ABOUT DOULAS
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Benefits of Professional Labor Support
Bringing your baby into the world can be hard work (that’s why we call it labor)! Like most women, you have likely made necessary preparations to have your baby’s birth be as gentle a transition as possible. You attend regular prenatal vistits with your primary health care provider and have preregistered at VVMC to make sure that you and your baby are healthy and safe. You have chosen up to four (4) of your oved ones (the maximum allowed byy VVMC) to join you in the birthing room for your moral support and security. Additionally, you may be considering a labor support specialist, a.k.a. doula, to assist you in making this the most positive birth experience possible.(1)
Q: Why would I want a doula when I have my baby’s father, my friends, and the labor and delivery nurses to help me?
A: Your labor and delivery nurses have the required training and experience to minitor your labor and handle any situation that may arise. However, routine duties prevent them from being with you continuously. Although, your loved ones may be with you continuously, they may lack the training to provided practicle comfort measures and effective support. Therefore, your doula is the perfect solution, combining the benefits of continuous comfort and support with training and experience.(2)
Q: What are these benefits exactly?
A: Simply put, the presence of a doula drastically reduces the incidence of unplanned cesarean, thereby increasing the likelihood of a more positive birth experience for you, your baby, and your loved ones who are attending you. You are informed and have more confidence in your childbitrth decisions. Mothers who shoose an un-medicated birth, experience shortr labors, easier pushing, and more tolerable labor pain. Mothers who choose an epidural birth feel more connected to their birth experience and reduce the chances of other interventions that may lead to an unplanned cesarean. With a reduced need for medical interventions (many of whaich are associated with fetal distress), you baby is more likely to avoid to complications of distress, thereby, allowing him or her to suckle and bond with you immediately after the birth. Furthermore, with the role modeling and suggestions offeres by your doula, your baby’s father and other loved ones present feel more involved and useful.(3)
Q: Why would I need labor support if I have an epidural?
A: An epidural will stop the sensation of labor for you, but your baby is still experiencing all of it, and now for a longer duration. Your labor and delivery nurses must continually monitor you and your baby to avoid fetal distress. Meanwhile, your doula is providing measures that may help keep your blood pressure and your baby’s heart rate in normal range. You may be unable to feel the benefits, but your baby sure will.(5)
Q: Is a doula a medical professional?
A: Absolutely not! Doulas are trained in labor support and normal labor is not concidered a medical condition. A doula’s scope of practice is limited to sharing comman knowledge about pregnancy and childbirth, and offering physical comfort and emotional support to families during childbirth. Doulas do not diagnose, treat, or give medical advice of any kind. Ever!(6)
Having a doula attend your birth will help you feel more prepared to handle your labor. You have the training and experience of a childbirth professional combined with continuous caring presence. A doulas presence in childbirth has been shows to have fewer incidences of unplanned interventions and increased positive birth experiences for moothers, babies, and loved ones attending the births. Yes, labor is hard. When you are prepared, you will find it a job well done.
Visit DONA (Doulas of North America) for more information on:
Finding a doula
How to hire a doula
Questions to ask when hiring a doula
- Simpkin, Penny and Way, Kelli DONA International Position Paper: The Birth Doula’s Contribution to Modern Maternity Care Jasper, IN, 2005
- IBID
- IBID
- www.americanpregnancy.org/labornbirth/epidural.html
- DONA International Standards of Practice for Birth Doulas www.dona.org/aboutus/standards_birth.php
