Doulas - What & Why
What are Doulas?
Doulas are trained birth workers who support expecting parents and especially expecting pregnant people through pregnancy, labor, birth, and sometimes postpartum. They nurture mothers and those who birth. You can find birth doulas and postpartum doulas and some doulas who do some of both. End-of-Life doulas also exist, although they obviously have very different training.
Birth doulas primarily provide one-on-one continuous physical and emotional support during labor and birth but they also help parents plan for labor and birth, know their options, make choices for what they can control and create a vision for what they can't. The term, "doula" originally meant "slave" or "servant" in ancient Greece and some birth workers do not like the term because of that. However, I view it as a reminder that doulas serve mothers and families and that is their primary goal. Doulas make sure their clients have everything they need through their entire journey into motherhood/parenthood and that partners feel capable, confident, and sure to enter fatherhood/parenthood. Doulas do NOT make medical decisions, perform medical exams, take over the role of the partner, pressure new parents about anything, or speak for the new parents.
Why hire a Doula?
Research has shown that having a doula you trust and have built a relationship with 100% improves birth outcomes. With a doula, you are less likely to have a Cesarean birth, less likely to use pain medications during labor, and less likely to have a low Apgar score. With a doula, you are more likely to have a spontaneous vaginal birth and higher birth satisfaction. Many people meet their providers only a few times for a few short visits during pregnancy and it's very rare to even meet your nurses prior to being in labor and delivery. Providers often do not stay with patients throughout labor since they are caring for multiple patients, as are nurses. Nurses also change shifts every 12 hours and new parents may have multiple different nurses during their hospital stay.
By contrast, doulas provide continuous support, physically and emotionally, and have gotten to know the new parents for months leading up to birth. They are well-versed in what you want, need, how to best support you, and how to create and protect your birth environment. Doulas are pain relief in and of themselves because their relationship with their clients increases her oxytocin and literally reduces her pain levels. Every single new parent deserves to feel held, unconditionally loved and supported, listened to and validated, and empowered by their pregnancy, birth, and postpartum experiences. And that is where doulas come in.