What is a doula anyway?

You’re pregnant! Congratulations! Its an exciting time filled with planning and prepping with your partner, and likely spending countless hours researching everything and anything baby related.

Overwhelmed yet?

Pregnancy can feel overwhelming and a little stressful. Prenatal visits, blood tests, advice from countless strangers, along with late night google searching every possible symptom and new feeling can be exhausting.

Perhaps this is your first pregnancy and you don’t even know where to start. On the other hand, maybe this is your second child and you want a little more information about your options and more say in your care.

Enter - The Doula

Growing in popularity and use is the hiring of a labor doula or birth worker, to support the birthing process from start to finish.

What does that mean exactly? A labor doula is a support person who has responsibility only to YOU, the mama. That means she does not represent any other interests, such as the hospital or doctor. She has your best interest and you needs in mind, and works to support you with accurate information as well as emotionally and physically.

So.. Like a Life Coach?

Nope. Thing of a Doula as a human to guide you through the overwhelming world of pregnancy and labor. Some examples of doula support include, but are not limited to the following:

Information Support:

• Help you put together a birth plan

• Help clarify the type of birth experience you want and guide you to the correct people to provide that

• Answer any pregnancy or birth questions you have with Evidence Based, Accurate information with no bias

• Guid the birthing person and their partner through labor

• Suggest techniques in labor, such as breathing, relaxation techniques, movement, and positioning (positioning is important both with and without epidurals)

• Help them find evidence-based information about different options in pregnancy and childbirth

• Help explain medical procedures before or as they occur

• Help the partner understand what’s going on with their loved one’s labor (for example, interpreting the different sounds the birthing person makes)

Emotional Support:

• Available to answer questions, talk and just be emotionally present when you need

• Provide emotional support to your partner and guides them to be an active participant in your birth

• Continuous presence

• Reassurance - Encouragement - Praise

• Help the birthing person see themselves or their situation more positively

• Keep company and show a caring attitude

• Mirroring—calmly describe what the birthing person is experiencing and echoing back the same feelings and intensity

• Help the birthing person and partner work through fears and self-doubt

• Debrief after the birth—listening to the mother with empathy

Physical Support:

• Guide and gives comfort measures during all stages of labor

• Soothe with touch through the use of massage, counter pressure, or a rebozo

• Help to create a calm environment, like dimming lights and arranging curtains

• Assist with water therapy (shower, tub)

• Apply warmth or cold

• Assist the birthing person in walking to and from the bathroom

• Give ice chips, food, and drinks

Good for everyone?

Yes, most common is doula assistance for regular, uncomplicated vaginal delivery…

BUT - Doula services can also be extremely helpful to VBAC (Vaginal Birth after Cesarean), C-Sections, Multiple births, Hospital Births, Home and Birthing Center Births, etc.

Awesome right ?!

If you have some questions about Doula work and if it is right for you, don’t hesitate to reach out. Call, message or text us anytime!

We are happy to answer your questions and see if it is a good fit for they kind of birth experience you want!

Have a healthy and happy Birth ~ With L O V E ~ MMW