What is a doula?
The word doula comes from the Greek and means "woman servant." In the past, this servant would attend the woman of the house during her labor and birth. Today, a doula is a professional birth assistant. A doula provides continuous emotional and physical support for the mom during labor and birth and in the immediate postpartum period. While the hospital changes staff, the doula is there through it all.
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As a labor doula, I:
Support decisions made by the mom
Provide continuous support for the laboring mom and her support person
Help mom's support person with techniques that can help mom during labor
Provide information
Encourage informed consent
Work with, not against, the medical team
As a labor doula, I do NOT:
Make decisions for the mom
Perform medical procedures or clinical assessments
Give medical advice
Take the place of the mom's partner or other support person
Take the place of the medical team
Studies have shown that women who have doula support during labor and birth have a more positiv
e and satisfying birth experience and:
- 50% reduction in c-section rate
- 25% shorter labor
- 60% reduction in epidural requests
- 30% reduction in use of narcotic pain medications
- 40% reduction in Pitocin use
- 30% reduction in analgesia use
- 40% reduction in instrumental deliveries*
*Information obtained from The Doula Book by Klaus, Kennell and Klaus