FAQ

What is a doula?
The word “doula” comes from the ancient Greek meaning “a woman who serves” and is now used to refer to a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth. A birth doula assists the woman in preparing for and carrying out her plans for birth, stays with the woman throughout the labor, provides emotional support, physical comfort measures and an objective viewpoint, as well as helping the woman get the information she needs to make informed decision, and facilitates communication between the laboring woman, her partner and her clinical care providers. I like to say that a birth doula is like a wedding coordinator, a supportive friend, and an encyclopedia all in one, just for you at your child’s birth.

Are doulas a new trend?
Not at all! Doulas have been helping women in childbirth since Biblical times. When birth moved from private homes into the hospital, doulas became less popular as women began to rely on medical management during birth. In the 1970s, doulas began to regain popularity in the United States. In 1992, an organization called DONA (Doulas of North America) was formed and soon after, it began to certify birth doulas.

Are doulas the same as midwives?
No, they aren’t the same. Midwives have medical degrees and are trained to provide prenatal and postnatal medical care, as well as deliver babies. Doulas provide physical, emotional, and informational support during pregnancy and during labor but do not provide medical care.

My partner will be with me during labor. Why also have a doula?
There are several advantages to having a doula even if you have an involved partner. A doula provides support to both you and your partner, can relieve your partner when he or she needs a break, and comes with a knowledge about labor and birth that your partner may not have. There are two excellent articles that explain how a doula and partner interact and complement each other. One is DONA’s paper called Dads and Doulas and another is a blog post called The Daddy-Doula Dynamic.

What are birth preferences and why are they important?
Your birth preferences (also called a birth plan) is a written document that lists what is important to you for your birth and what kinds of interventions you do and do not want. It’s a way to tell your support people what kind of care you want for yourself and your new baby. Part of a doula’s role is helping you learn about and consider your options and write your birth preferences in a way that explains your wishes. A doula also supports you in following your written birth preferences during labor.

What are the benefits to having a doula?
There are many! Here are some excerpts from research studies showing some of the many benefits:

The continuous presence of a supportive companion (doula) during labor and delivery in two studies in Guatemala shortened labor and reduced the need for cesarean section and other interventions. Oxytocin use, duration of labor, prolonged infant hospitalization, and maternal fever followed a similar pattern.
Kennell J, Klaus M, McGrath S, Robertson S, Hinkley C. Continuous emotional support during labor in a US hospital. A randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 1991 May 1;265(17):2197-201.

Twelve individual randomized trials have compared obstetrical and postpartum outcomes between doula-supported women and women who did not receive doula support during childbirth. Emotional and physical support significantly shortens labor and decreases the need for cesarean deliveries, forceps and vacuum extraction, oxytocin augmentation, and analgesia. Doula-supported mothers also rate childbirth as less difficult and painful than do women not supported by a doula. Labor support by fathers does not appear to produce similar obstetrical benefits.
Scott KD, Klaus PH, Klaus MH. The obstetrical and postpartum benefits of continuous support during childbirth. J Womens Health Gend Based Med. 1999 Dec;8(10):1257-64.

The results showed that the cesarean section rate was 6.5% in Doula group while 20.8% in the control group. The duration of labour and volume of postpartum bleeding both declined obviously in the study group. Doula delivery offered better quality of health care during labour and decreased cesarean section rate duration of labour and postpartum bleeding.
Wang D, Mao X, Qian S. Clinical observation on Doula delivery. Zhonghua Fu Chan Ke Za Zhi. 1997 Nov;32(11):659-61.