meet with the family some time after the birth and review the birth experience with the couple and offer encouragement to them. The doula can also provide additional resources to the couple as needed.
Benefits of having a doula
- Shorter labors with less complications
- Reduces the need for forceps or vacuum delivery
- May reduce negative feelings about the childbirth experience
- Higher breastfeeding success
- Moms feel more secure and cared for
- Empowerment of the couple about making choices for their well being
According to http://www.evidencebasedbirth.com/the-evidence-for-doulas/ , when continuous labor support was provide by a doula, women experienced a:
- 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 pain medications for 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
Doula Misconceptions
#1 A doula only supports moms who have their babies at home or in a birth center
A doula supports YOU in whichever place you choose to birth your baby, whether that is at home, a birth center, or hospital. A doula can give you various information about your birth place options, but YOU are the one who chooses the most comfortable place for you to give birth.
#2 A doula only supports moms who desire to have a natural birth
A doula supports ALL types of moms, regardless of your choice to birthe naturally, with an epidural, or via C- section. A doula can provide you with information to help you decide on a birth plan that you are comfortable with, but YOU are the one making your birth choices.
A doula's support will look different for every mom, based on her needs and her own unique situation. For example, a C-section mom will not receive support with position changes and physical comfort measures during labor like a natural delivery mom, but the focus may be more on the emotional needs of the mom by addressing any fears or anxieties she has about the procedure, or helping her to relax throughout her experience. Or the focus may be on allowing the mom to make certain choices in her cesarean birth, like waiting to cut the cord, having the mother assist in delivering her baby, or encouraging immediate skin to skin contact with the baby, if these are options the mother wants. After the procedure, there are also postpartum needs and breastfeeding support that a doula can offer help with.
In a different birth situation, where the mom chooses an epidural the doula can still assist with pain management and comfort measures up until the epidural is administered. As the mom is confined to the bed, the doula can still assist with keeping the mom calm and comfortable (especially if the epidural does not work completely) and help the mom to rest. The doula can also explain the birthing process to the couple as labor progresses, and even offer assistance with position changes in the bed (side to side, sitting upright, squatting) to help the labor along. The doula will continue to assess any emotional or physical needs of the mom, and make sure the mom is comfortable with all her choices in her birth. The doula can continue to advocate for any other birth plans the moms wants, and continue postpartum care and breastfeeding assistance after the baby is born.
#3 A doula is not necessary if I have my husband or birth partner with me
It is completely YOUR choice who you choose for support in your birth, but a doula can offer additional physical, emotional, and informational support for families who desire that at their birth. A doula can provide ideas for position changes, and comfort measures and sometimes it requires TWO or more people to provide comfort for a mom. For example, a mom may be standing and rocking and needing to lean on her partner for comfort, while a doula stands behind the mom and performs a hip squeeze, counter pressure, massage, or simply mutters words of encouragement to the laboring mom. The doula does NOT replace the birth partner, but enhances the support for the mom and adds to the birth team. A doula can allow the partner the freedom to participate in labor support at his or her comfort level, since everyone deals with a birth situation differently. A doula can also role model ways to support the laboring mom if a partner is unsure of what to do. A doula can use various techniques to help the mom relax and release fears during labor, and she can continually offer information or explain the birth process to the mom and partner as needed. If the partner needs a food or bathroom break at all during labor, the doula can provide continual support for the mom, and if there are any complications with the baby after birth the partner can attend to the baby while the doula remains with the mom. The doula can especially be a great resource to the couple if they have to deal with the emotional aspects of a changing birth plan. There are many ways that a doula can support both the mom AND your partner, and a great team effort can be formed!
#4 I do not need a doula if I have a midwife or nurse attending to me
Again, it is completely YOUR choice of who you want supporting you at your birth, but it is important to understand that the role of a midwife or nurse is very different from a doula. A midwife or nurse will most likely have other tasks or patients to be attending to and times of changing shifts with other medical care providers; therefore, they cannot support you continuously throughout your labor like a doula. Also the medical staff will focus on clinical tasks, such as checking your blood pressure and baby's heart rate, performing vaginal exams, and physically delivering your baby, whereas a doula will be focusing on your physical and emotional needs, advocating for your birth plan, and making sure that you are comfortable with all of your birth choices. A common saying is that a midwife focuses on the waist down, and a doula focuses on the waist up. Although the roles of medical staff and a doula are very different, they are each important roles that can offer more complete care and support to a laboring mom.
