ABOUT DOULAS
"If a doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use it" - Dr Marshall Klaus
"If a doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use it" - Dr Marshall Klaus
The word doula, pronounced "doo-lah", comes from modern Greek meaning ‘servant-woman, slave’, but today, the word has come to mean ‘a woman experienced in childbirth who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the mother before, during and after childbirth’.
Women have supported women since the beginning of time. The community surrounding a woman, the ‘village’, would come together to give practical hands on help and emotional support. For many reasons, this 'village' is not present in the lives of many women today. Having a doula can bring that female companionship, someone who is not emotionally involved, a caregiver who is there to mother the mother. Doula’s are not there to replace the partner or birth companion, but to hold and protect the birth space and be a constant, impartial support. .
Women have supported women since the beginning of time. The community surrounding a woman, the ‘village’, would come together to give practical hands on help and emotional support. For many reasons, this 'village' is not present in the lives of many women today. Having a doula can bring that female companionship, someone who is not emotionally involved, a caregiver who is there to mother the mother. Doula’s are not there to replace the partner or birth companion, but to hold and protect the birth space and be a constant, impartial support. .
Women today not only possess genetic memory of birth from a thousand generations of women, but they are also assailed from every direction by information and misinformation about birth"
- Valerie El Halta
What Doulas do
Doulas provide continuous support for mothers and couples and there is growing evidence that having a doula brings a number of tangible benefits, from reducing intervention rates, shortening labour to increasing birth satisfaction for parents. While this research is important, it’s the less tangible benefits of having a non-judgemental companion during a life-altering event that most women remember and value. Doulas provide continuous support, for mothers and couples, through pregnancy, birth and the immediate postnatal time, as well as providing flexible practical and emotional support postnatally. Doulas do not take a clinical role and work alongside midwives and doctors. They do not advise, but can support a woman to find balanced information to make informed decisions about her maternity care.
Benefits of having a Doula
There is evidence to show that having a doula can mean:
Reduced risk of Caesarean birth † *
Reduced risk of instrumental birth † *
Reduced need for painkillers or epidural during birth † *
Reduced rate of induction of labour † *
Shorter labour †
Increased parental satisfaction with the birth experience †
Increased likelihood of initiating breastfeeding *
Increased likelihood of successfully establishing breastfeeding & breastfeeding at 6 weeks *
* Brigstocke S. MIDIRS Midwifery Digest, vol 24, no 2, 2014, pp 157-160
† Hodnett ED, Gates S, Hofmeyr G, Sakala C. Continuous support for women during childbirth. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2013, Issue 7. Art. No.: CD003766. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD003766.pub5
This information has been sourced from Doula UK where you can find more evidence based research and information on doulas.
Doulas provide continuous support for mothers and couples and there is growing evidence that having a doula brings a number of tangible benefits, from reducing intervention rates, shortening labour to increasing birth satisfaction for parents. While this research is important, it’s the less tangible benefits of having a non-judgemental companion during a life-altering event that most women remember and value. Doulas provide continuous support, for mothers and couples, through pregnancy, birth and the immediate postnatal time, as well as providing flexible practical and emotional support postnatally. Doulas do not take a clinical role and work alongside midwives and doctors. They do not advise, but can support a woman to find balanced information to make informed decisions about her maternity care.
Benefits of having a Doula
There is evidence to show that having a doula can mean:
Reduced risk of Caesarean birth † *
Reduced risk of instrumental birth † *
Reduced need for painkillers or epidural during birth † *
Reduced rate of induction of labour † *
Shorter labour †
Increased parental satisfaction with the birth experience †
Increased likelihood of initiating breastfeeding *
Increased likelihood of successfully establishing breastfeeding & breastfeeding at 6 weeks *
* Brigstocke S. MIDIRS Midwifery Digest, vol 24, no 2, 2014, pp 157-160
† Hodnett ED, Gates S, Hofmeyr G, Sakala C. Continuous support for women during childbirth. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2013, Issue 7. Art. No.: CD003766. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD003766.pub5
This information has been sourced from Doula UK where you can find more evidence based research and information on doulas.
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I live in Falmouth but cover West Cornwall, from Lands End to Launceston and in between! I also cover some of North Cornwall.
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