Let’s doula it!

Doula comes from the ancient Greek, meaning “Woman’s servant.” A doula is a professional birth coach who is an advocate and provides physical, emotional, informational support to women during the prenatal, birth and postpartum periods. A doula gives physical support (massages or counter pressure, setting the ambiance in the room, walking around with mama, feeding or helping mama drink), emotional support (encouragement, having their presence, reassurance, praise, etc), informational support (suggests techniques + positions, helping explain medical procedures, and advocacy (asking what the mamas preferences are, supporting their decisions, making sure their voices are heard during the process, etc). Doulas do not provide medical care, but are knowledgeable about the birth process.

A doula can help reduce the likelihood of a cesarean, may shorten the length of labor, reduce epidural and analgesic requests, increase mother’s satisfaction of birth experience and increase new parents confidence in the care of their newborn! Whether this is your first or fifth birth, a doula in attendance can help with the overall experience.

A doula does not replace the role of your partner, but should rather complement or enhance the experience! Having another support person with you allows for your partner to take breaks when needed but for the birthing mama to continue to feel supported. Having a doula will also let the partner enjoy the experience more as they don’t have to remember everything from their birthing classes taken months ago.