What is a Doula?

"A Doula is a professional who provides emotional, physical, informational, and practical support for the expectant, laboring, or postpartum mother.  The word doula, pronounced /doo-la/, comes from the Greek and is loosely translated as “woman servant”.  Usually when people use the word, they refer to a Labor Doula.”

“A labor doula helps a mother cope with labor pains and helps her have a pleasant birth experience, whether the mother wants to give birth normally, with medication, or is planning a c-section.  She helps the mother relax and feel confident, provides massage, and assists with laboring and pushing positions.  The doula also helps the father participate in the birth to the extent he feels comfortable.

What a doula does not do:

A doula does not perform any medical procedures, such as taking blood pressure, or checking dilation, or giving medical advice.  

What is a Doula?

The doula is professionally trained and may even be certified in labor support. However, she does not use medical skills, does not offer
medical advice, and does not deliver the baby, which is what makes her different from a midwife. She may have personal experience with
birthing her own children. She is caring and compassionate, yet emotionally detached from both the mother and her partner. She is
knowledgeable about a variety of laboring and birthing matters and is available to discuss the pros and cons of advice from the medical
staff. She does not make decisions for the mother, nor does she speak to the staff directly about the mother's wishes. Rather, she reminds
the mother of her birth plan and asks her questions that empower her to be her own best advocate.

The doula typically stays with the couple throughout the labor and for the first hour or two after birth. During that time she usually
witnesses more than one shift change of the medical staff. As everyone else comes and goes, the doula remains a constant presence for the
couple. When the intensity of labor increases, the doula is there to suggest new positions or activities to assist the progression of labor
and help the mother feel as comfortable as possible. When mom is feeling scared and feels she can't go on, the doula is right there to
provide reassurance and instill confidence that all is well. She is also there to provide massage, apply counterpressure to mom's back
when needed, get food for the couple, and do whatever else supports the birth process.

Doula is Greek for "in service of" or "with women." Other terms for doula are birth assistant and labor coach. The doula’s role is to be by the side of laboring women to support her and comfort her during the course of her entire labor. Typically this role is played by the father or partner of the laboring women, but these days’ parents have the option of hiring a doula on their own. This takes much of the pressure off the fathers to be "super coaches." Instead of trying to remember all the tricks and skills from their childbirth education (sometimes crash) course, and worrying about doing everything "right", now they can focus on their loved one and let their doula take care of the details. Often I hear that fathers fear they are going to feel left out if they hire a doula, but what I have found is that they actually feel more included. The doula will give the fathers reminders of specific ways to comfort their partners during labor. Remember that most fathers have never seen a birth before, so how can we expect them to "know" what to do or what is going to happen.

What does a doula do exactly?

As a doula I will provide unlimited phone support to the couple during early labor. When the couple is ready, I will meet them at the hospital or birthing center (unless a home birth is planned.) Once at the hospital, the nurses will check the mother in and get the mother set up in the labor and delivery room. From there the father/partner and I, as the doula, will continue to provide support for the mother in labor. With the nature of the health care system, often nurses are over worked and do not have the luxury of spending the quality time "coaching" mothers through every contraction. By hiring a doula the parents are guaranteed to have personalized labor support through every contraction. She might get lucky and get a nurse on duty that is not too busy that day and who is focused and ready to support her through, but she might not. To many women, this is a big risk to take. Each birth is a once in a lifetime experience. Another issue with hospitals these days is that if the mother has a really long labor then there might be a shift change with the nurses and doctors and then she has to get use to a whole new crew. It can be a smoother transition if she brings in her own strong labor support team with her. That way the dynamics are not completely changed because her core labor support people will never leave her side.

As your doula my focus will be to empower the mother into having to most supportive and nurturing birthing experience.

My support will include…