Doula: Labor Support Information

What is a Doula?

The word, "doula," comes from the Greek word for the most important female servant in an ancient Greek household, the woman who probably helped the lady of the house through her childbearing. The word has come to refer to a woman experienced in childbirth who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the mother before, during and just after childbirth.

A birth doula:

• Recognizes childbirth 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 the 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 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 own comfort level

A postpartum doula:

• Offers education, quiet nonjudgmental support, and companionship during the postpartum 4th trimester
• Assists with newborn care, family adjustment, meal preparation, and light household tidying.
• Offers evidence-based information on infant-feeding, emotional and physical recover from childbirth, infant soothing, and coping skills for new parents; and makes appropriate referrals when necessary.

How is a DOULA beneficial?

There was a time when expectant fathers were portrayed as anxious, floor-pacing, cigar-smoking men who were tolerated in hospital corridors until the long-awaited moment when a nurse or doctor would announce they were the proud father of a daughter or a son. Today’s expectant fathers are different.

When it comes to pregnancy, birth, and parenting, today’s father wants to share everything with his partner. He wants to be actively involved; ease his partner’s labor pain, welcome his baby at the moment of birth and help care for his newborn at home. A labor doula can help a father experience this special time with confidence.

Today, a father’s participation in birth preparation classes or his presence at prenatal visits and in the delivery suite is a familiar occurrence. Yet, we sometimes forget that the expectations of his role as a “labor coach” may be difficult to fulfill.

The father-to-be is expected, among other things, to become familiar with the process and language of birth, to understand medical procedures and hospital protocols and advocate for his partner in an environment and culture he is usually unfamiliar with. A doula can provide the information to help parents make appropriate decisions and facilitate communication between the laboring woman, her partner and medical care providers.

At times a father may not understand a woman’s instinctive behavior during childbirth and may react anxiously to what a doula knows to be the normal process of birth.  He may witness his partner in pain and understandably become distressed.  The doula can be reassuring and skillfully help the mother to cope with labor pain in her unique way.  The father-to-be may need to accompany his partner during the surgery should a cesarean becomes necessary. Not all fathers can realistically be expected to “coach” at this intense level.

Many fathers are eager to be involved during labor and birth.  Others, no less loving or committed to their partner’s well being, find it difficult to navigate in uncharted waters. With a doula, a father can share in the birth at a level he feels most comfortable with.  The doula’s skills and knowledge can help him to feel more relaxed. If the father wants to provide physical comfort such as back massage, change of positions, and help his partner to stay focused during contractions, the doula can provide that guidance and make suggestions for what may work best.

Physicians, midwives and nurses are responsible for monitoring labor, assessing the medical condition of the mother and baby, and treating complications when they arise. But childbirth is also an emotional and spiritual experience with long-term impact on a woman’s personal well being. A doula is constantly aware that the mother and her partner will remember this experience throughout their lives. By “mothering the mother” during childbirth the doula supports the parents in having a positive and memorable birth experience.

The benefits of doula care have been recognized worldwide. The medical Leadership Council of Washington, D.C., the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada and the World Health Organization are among the many healthcare organizations that value the benefits that doulas provide to women in labor.

The father’s presence and loving support in childbirth is comforting and reassuring. The love he shares with the mother and his child, his needs to nurture and protect his family are priceless gifts that only he can provide. With her partner and a doula at birth a mother can have the best of both worlds: her partner’s loving care and attention and the doula’s expertise and guidance in childbirth.

Why use a DOULA?

Studies have shown that women supported by a doula during labor have:

• 25% shorter labor
• 40% reduction in the use of forceps
• 40% reduction in the use of Pitocin
• 50% reduction in cesarean rate
• 60% reduction in requests for epidurals
• Reduced need for pain medication
• Fewer episiotomies
• Reduced perineal trauma
• Reduces negative feelings about their childbirth experience

How to find a Doula

Doulas of North America (DONA)

DONA International is the world’s premier doula organization. We are the oldest, largest and most respected doula association in the world. Our founders are among the foremost experts on doula care, and DONA International certification is a widely respected measure of quality and professionalism. We are an international, non-profit organization of doulas that strives to have every doula trained and educated to provide the highest quality and standards for birth and/or postpartum support to birthing women and their families. To that end, we promote continuing education for doulas and provide a strong communication link among doulas and between doulas, families and the medical birthing community. We are an amazing community with a shared passion for families that reaches around the world.

Childbirth and Postpartum Professionals (CAPPA)

CAPPA is a non-profit international organization that was founded in 1998 to offer the highest level of professional membership and training to childbirth educators, lactation educators, labor doulas, antepartum doulas and postpartum doulas. CAPPA offers the highest level of evidence based training available. The organization consists of a leadership board, regional representatives, trainers, mentors, advisors and its membership. CAPPA is the most comprehensive pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum organization available...caring for women before, during, and after birth through education and support.

Information obtained from www.cappa.net and www.dona.org

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