What is a Doula?

 

A Birth Doula:

• recognizes that having a child is a key experience that a woman will remember all of her life.
• protects and nurtures the woman's memory of the birth experience.
• helps birth partners to participate at their comfort level, thus allowing them to create their own role during labor and birth.
• understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor.
• assists the woman in preparing for and carrying out plans for the birth.
• facilitates communication between the laboring woman, her partner, and the care providers.

  Research shows the presence of a doula can:

   • decrease the cesarean section rate by 51%
   • decrease the length of labor by 25%
   • decrease pitocin use by 71%
   • decrease the use of epidurals by 60%
   • decrease the use of forceps by 57%

   (Source: Mothering the Mother by Klaus, Kennel, and Klaus)