What is a doula? |
dou·la
noun - a woman who is trained to assist another woman during childbirth and who may provide support to the family after the baby is born. The word "doula" comes from an ancient greek word meaning "a woman who serves." A doula is a trained birth professional who provides continuous physical, emotional, and imformational support of pregnant and laboring women and their partners. She comes along side the family as they navigate through pregnancy, labor, birth, and new parenthood. She is a resource for information and should always support the family in their decisions, meeting their individual needs. Her information should always be evidence based, unbiased, and non-judgmental. A doula can provide non-medical comfort measures throughout the labor process and help facilitate breastfeeding immediately postpartum. Doulas are not medical professionals and do not perform clinical exams, diagnose illnesses, prescribe medications, or give medical advice. A doula should not ever "advocate" for a woman or stand between mother and care provider. She should empower the woman to be informed, choose a care provider who will meet her needs and desires, and help her find her voice to advocate for herself. |
Why hire a doula? |
ACOG states "Increasing women’s access to nonmedical interventions during labor, such as continuous labor and delivery support, also has been shown to reduce cesarean birth rates." Doula support has been shown to decrease the likelihood of cesarean birth, need for pitocin or pain medication, and the risk of a newborn being admitted into a special care nursery. It has been shown to increase the likelihood of vaginal birth and shows a higher rate of families satisfied with their births, knowing that they had options and were supported throughout. |