Doulas Provide
Birth and Postpartum Support
Pregnancy is the time to give careful thought to many things. But topping your list might be who will be with you while you are in labor and who will be on hand to help you after you come home with your baby.
Currently in the U.S., you can find trained, non-medical birth and postpartum companions called doulas (do-las). Birth doulas provide continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother and her partner before, during and just after childbirth. A postpartum doula provides non-judgmental support when you get home with your baby.
Information and resources
If you can connect with a doula early in your pregnancy, she can often provide you with private childbirth classes or suggest local childbirth education or prenatal yoga classes, breastfeeding support and ongoing parenting groups.
Doulas are also a resource for finding out about birthing options in your community. They can point you to which hospitals and medical care providers use the fewest interventions and the best practices. Doulas can also help you to locate home birth care providers, local water birthing options, and care providers who are successful with and encourage women to use the safer option of Vaginal Birth after Cesarean (V-BAC). Doulas are a resource for other pregnancy-related services, such as belly casting and blessingway ceremonies, a thoughtful alternative or addition to the traditional baby shower.
Once you interview and retain a birth doula, she will usually be available for phone support both pre- and post-birth. The birth doula is on call for you between your 38th and 42nd weeks of pregnancy, based upon the estimated due date you provide her. Fees for an experienced, certified birth doula in New Jersey range from $900-$2000.
Those who experience birth with a doula, like one Parsippany mother of three, are empowered. “I couldn’t have done it without my doula. I did not even think about asking for drugs this time –She made me so comfortable and believed in me.”
Doulas support dads too. As one Westfield father stated, “My doula, wife and I made a great team. As a dad-to-be, having a doula at the birth with us allowed me to participate at the level I was comfortable with. I also felt supported by our doula the entire time”.
After the birth day
A postpartum doula works with you in your home after the baby is born. If this is your first baby, you may find that a doula quickly builds confidence in your parenting skills as she works with you and your partner to learn how to care for baby. She’ll answer questions that might come up about your baby’s sleep patterns, behavior and appearance. Postpartum doulas also care for older siblings, run errands and can provide educational materials, resources and referrals.
And postpartum doulas are trained to support the breastfeeding mother. “Despite trying every trick in the book at the hospital, my son just would not latch on,” said Jennifer Kendall of Ridgewood. “My postpartum doula worked with me to help Jack learn how to latch. A few hours later, Jack was eating like a champ. Her patience and knowledge helped me breastfeed, a bond I could not imagine missing out on,” added Kendall.
Second-time- and-beyond parents find that a postpartum doula offers an extra pair of helpful hands, so they have time to focus on bonding with the new baby while maintaining the all-important connection to his/her older siblings.
”Our doula was loving, calm and reassuring, “said Julie Schwan, the mother of two. “She made meals, did laundry and helped us take care of our children. I can’t imagine the first few weeks of our babies’ lives without her.”
New parents who work with postpartum doulas report feeling cared for, reassured and grateful for the calm, professional and unobtrusive support of a doula. “I hired the same doula for both my babies,” said Meredith Coleman of Upper Saddle River. “ She taught me everything -- from cleaning the umbilical cord, to first baths, to helping me nurse. And she mothered me, making sure I ate and drank. That way I could focus on mothering my children. The second time around, she entertained and nurtured my older child when I was busy doing things with the new baby.”
Fees for a postpartum doula range from $25 to $40 per hour, depending on location and experience. Doulas generally work with a family for several hours per day, several days a week, for as long as six weeks or so after the baby arrives. Many offer a contract or service agreement so clients are assured that the doula they choose will be available when their family needs her help.