Doula: what we do and why we're invaluable

I remember stumbling across the word doula early in my first pregnancy and I couldn't figure out how to pronounce the word let alone understand what doulas do or why they  are invaluable. 

As it turns out, I had some invaluable advice from a doula late in my pregnancy and after I had my baby I decided I wanted to do the same for others. I took my doula training course with Red Tent Doulas and now I work as a fertility, birth and postnatal doula. Doula is a greek word that literally means "servant." Now that might not sound like a very nice career by the standards of most in developed nations today, but if we look at the historical usage of the word it begins to look a little more exciting. "Doula" was specifically used to refer to the female servant that supported the lady of the house in childbirth and her early years as a mother. It was one of the most respected and highly paid positions for a female servant. 

While every doula today works in slightly different ways and although culture has changed dramatically, the role is the same in that a doula is someone who serves women. The particular rites of passage that doulas can support are endless, but usually when someone says they are a doula they are referring to childbirth and that is what I am going to focus on in this blog article.

All doulas are trained regarding a woman's legal rights in childbirth, sometimes known as birthrights. Although they are not usually qualified to provide medical advice, they have a lot of knowledge about the physiology and progression of birth and about the medical system and procedures of the hospitals local to them. This means that a doula is a wonderful resource to help you access complementary care and provide you with balanced information to help you make choices about how you want to birth your baby.

Many doulas have a lot of experience supporting women from different cultures or who aren't native speakers. They can make birthing abroad more familiar and ensure your cultural traditions are respected.

No matter how each doula works, scientific study has found that they support better maternal outcomes just by being there. Here are 10 Reasons that doulas are invaluable:

1. Doulas provide continuity of support throughout pregnancy, about, birth and postnatally. 

2. Doulas provide support at home in labour before going into hospital or calling the midwives. 

3. Doulas support the partner / family as well as the mother.

4. Scientific study has shown that having a doula present lowers the risk of a caesarean birth. +*

5. Scientific study has shown that having a doula present lowers the risk of an instrumental birth.+

6. Mothers who labour with a doula report less need for painkillers or epidural during birth.+*

7. Scientific study has shown that mothers who are supported by a doula have a lower rate of induction of labour.+

8. Mothers who labour with a doula have been shown to have shorter labours.+

9. Mothers who are supported by a doula have a greater likelihood of successfully establishing breastfeeding.*

10. Doulas provide flexible support at home in the early weeks with a new baby.

If you would like to know more about how I work as a doula, please have a look through these web pages. I have put a lot of time into them to ensure they accurately represent my voice as a doula. If you think you might like to work with me to support your birth, please contact me by email or telephone 07498029897.

+Hadnett, ED. Gates, S. HomerG.J. & Sakala. C. Continuous support for women during childbirth. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2007. Issue 3.

*Brigstock, S. MIDIRS Midwifery Digest Vol. 24 no 2 2014 pp 157-160.

#doula #birth #childbirth #empowered #birthrights #continuityofcare