What is a doula?
Since the dawn of time, bearing children was a rite of passage, a coming-of-age, and as such, women have attended women in childbirth. Her sisters, mothers, and girlfriends would gather to provide support – physical, mental, and emotional – during her labor, delivery, and "lying-in" (postpartum). In early labor, they would help keep the laboring woman distracted, with stories, cooking, and walking. Later, as her labor intensified, they would stroke her, soothe her, and apply comfort techniques handed down for generations. After the baby arrived, they would ensure she ate, had a clean bed, and her other family members were taken care of. They would continue checking in to ensure she was recovering, eating, and assimilating the baby into her daily routine, providing support and encouragement.The word "doula" comes from the Greek, and literally means "servant." This term came into favor fairly recently, after birth had moved into the hospital and became a medical event, rather than a social rite of passage in the home. But women recognized that even as technology changed the way they gave birth, it didn't address their psychosocial needs – the need to have a familiar face who has traveled this road before, who could assure them that they, too, would make it to the other side. Although husbands were attending childbirth preparation classes with their wives, many women still did not feel they were supported in the way they needed. Husbands are wonderful, yes, but men tend to want to "fix" things. A woman in normal labor does not need "fixing", but rather a soft touch, a steady voice, and the energy of all the women who have gone before her to help her find her own way on the journey. A doula is a "servant to the mother", using her heart and hands to support and guide a woman on her labor journey.
Doulas teach fathers and partners how to be involved in the experience, reassuring them about what's "normal", modeling techniques so they can be hands-on, and providing emotional support. We know it's difficult to see a loved one struggle through a difficult task. During labor, we massage tirelessly, provide counter pressure for hours, hold the barf bucket, assist with getting to the bathroom, suggest alternatives when one coping method seems to stop working, encourage hydration and movement, and hold her as she cries. It is not glamorous work. It is long, tiring, and sometimes seemingly endless. But we know the value and long-lasting effects of these tasks, and it is worth it.
Statistically, women who have the continuous support of a doula during labor and delivery have shorter, easier labors with fewer complications, and use less pharmaceutical pain relief. As one doctor once noted, "If a doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use it!"
Doulas today come to birth with a variety of experiences and training. Generally speaking, most doulas have been through some sort of classroom training, have read extensively, and have observed births as part of their learning process. They may or may not have paid for certification through a national organization. We also learn "on the job", with each birth being a continuation of our learning. We seek feedback from doctors, nurses, midwives, and of course the couples we support. Many of us have had our own birth experiences, and often it is these experiences that have driven us to become doulas, either because we received doula support during their births, or because we realized the great benefit doula support would have been to us. Either way, we have a desire to help women achieve an optimal birth experience.
Although doulas and midwives share a common belief that birth is a natural process rather than a medical emergency waiting to happen, doulas are not midwives. You won't find a doula doing clinical tasks, such as monitoring fetal heart tones or checking cervical dilation. We don't tell a woman how to birth or where to birth. While we recognize the value of technology in birth, but we also know that it can be overused. We encourage women to give informed consent, regardless of the intervention or technique. To do that, we share our knowledge with you, encourage you to learn as much as you can, and then bring our hearts, knowledge, experience, and an extra pair of hands to her birth, to help you move through your labor dance at your own pace, in your own way.
Throughout it all, we help women learn to trust their bodies, believe in themselves, advocate for themselves and their babies, and find the inner strength they will need to go through this rite of passage, as generations of women have done before. It is this strength and courage that you can then rely on as a mother, to help you continue to make good choices for yourself and your baby the rest of your life.