The Purpose and Value of Labor Support
Having a baby is a life changing event. Not only are you adding a person into your family, but you as a mother are making an enormous physical, mental, and emotional transformation. Hiring a birth doula can ease that transition, guiding you seamlessly through pregnancy, labor, birth, and into early postpartum life. Read on for an in-depth look at doula support.
The Purpose + Value of Birth Support
Confident. Connected. Strong. Safe. Supported.
Isn’t that what a brilliant birth experience would feel like? You and your family can adore your birth, feeling prepared, secure, and excited, when you have a doula by your side. A DONA birth doula is a trained professional who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support. A doula’s presence before, during, and immediately after childbirth helps you to achieve a safe, healthy, and satisfying birth experience. Educated in pregnancy, labor and childbirth scenarios, and postpartum needs, a doula is a resource that simply makes birth better.
For hundreds of thousands of years childbirth has been an activity celebrated and supported not only by the birthing person, but by a community of women who welcome her into the circle of motherhood. Relatives, friends, and neighbours encircle the mother, ushering her through the transition to parenthood, and sharing with the family a renewed sense of belonging and purpose. This community-based, continuous support is so valuable that, in 1994, DONA International professionalized the experience by training, certifying, and encouraging practitioners to ensure the benefits of a doula be extended to as many birthing families as possible.
DONA International doulas are trained to provide evidence-based resources so that you may ask key questions to your care providers and make informed decisions about your birth experience. Doulas also provide pre- and post-partum support including discussion of standard and elective practices and procedures, fostering maximum self-determination regarding not only your birth, but your personal wellness and care. And, a doula should promote the general health and wellbeing of you, your baby, and your family, extending nurturance and care to your household during both the pregnancy and postpartum periods.
A birth doula accompanies a woman in labor to provide emotional and physical support, suggest comfort measures, and provide aid and guidance for the partner or family members present. Doulas do not perform clinical tasks such as fetal or maternal medical examination, nor do they “prescribe” any treatments. A doula must be infinitely respectful of your primary care provider and will always recommend that you seek their advice or approval when determining an appropriate course of action. A doula’s role in advocacy is to be supportive and informative, rather than to speak on your behalf. Your doula will enhance communication between you and your care team by encouraging you to ask questions and express your own birth preferences and concerns.
A doula promotes your physical comfort and labor progression by offering hands-on touch, counter pressure, labor positioning, and breathing techniques. Doulas also ease the emotional experience of birth, holding space and energy so that your sole focus can be moving baby from inside to outside safely, with connection and intention.
Although a doula’s primary responsibility is to you, the client, they are similarly there to support every birth partner – whether that is your spouse, sister, mother, or friend – in being as involved as you wish. Physical and emotional support make a significant difference for everyone involved.
Researchers have gathered meaningful data regarding doula care, which demonstrates remarkable improvements in both physical and psychological outcomes for mother and baby. Studies show that women who use a birth doula are less likely to need interventions such as Pitocin or pain medication, less likely to require a Caesarean birth, and more likely to rate their childbirth experience positively. In fact, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists indicates that “one of the most effective tools to improve labor and delivery outcomes is the continuous presence of support personnel, such as a doula. Given that there are no associated measurable harms, this resource is probably underutilized.” DONA International agrees with this statement so wholeheartedly that they encourage doulas to assist any client seeking birth support either by providing services or making an appropriate referral to someone else who can. DONA and its membership believe in “a doula for every person who wants one,” giving consideration to low-cost and pro bono services where possible to ensure that the real, evidence-based benefits of continuous birth support be available to the masses.
The evidence – both statistical and anecdotal – makes it clear that birth support personnel make a true and measurable difference to your birth. With a trained doula as part of your circle of care, you can be assured that your birth experience will leave you with cherished memories of confidence, connection, strength, safety, and love.
Now that you know the significant benefits of hiring a doula, you can book online RIGHT NOW for a free, no obligation meet + greet! It takes just two minutes to confirm our coffee date, leaving you time for some prenatal yoga, shopping for nursery linens, or a long nap on the couch! ;)