The Birth Doula
Brought to You by Popular Demand

There is an often-overlooked contributor to America’s maternity care system that is growing in popularity: the birth doula. While a lot of people still don’t know what a doula is, awareness is being raised with the recent surge of celebrities that have chosen to hire, and openly support, doulas. Among some of them are Nicole Kidman, Demi Moore, Cindy Crawford and Ricki Lake. Women all over, not just celebrities, are demanding more personal, family-centered birth experiences, and want to give birth with confidence, support, and information—all of which can be found from the support of a birth doula. But what exactly is a birth doula? And how are moms in the Houston area benefiting from hiring one?

Doulas are actually nothing new to the birth scene. Birthing women have had the support of doulas for centuries, even before physicians were attending births. Today, birth doulas are trained professionals that provide continuous support to laboring women. Doulas support couples in four ways:

• Doulas provide their clients with informational support about anything related to pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, or early parenting. Doulas stay up to date with current research and help their clients find the information and resources needed to make informed decisions.
• Doulas provide the entire family with emotional support.
• Doulas specialize in non-medical physical comfort techniques for laboring women. During a mother’s labor, the doula may provide physical support with the use massage, relaxation techniques, positioning suggestions, or breath-work (among a bunch of other techniques).
• Also, doulas advocate for the family’s wishes and may facilitate communication between medical staff and her client in order to obtain the information needed to make informed decisions regarding medical procedures. Birth doulas have no clinical responsibilities, or expectations of the mother. They are there to provide unconditional, continuous support, and are usually the only trained professional that remains with the couple through the entire birth.

Doulas usually have a couple prenatal appointments with their clients, to get to know them and help them prepare for birth. Once the mother has gone into labor, the doula meets up with the couple, often before they have gone to the hospital, and stays until the baby has been born and breastfeeding has been initiated. The doula is also available to support her client with breastfeeding and early parenting in the postpartum period. Doulas attend births in all settings: hospitals, birth centers, and homebirths. A common misconception is that birth doulas only attend unmedicated births. The truth is that doulas attend all kinds, whether it is natural, a planned epidural, or a cesarean birth.

Not convinced? Many clinical studies have shown that women with the support of a birth doula are “more likely than women without such care to avoid cesarean birth and other major medical interventions and to be satisfied with their birth experience.” In fact, the women that received such support were:

• 26% less likely to give birth by cesarean
• 41% less likely to give birth with vacuum extraction or forceps
• 28% less likely to use any analgesia or anesthesia and
• 33% less likely to be dissatisfied with or negatively rate their birth experience¹.

Also, women with the support of a doula have also been found to have shorter labors, be more successful with breastfeeding, feel more secure and in control, and be less likely to experience postpartum depression².

Many couples wonder how the father falls into the equation when a doula is present. Some question if having a birth doula would “take dad’s place” or be redundant if the father is present. Neither of these statements is true. Most dads actually find a doula’s presence to be a relief, taking a lot of pressure off of them. In fact, doulas and dads make great teams! Dads can provide mom with a level of love and emotional support that a doula cannot, and doulas can use their expertise to keep mom as comfortable as possible. Many families also find a doula’s general knowledge of the birth process to be reassuring. Birth doulas are there to provide support for the partner as well, not just mom.

In a city like Houston, where many of the hospitals deliver over 400 babies each month, many couples are asking doulas to join their birth team to provide them with the individualized support they desire, and to help them facilitate a positive, family-centered birth experience. Other couples are turning to doulas because they feel more confident going into their labors knowing that someone will be there to coach them through contractions. Some are choosing doulas to advocate for their wishes. Whatever the reason, many of Houston’s expecting families are finding the support they need in birth doulas. As Dr. John Kennell says, “If a Doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use it.”

Editorial provided by Lea Mock, CD (DONA) of New Life Doula Services in Houston, Texas. She is a Certified Birth Doula, Breastfeeding & Childbirth Educator, and loving mother of two.

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