A birth doula is a trained labor coach who assists you during labor and delivery. She provides you with continuous emotional support, as well as assistance with other non-medical aspects of your care. That is me! After 25 years of pregnancy and breastfeeding, I am now ready to share what I have learned with all of you and assist you
The word "doula" comes from the ancient Greek meaning "a woman who serves" and is now used to refer to a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth; or who provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period.
Studies have shown that when doulas attend birth, labors are shorter with fewer complications, babies are healthier and they breastfeed more easily.
In 1985 I gave birth to my first child, a son, in a military hospital in HI. Tripler Army Medical Center. I was 18 yrs old, healthy, and had a small 7 lb. baby. Thankful, my Mom was there to coach me since my husband had left 2 wks. before on a West Pac. (6 months in the I.O.) My labor was un medicated, however, when my son was ready to be born I was subjected to a routine episiotomy and forceps with my feet in stirrups. After my son arrived, he was whisked away by a nurse and not returned to me for 7 hours. I had written a birth plan but it was not followed. My baby was to be breastfeed at birth but, was not even given to me to hold. I am certain that the people running the maternity ward viewed birth as a medical condition. Birth, in fact, is not a medical condition. Birth is a super natural power that a woman's body was created to embrace. With a little education and a lot of determination, we can change the way birth is viewed today.
A Doula is a woman who can help you create the birth you envision and help set you on the course of accomplishing your dream.
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- A BIRTH DOULA:
- Recognizes birth as a key experience the mother will remember all her life
- Understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor
- Assists the woman in preparing for and carrying out her plans for birth
- Stays with the woman throughout the labor
- Provides emotional support, physical comfort measures and an objective viewpoint, as well as helping the woman get the information she needs to make informed decisions
- Facilitates communication between the laboring woman, her partner and her clinical care providers
- Perceives her role as nurturing and protecting the
- Allows the woman's partner to participate at his/her comfort level
- woman's memory of the birth experience
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