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If a doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use it.
- John H. Kennell M.D.
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What is a Doula?
For centuries, the teachers and assistants of childbirth were women; mothers, aunts, grandmothers, friends. A child was birthed by the community. Women knew how labour was to proceed and they weren’t afraid of it. They were coached and taught by their female elders. Today, birth is often relegated to hospitals and it’s a scary thing that not that many people talk about. Our society says that it’s the ‘necessary pain’ that must be endured to have a baby. In fact, the art of birthing has been lost. The good news is that a doula is here to aid you in getting in touch with that lost art and assist you through this most magical transition into motherhood. A doula guides you and your partner through pregnancy, labour delivery and early care of your newborn.
As your doula, my goal is to help you and your partner to increase your confidence and decrease your fears around your labour, birth and the post-partum period.
A doula is:
- a trained professional who understands the natural process of birth and helps the woman and her partner to achieve the labour and delivery of their choice.
- someone who works with the labouring family as an advocate, coach and supporter during labour & birth to create the most positive, healthy, and empowering experience possible.
- one who provides physical, emotional and informational support.
- one who provides non-medical continuity of care for birthing women and their partners,
- one who is educated to work within evidence-based standards of practice with skills that are medically proven to make a true difference in the experience of birth.
- the one person on the expectant mother’s health care team that is the constant from early labour through to the post-partum period.
- one who recognizes birth as a key life experience.
Why hire a doula?
In addition to the added confidence and peace of mind your doula will provide, studies* show that doulas positively impact the birth process by:
- decreasing the overall caesarean rate by 50%
- reducing the length of labour by 25%
- decreasing oxytocin use by 40%
- lessening the use of pain medication by 30%
- decreasing the need for forceps for 40%
- reducing requests for epidurals by 60%
*Mothering the Mother, by Klaus, Kennell and Klaus
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