What is a Doula?

A birth doula is a person trained and experienced in childbirth who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after childbirth.

What a Doula does...

♥ She believes in a woman's ability to know her body, her labour and her baby.

♥ She helps women trust this knowledge.

♥ She helps women discover and draw on their strength to do their very best and be proud of their effort.

♥ She complements rather than displaces the partner.

♥ She provides support and encouragement for both the mother and her partner as they birth their baby.

♥ She seeks to empower her clients with her knowledge of the birth process and its variations and the choices to be made while respecting the integrity of the clients' choices.

♥ She is an advocate for the woman and can facilitate communication with the medical staff.

♥ She recommends a variety of labour coping skills and labour management techniques, reminding the couple of their options.

♥ She strives to maintain a calm atmosphere with lighting and music.

♥ She fully understands the impact the birth experience can have on a woman's life.

♥ She wants it to be a positive memory.

♥ She can help women have satisfying birth experiences.

(from www.gentlemothering.ca)

Where does the word “doula” come from?
The word “doula” comes from ancient Greek, meaning “Woman’s servant.” Throughout history and in much of the world today, a cadre of women support a woman through labor and birth, giving back rubs and providing continuous emotional support. Like their historical counterparts, DONA International birth doulas know how to help a woman in labor feel better. However, today’s doulas are much more diverse than their predecessors. DONA International membership includes men and women from a wide range of ages and cultural backgrounds.

What effects does the presence of a doula have on birth outcomes?
Numerous clinical studies have found that a doula’s presence at birth:

1. •tends to result in shorter labors with fewer complications
   

2. •reduces negative feelings about one’s childbirth experience
   

3. •reduces the need for pitocin (a labor-inducing drug), forceps or vacuum extraction
   

4. •reduces the requests for pain medication and epidurals, as well as the incidence of cesareans
   

What effects does the presence of a doula have on the mother?
When a doula is present during and after childbirth, women report greater satisfaction with their birth experience, make more positive assessments of their babies, have fewer cesareans and requests for medical intervention, and less postpartum depression.

What effects do the presence of doulas have on babies?
Studies have shown that babies born with doulas present tend to have shorter hospital stays with fewer admissions to special care nurseries, breastfeed more easily and have more affectionate mothers in the postpartum period.

Does a doula replace nursing staff?
No. Doulas do not replace nurses or other medical staff. Doulas do not perform clinical or medical tasks such as taking blood pressure or temperature, monitoring fetal heart rate, doing vaginal examinations or providing postpartum clinical care. They are there to comfort and support the mother and to enhance communication between the mother and medical professionals.

Does a doula make decisions on my behalf?
A doula does not make decisions for clients or intervene in their clinical care. She provides informational and emotional support, while respecting a woman’s decisions.

Will a doula make my partner feel unnecessary?
No, a doula is supportive to both the mother and her partner, and plays a crucial role in helping a partner become involved in the birth to the extent he/she feels comfortable.