Doula. Kind of a funny word. What does it mean? What is a doula?
Doula is a Greek word meaning servant. A doula is exactly that – she is a servant to both mom and dad during the birth of their baby. Women have been supporting women in labor for centuries and numerous studies are showing that doulas provide great benefits to the labor experience for all involved. Some studies show that having a doula present at birth decreases the length of labor, the use of oxytocin, requests for pain medication and the cesarean rate.
What does a doula do?
Most doulas meet with the expectant mother two or three times during pregnancy to build a relationship of trust and to discuss the mothers’ desires for her birth. Many mothers enjoy having someone to talk to about pregnancy and birth with and bounce questions off of. While doulas do not offer medical advice, they do offer reassurance, encouragement and knowledge about the process of birth.
Doulas are on call from around 37 weeks of pregnancy until the birth. She provides support as early in labor as the mother would like her to until after the birth of the baby. She can comfort mom in a number of ways. She can offer massage, recommend position changes that mother might benefit from, and aide the mother in relaxation through a variety of techniques. She also helps parents advocate for themselves as well as advocate for the mother by helping staff honor the mothers’ unique desires as much as possible. Dads benefit from having a doula present because she will encourage his involvement, help him to support mom and reassure him. Having a doula means that mom will never be left alone when dad needs to use bathroom, get a snack, or call family members with updates. She will always be cheering mom on with support and words of encouragement.
Do doulas replace dad? No! Many women have high hopes that the birth of their baby will be an amazing bonding experience for her and her partner and do not want to share the experience with anyone else. What they don’t realize is that hiring a doula can enhance her and her partners’ interaction throughout the birth. A doula will help dad be relaxed and lead him, by example, on how to touch and speak to a laboring women. Many first time dads want to support and encourage their partner during birth but just don’t know where to begin, what to say, or what to expect. Doula will cheer dad on as he cheers his partner on. In fact fantastic childbirth education like Birth Boot Camp, coupled with an amazing doula, sets parents up to be extremely satisfied with their birth experience and can also prevent an embarrassing birth support story for dad.
Find a local doula here. She will offer a free consultation meeting with you for you to see if she is a good match. Ask her if she has clients that you can contact for reviews on her services. Some questions to ask when interviewing a doula are:
- What training and experience have you had?
- Why did you want to become a doula?
- What is your philosophy on birth?
- What are your fees and what do they include?
- What services do you provide? (Massage, post-partum support, breastfeeding support).
- At what point in my pregnancy do you go on call and do you have a backup doula in case you cannot make it to the birth?
- How will you support me during labor? My partner?
Doulas make an excellent addition to your birth team. One phrase said around the birth community is that “Doulas are worth the moola!” And how true it is! So find a great doula that will encourage and support you throughout your pregnancy, labor and birth.
One thing to remember is that a doula does not have your baby for you. Many women hire a doula and assume that they are all set to have a satisfying birth experience. While a doula provides unsurpassed support, it is also important to take a good childbirth education class so that mother and father will be prepared for labor and birth. Doulas love and recommend Birth Boot Camp classes because it ensures their clients will be well informed on all the options in birth, which allows the doula to provide the best support possible because the whole birth team will be well prepared. Birth Boot Camp loves doulas right back! At the end of Class 6, I will be inviting doulas to come and showcase what services they provide and how they can enhance the birth experience.
If you are pregnant, you deserve a doula and your partner does too!
Danielle Long 