#5 A doula will tell a mom and medical staff what to do
A birth doula will NOT make decisions for the laboring mom. The doula may provide information as needed for the mom and partner to use in their decision making, but it is the responsibility of the family to make all decisions in their birth. Also, the laboring mom and partner will be the main ones communicating directly with medical staff about their birth wishes. A doula may ask the laboring mom throughout labor if she is comfortable with her decisions or if she needs time to consider a decision that needs to be made, but a doula does not have intentions of standing in the way of a medical care provider or speaking directly for a mom. The goal of a doula is to complement the work of the medical team and work toward the common goal of supporting the mom in her birth and providing her with a satisfactory experience.
A doula supports YOU in whichever place you choose to birth your baby, whether that is at home, a birth center, or hospital. A doula can give you various information about your birth place options, but YOU are the one who chooses the most comfortable place for you to give birth.
#2 A doula only supports moms who desire to have a natural birth
A doula supports ALL types of moms, regardless of your choice to birthe naturally, with an epidural, or via C- section. A doula can provide you with information to help you decide on a birth plan that you are comfortable with, but YOU are the one making your birth choices.
A doula's support will look different for every mom, based on her needs and her own unique situation. For example, a C-section mom will not receive support with position changes and physical comfort measures during labor like a natural delivery mom, but the focus may be more on the emotional needs of the mom by addressing any fears or anxieties she has about the procedure, or helping her to relax throughout her experience. Or the focus may be on allowing the mom to make certain choices in her cesarean birth, like waiting to cut the cord, having the mother assist in delivering her baby, or encouraging immediate skin to skin contact with the baby, if these are options the mother wants. After the procedure, there are also postpartum needs and breastfeeding support that a doula can offer help with.
In a different birth situation, where the mom chooses an epidural the doula can still assist with pain management and comfort measures up until the epidural is administered. As the mom is confined to the bed, the doula can still assist with keeping the mom calm and comfortable (especially if the epidural does not work completely) and help the mom to rest. The doula can also explain the birthing process to the couple as labor progresses, and even offer assistance with position changes in the bed (side to side, sitting upright, squatting) to help the labor along. The doula will continue to assess any emotional or physical needs of the mom, and make sure the mom is comfortable with all her choices in her birth. The doula can continue to advocate for any other birth plans the moms wants, and continue postpartum care and breastfeeding assistance after the baby is born.
#3 A doula is not necessary if I have my husband or birth partner with me
It is completely YOUR choice who you choose for support in your birth, but a doula can offer additional physical, emotional, and informational support for families who desire that at their birth. A doula can provide ideas for position changes, and comfort measures and sometimes it requires TWO or more people to provide comfort for a mom. For example, a mom may be standing and rocking and needing to lean on her partner for comfort, while a doula stands behind the mom and performs a hip squeeze, counter pressure, massage, or simply mutters words of encouragement to the laboring mom. The doula does NOT replace the birth partner, but enhances the support for the mom and adds to the birth team. A doula can allow the partner the freedom to participate in labor support at his or her comfort level, since everyone deals with a birth situation differently. A doula can also role model ways to support the laboring mom if a partner is unsure of what to do. A doula can use various techniques to help the mom relax and release fears during labor, and she can continually offer information or explain the birth process to the mom and partner as needed. If the partner needs a food or bathroom break at all during labor, the doula can provide continual support for the mom, and if there are any complications with the baby after birth the partner can attend to the baby while the doula remains with the mom. The doula can especially be a great resource to the couple if they have to deal with the emotional aspects of a changing birth plan. There are many ways that a doula can support both the mom AND your partner, and a great team effort can be formed!
#4 I do not need a doula if I have a midwife or nurse attending to me
Again, it is completely YOUR choice of who you want supporting you at your birth, but it is important to understand that the role of a midwife or nurse is very different from a doula. A midwife or nurse will most likely have other tasks or patients to be attending to and times of changing shifts with other medical care providers; therefore, they cannot support you continuously throughout your labor like a doula. Also the medical staff will focus on clinical tasks, such as checking your blood pressure and baby's heart rate, performing vaginal exams, and physically delivering your baby, whereas a doula will be focusing on your physical and emotional needs, advocating for your birth plan, and making sure that you are comfortable with all of your birth choices. A common saying is that a midwife focuses on the waist down, and a doula focuses on the waist up. Although the roles of medical staff and a doula are very different, they are each important roles that can offer more complete care and support to a laboring mom.
#5 A doula will tell a mom and medical staff what to do
A birth doula will NOT make decisions for the laboring mom. The doula may provide information as needed for the mom and partner to use in their decision making, but it is the responsibility of the family to make all decisions in their birth. Also, the laboring mom and partner will be the main ones communicating directly with medical staff about their birth wishes. A doula may ask the laboring mom throughout labor if she is comfortable with her decisions or if she needs time to consider a decision that needs to be made, but a doula does not have intentions of standing in the way of a medical care provider or speaking directly for a mom. The goal of a doula is to complement the work of the medical team and work toward the common goal of supporting the mom in her birth and providing her with a satisfactory experience.