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What is a Doula?

A doula is a trained professional that works with mothers and families in providing them continuous emotional, physical, and informational support before, during, and shortly after the birthing process. Doulas help families by providing them with supports that may not be immediately available to you through the use of your medical providers. 

Your body matters and how you physically feel during the birth process  is essential as it allows you to check in with yourself about your progress and your baby’s progress. Physical supports that doulas can provide are:

  • gentle touch
  • belly sifting 
  • repositioning 
  • counter pressure 
  • breathing

The expectation and birth of a new life are life changing events that cause a lot of emotions to surface. Doulas want mothers to feel confident and empowered by their bodies and their ability to bring life into thise world. Unforunately there is a lot of static in the world today that can scare woman and aide in creating feelings of stress for the woman. Remember your body was meant to give birth and you can do this! Emotional supports that doulas can provide are:

  • Guided visualization/meditation
  • Pep talks
  • Advocating for the adherence to birth plans
  • Encourage bonding between mother and baby

The birth process can be a daunting experience for your birth partner. Remember that for them there is an emotional investment in your safety and react when you react. A doula is a great resource with regard to partner support. Many partners do not have the evidenced based knowledge or the experience and may encounter moments of fear and anxiety the same as the laboring mother would. Doulas can be there to help reassure partners, provide them with important knowledge, hold their hand, and walk them through the process as well. Doulas can also help partners prior to the birth by helping them connect to the birthing person and showing them simple comfort measure that they can do at home. This increases bonding and helps the partner feel apart of the pregnancy and promotes their own value and self worth. 

Douals are great researchers, they love facts, and any information that is going to benefit their clients during their pregnancy, labor, and during their post natal stages. In order to bridge the gap between patients and their providers doulas provide families with evidenced based knowledge that allows the birthing person and their family to make well informed decisions that they feel good about. 

♥ Did you know that women have the capability to remember how they felt during their births for the rest of their lives? An experience doula can help aide in preserving such life changing memories by nurturing your mind, body, and soul  because birth happens best when women have trust and feel safe.  

Am I Restricted to Giving Birth in a Hospital?

Absolutely not, doulas are trained to assist births in hospitals, birth centers, and homes. It is your birth, you can decide where you think you will birth best as long as there are no preexisting issues that would make it inadvisable to birth outside of a hospital setting. 

What's the Difference Between a Doula and a Birth Partner?

Whether it is your husband wife, parent, friend, etc. your partner is the person who knows you best and their presence at your birth is important for your emotional well being. For some  nothing can replace the familial touch of their life partner and that’s how it should be. A doula supports you by helping you advocate for yourself in the birth room. Prior to your expected due date, doulas can meet with you and get a feel for your family and their preferences. They can provided input on your birth plan and make sure that, that birth plan is respected by the medical professionals working with you. 

Unless you are giving birth at home or in a birth center, the truth is that hospitals are very busy places. Depending on the day and the amount of patients being served people who give birth in hospitals are often left to go through the birth process in their rooms and will be visited intermittently by professionals. Doulas provide you with specific individualized care for the duration of your labor. 

Doulas are well informed and work hard to research the best evidences based practices to ensure that you get the information you explicitly want to know so that you can make well informed decisions that you feel good about. Doulas also work hard to continue their education and often have knowledge on beneficial birth practices such as belly sifting, Lamaze, and Hypnobirthing. 

Having a doula and your partner with you during your birth allow you to have the best of both worlds and allow your baby to enter the world surrounded by a whole lot of love!

I Thought Doulas Are For All Natural Births Only...

Not true, you can birth the way your want to. A doula’s function is to provide women with individualized care that support her birth needs and desires. Doula’s can support women who  birth naturally or elect to use pain medications such as epidural. A doula’s purpose to make sure that her clients are informed not impose her personal beliefs on the client. Knowledge is power, with the information provided to you by a doula you are in control in the decision making process. A lot can happen as one transitions through the birth stages, flexibility is key so that the mother can feel safe. 

If you elect to use pain medications you may be required to stay in bed for liability purposes. Not to worry, a good doula will work with you, your body, and the bed to help you change positions and support you during the labor process. Many women once they take pain medicine are in higher need of doula care as the doula can help their labor progress through position changes, gentle touch, breathing exercises, visualization and affirmation practices. 

What If I Need a C-Section?

Cesarian Sections (c-sections) happen and women who are in need of them are just as entitled to the emotional, physical, and informational support that a doula has to offer. C-sections are a major surgical procedure, which can be nerve wracking to patients as many people are worried for the well being of themselves and their babies in a process that is highly spoken about but that is experienced differently by everyone. Working with a doula can drastically lower the need for c-sections, however there are certain cases in which the procedure may be required by your medical professional (and that is ok). 

A lot of hospitals are allowing doulas to enter the operating room in order to support their clients. In cases where I have been present for a c-section I have provided assistance if the mother has gotten sick during the procedure, provided emotional support for the mother, provided emotional support for the partner of the mother, taken pictures of the baby if the parents were unable to do so, and promoted bonding between the baby and the parents even as doctors are completing their work.  

The operating room is a serious place and all medical staff are focused on completing their tasks in an orderly, timely, and safe manner. The unfortunate reality is that most of the professionals can not sit in the chair next to the mother and ease her nerves during the process. C-sections can be particularly difficult for partners as it is often difficult for them to see their loved one in such a vulnerable position. Doulas can help bridge the gap between the medical interventions by being the familiar person that comforts you and lets you know that you and your partner matter, so that the medical staff can focus on getting your baby out safe and sound. 

When should I hire a doula?

It is never too late to book a doula during your pregnancy, though typically it is best to have your doula hired 5-6 month before your expected due  date to ensure that they have availability during your due date time. Experienced doulas book their schedules out often and far in advance. It is not uncommon for repeat clients to book their doula the day they find out their pregnant.!