FAQs
What is a doula?
A Birth Doula:
* Recognizes birth as a key experience the mother will remember all her life
* Understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor
* Assists the woman in preparing for and carrying out her plans for birth
* Stays with the woman throughout the labor
* Provides emotional support, physical comfort measures and an objective viewpoint, as well as helping the woman get the information she needs to make informed decisions
* Facilitates communication between the laboring woman, her partner and her clinical care providers
* Perceives her role as nurturing and protecting the woman’s memory of the birth experience
* Allows the woman’s partner to participate at their comfort level
A Postpartum Doula
* Offers education, companionship and nonjudgmental support during the postpartum fourth trimester
* Assists with newborn care, family adjustment, meal preparation and light household tidying
* Offers evidence-based information on infant feeding, emotional and physical recovery from birth, infant soothing and coping skills for new parents and makes appropriate referrals when necessary
This information is courtesy of the Doulas Of North America website
What are the benefits of having a doula?
Numerous clinical studies have found that a doula’s presence at birth:
* tends to result in shorter labors with fewer complications
* reduces negative feelings about one’s childbirth experience
* reduces the need for pitocin (a labor inducing drug), forceps or vacuum extraction and cesareans
* reduces the mother’s request for pain medication and/or epidural
Research shows that parents who receive support can:
* Feel more secure and cared for
* Are more successful in adapting to new family dynamics
* Have greater success with breastfeeding
* Have greater self-confidence
* Have less postpartum depression
* Have lower incidence of abuse
