The Difference a Doula Makes
Invaluable Support for First-Time Moms
There are many ways to find out what a doula is and what a doula does, but it is also important to know why a doula makes a difference. While the definition and role of a doula can be researched online, the best way to discover the difference a doula makes at a birth, is to interview or talk to mothers who have had births with and without a doula.
The difference a doula makes to a first time mother is invaluable. A doula will help her navigate the waters of deciding on where to have her baby, which doctor or midwife she wants to deliver her baby, who she wants to have at the birth and what kind of support she will need to have the kind of birth she desires. There are so many questions that can be answered when you have complete access to a doula. This access usually continues long after the birth of the baby
For the mother who has already birthed a child, or several children, a doula can still make a difference. While there might be some familiar occurrences, there will also be some unfamiliar events. Each birth is unique and each birth team is unique. It can be unsettling when something happens that was not expected, but with a doula, even the unexpected can be handled skillfully Negotiating the needs of the mother includes helping with family members—encouraging whoever will be there to work within their comfort zone.
Doulas also make a difference in the birthing atmosphere. Just the presence of a doula can bring a sigh of relief for the Labor & Delivery staff. Knowing that there is a birth professional with the mother at all times helps the nursing crew to view this birth in a more relaxed fashion. The doula decreases stress all around. The doctor also feels better knowing that his patient is being supported even when the nurses are busy elsewhere. If labor is stalled and the mother doesn’t want any intervention, the doctor and nurses are supportive of any suggestions that the doula might have for her client to help move labor along in a natural way.
Education and labor support doesn’t end with the birth of the baby. The doula can now make a difference for the baby. Her relationship throughout has earned her trust with the mother and so her support for breastfeeding and general postpartum care is welcomed as another component of her skills and training. Depending on the mother’s wishes, the doula can take family photos of the new addition and any other family members present. She can make sure the mother is in the most comfortable position for breastfeeding. If it has been a home birth, the doula can help the other children welcome their newest member. She can fix a meal for the children or provide nutritious snacks to the mother. When everyone is settled and all is well, the doula will leave with the assurance that she will be back either the following day or within a few days to check on the status of mother and baby.
What a difference a doula makes! Family members have been taken into account, mother and baby are given the best opportunity to have the best birth possible, with bonding and after care covered in a timely manner. Photographs have been taken, and the Birth Story will be delivered to the new mother at the postpartum visit. The step-by-step process will be gone over to see if there was anything that could have been done differently, so that in the event of another birth, that can be addressed. Any questions that might not have been answered by the doctor or nurses can be listed and put in a format that will help the mother get answers in a way that she can understand.
Memories will be made of a well-planned and well-supported birth, so that in the years to come the mother can share, as she feels comfortable, the events of her child’s birth while sharing the photos and the birth story and the reason she chose to have a birth doula for labor and birth support. She can explain that she wanted to give her child the best possible birth for both of them.