Doulas are a Mama's Best Friend

Doulas are labor support professionals who provide continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the laboring woman before, during, and just after childbirth. Doulas are experienced in childbirth and assist women giving birth in hospitals, birth centers, and at home. Postpartum doulas provide support to new parents in the days and weeks following birth, assisting with breastfeeding support, newborn care, household chores, meal preparation, resourcing, and advocacy.

"If a doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use it."
- Dr. John H. Kennell, author of The Doula Book

The Cochrane Review on Effects of Continuous Labor Support is the most recent systemic review of continuous labor support, which reviewed nearly 13,000 women who participated in 15 randomized controlled trials. The research findings demonstrate that women who receive continuous labor support are:

• less likely to have an epidural or other "regional" analgesia
• less likely to use any type of pain medication (including narcotics)
• less likely to give birth by cesarean section
• less likely to give birth with vacuum extraction or forceps
• less likely to be dissatisfied with or give a negative rating to their childbirth experience.

Listening to Mothers , a recent national survey of women’s birth experiences, rated doulas highest in terms of quality of supportive care during labor. Doulas were rated higher than family members, friends, nurses or physicians in providing emotional and physical support during labor and birth.

"Continuous support during labor should be the norm, rather than the exception. All women should be allowed and encouraged to have support people with them continuously during labor."
- Hodnett and colleagues, Cochrane Review, 2004

Comments

[nina]

thank you thank you! just came upon your site and i'm so grateful for it...as a doula-in-training, as a mama, as someone who cares about women. thank you!