what is a doula?

What is a doula?

The word, "doula," comes from the Greek word for the most important female slave or servant in an ancient Greek household, the woman who probably helped the lady of the house through her childbearing. The word has come to refer to "a woman experienced in childbirth who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the mother before, during and just after childbirth." *

Numerous studies have shown that the presence of a doula at a birth results in:

• 50% reduction in cesarean rates*
• 40% reduction in forcep deliveries*
• 25% shorter labours*
• 60% reduction in epidural requests*
• 40% reduction in oxytocin (Pitocin) use*
• 30% reduction in analgesia use*
• increased maternal mother-infant bonding*
• reduced post-partum depression*

Mothering the Mother: How a Doula Can Help You Have a Shorter, Easier, and Healthier Birth
Marshall H. Klaus

As a physical support, a doula ...

• acts as protector of the mother's privacy and individuality
• offers music, aromatherapy and other sensory elements to create a calming birth environment
• shares with the couple a realistic perspective about how a labouring woman looks or acts when she is labouring well
• models appropriate labour supportive behavior (dimmed lights, hushed voices, support of labour coping rituals, attention on the mother)
• encourages a woman to walk, slow dance with her partner, shower, bath, rock her hips, climb stairs, squat, kneel, lunge and so on
• teaches the partner to rub the mother's back, squeeze her hips, stroke her belly, hold her hand, gently touch her limbs or her face and otherwise support his/her partner
• will moan and vocalize along beside the mother, breathe her through her contractions, pant her through a cervical lip, count her through inhibited urge to push her child into the world, etc.

As an emotional protector a doula ...

• provides continuity to a family's birth experience
• realizes that the whole of the woman, not just her body, goes through the journey to motherhood and addresses the very real psychological and spiritual elements of birthing
• talks with couples about what they may expect from a typical birth, working with them through their fears or concerns and helping them prepare birth plans
• is an understanding, known and supportive individual who guards the woman while she is in the emotionally open and potentially vulnerable position of transforming into a mother
• supports the family through any deviation from their expectations and helps foster emotional acceptance of any unexpected events surrounding the birth
• supports each unique family in the ways best suited to them
• is a confidante, photographer and recorder of birth stories adding to the memory of this unforgettable life event

As an information resource a doula ...

• acts as an advocate for the mother
• has knowledge of a woman's birth wishes and familiarity with her past experiences, fears and hopes which allows the doula to prompt the seeking of relevant information
• helps a couple retain the power of decision making for all that transpires during their birth, resulting in a higher degree of satisfaction with the experience
• empowers couples to claim their inherent right to informed consent regarding all actions that are performed on the mother-baby
• can source reliable, unbiased information regarding all interventions and potential alternatives that are likely to comprise a part of their birth experience
• helps the couple dialogue with other care providers as options in care arise and decisions need to be made about the course the birth will follow

DOULAS DO NOT

• Practice medicine
• Do exams or procedures
• Make diagnoses or prescribe treatments
• Give second opinions
• Assist physician or midwife with medical care (adjust IV, administer oxygen, etc.)
• Make decisions for parents
• Advise or persuade clients to follow a particular course
• Talk about clients outside their presence
• Withhold approval for using or avoiding medications
• Speak on behalf of the parents to the medical staff

The doula must abide by a Code of Ethics and Standards and Scope of Practice. Certification is highly recommended.