What is a Doula?

"If a doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use it."
~John H. Kennell, MD

The word Doula (doo-la) comes from Greek and is translated to “woman servant.”  A Doula is a professionally trained, non-medical person who assists a woman physically and emotionally during childbirth.  She provides information so that the mother may make informed decisions during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and postpartum.

A Doula:
Recognizes birth as a key life experience that the mother will remember all her life...

Understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor...

Assists the woman and her partner in preparing for and carrying out their plans for the birth...

Stays by the side of the laboring woman throughout the entire labor...

Provides emotional support, physical comfort measures, an objective viewpoint
and assistance to the woman in getting the information she needs to make good decisions...

Facilitates communication between the laboring woman, her partner and clinical care providers...

Perceives her role as one who nurtures and protects the woman's memory of her birth experience.

Why Have a Doula?
Decreased medical intervention in labor:
Reduces need for cesarean by 50%
Reduces length of labor by 25%
Reduces use of oxytocin by 40%
Reduces pain medication use by 30%
Reduces the need for forceps by 40%
Reduces epidural requests by 60%
 
6 weeks after birth, mothers who had doulas were:
Less anxious and depressed
Had more confidence with baby
More satisfied with partner (71% vs 30%)
More likely to be breastfeeding (52% vs. 29%)