Why doulas?

A doula provides emotional and practical support which enables you to have the most satisfying and empowering time that you can during pregnancy, birth and the early days as a new mother. This type of support also helps the whole family to relax and enjoy the experience.

There are several key reasons a doula’s support is so valuable:

• A doula will work with you (and your partner) through the latter part of your pregnancy so that together you are very well prepared for labour and childbirth
• A doula understands about the physiology of birth (including when it’s time to let the doctors deal with problems)
• A doula understands the emotional needs of a woman going through childbirth and the transition to parenthood (after all, in addition to training and education, she is usually a mother herself)
• A doula offers support – not advice. A doula is a signpost to information not a font of knowledge
• A doula is non-judgemental and objective
• A doula is a companion – not a guide
• A doula may well have a good knowledge of your local health authority, the maternity services set up and may even already have relationships with some midwives and health visitors
• Empowers your decision making by signposting information and facilitating communication between you, your care providers and your partner

So what?

The combined effect of the above points mean that with a doula’s support you are likely to have a much more positive experience of becoming a mother.

For example:

• Birth is a key life experience, which it is healthy to remember in a positive way for many reasons but not least because it is good for your relationship with your baby and family
• Shorter labour. A short labour means you are less tired, less likely to need medical assistance, and feel stronger to deal with the birth
• Being awake, alert and not drugged or exhausted to the point of unconsciousness means that you are more likely to get to bond immediately with your baby and more likely to initiate breastfeeding successfully early on
• Your partner will have also been “doulaed” so he can offer you the support you need him to

To see some specific examples of things a doula will do for you read this.

To find out more and sign up for the online doula service, go here.

To read some research on doulas, go here.