Why hire a birth doula?

Every woman has the right to receive continuous social, emotional, and physical support during labor and birth from a caregiver who has been trained in labor support.

-- Rights of Childbearing Women, Maternity Center Association

Unfortunately we are a long way from providing every woman with continuous labor support in the United States! In the past, when most women birthed at home, they were normally surrounded by experienced and supportive women. Today, in hospitals nationwide, women and their partners not being attended by midwives or doulas, labor largely on their own. While we have gained the advantages of modern medicine, we have lost something important. Well-meaning labor and delivery nurses are often busy and untrained in the use of nonpharmacological pain relief and comfort measures. Obstetricians are normally only with their patients during delivery. The only comfort offered to most birthing women in the hospital setting are ice chips and an epidural. Enter the professional labor assistant or doula.

According to numerous studies birth doulas offer women and their partners many benefits. The presence of a doula has been correlated with lower rates of interventions and higher rates of maternal satisfaction with the birth experience. A 2003 Cochrane review on the effects of continuous labor support found that "women who received continuous support were less likely than women who did not to:

Doulas provide their clients with continuous physical, emotional, and informational support. They are typically hired directly by the mother and her partner and thus are only beholden to them. They do not take the place of involved fathers, friends or family members. Rather, they enhance the roles of these support persons and support them as well! And of course the doula can be an invaluable source of support for a single mother or woman whose partner can not attend the birth for cultural, personal, work-related, or other reasons.

Should only those planning natural childbirth hire doulas? NO! While a doula may be considered an essential part of the circle of support for the woman laboring naturally, the doula can serve an equally important role at ANY birth. She provides emotional support, information, basic physical comfort, and help with pushing and early bonding. These are things every woman should have.

A doula for every woman who wants one - DONA's Vision

For help finding a birth doula: