What is a Doula?
Throughout history and across cultures, the phenomenon of birth has brought people together. In addition to the midwife, mothers, sisters, aunts, friends, even neighbours, would gather around a person in childbirth to assist them with their pregnancy, support them during the trials of childbirth, and lend a hand in the postpartum process. New parents relied on the love, wisdom, and experience of their community to see them through the transformative journey of their child’s birth.
Many people feel that today’s culture of medicalized childbirth has lost some of the “humanizing” effects that came from the social and cultural practices of traditional childbirth. The modern-day doula is a professional childbirth attendant whose only role is to devote herself to your physical, emotional, and mental well-being as the person in childbirth. The doula seeks to make your childbirthing experience as comfortable and empowering as possible.
Doulas provide "non-clinical" support.
This includes:
Physical Support
Modern media has popularized a dramatic portrayal of the physical pain of childbirth – and there can certainly be a level of discomfort involved! The doula is trained in a variety of comfort techniques that can help you cope with the sensations of childbirth and help your labour progress. These techniques can be modified to complement your personal pain management preferences.
Some of these techniques include:
Changes in body position to relieve pressure and help the baby descend;
Counter-pressure;
Hydrotherapy;
Assistance walking;
Application of hot and cold;
Therapeutic massage;
Provision of ice chips, food, beverage;
Breathing, focusing, and visualization techniques.
Not only can position changes make you feel more comfortable, but some can naturally speed the progress of a labour that has slowed or stalled!
Emotional Support
We often think of our feelings in the abstract as belonging to the realm of our minds, but did you know our emotions are strongly connected to our bodies as well?
Oxytocin, aka “the love hormone,” is the same hormone that causes uterine contractions and facilitates the dilation of the cervix during labour. Hospital staff may suggest administering synthetic oxytocin to when a labour is deemed to be progressing too slowly.
When you feel cared for, supported, and safe, your body will produce oxytocin more easily, which keeps the gears of labour moving! With her knowledge and experience of childbirth, the doula can help to:
Manage fears or anxieties you may have;
Remind your of your body’s natural wisdom and abilities;
Lend you strength through company and companionship;
Provide reassurance, praise, and encouragement to keep you going.
Evidence-Based Information
During pregnancy, you may feel bombarded by information on all sides. The doula supports you by serving as a source of current, evidence-based information on pregnancy, childbirth, and medical interventions. The doula believes that becoming informed ahead of time will result in more confidence once labour begins.
The doula can also debrief with you after a procedure, a visit to your healthcare provider, or after labour and delivery. The hormones of labour can cause everything to pass in a blur, and it can help to have someone slow everything down and process the experience with you.
Facilitation & Advocacy
Your right to make decisions about your body is not suspended during pregnancy or childbirth. The doula supports your agency and autonomy in the delivery room by acting as a communication facilitator and by advocating for your well-being. The doula may do this by:
Helping you and the caregiving staff to understand each other;
Supporting the decisions you make about your childbirth preferences;
Helping you acquire the information you need to make an informed decision;
Helping ensure medical interventions are only performed with your consent;
Ensuring you are given the time and space to rest, ask questions, and get answers without feeling rushed or pressured;
Reminding you of your childbirth preferences and helping you navigate your options when unforeseen circumstances arise.
Benefits of Doula Support
A 2017 Cochrane Review of outcomes for birthing people receiving continuous support from a doula yielded the following results: