"Birth is not only about making babies. Birth is about making mothers - strong, competent, capable mothers who trust themselves and know their inner strength" Barbara Katz Rothman
The word doula ("doo-la") is ancient Greek, and means 'woman of service'. Its modern use refers to a woman trained and experienced in childbirth who provides a much-needed supportive presence to the woman, her partner and family throughout the childbearing year. Some women performing professional birth support of this kind prefer to call themselves labour companions, birth assistants or birth workers.
A doula's role is to facilitate a positive birth experience by providing continuous emotional, physical and informational support.
Age-old wisdom
Throughout the ages, women have relied upon the wisdom, experience and nurturing of other women to guide them in childbirth, breastfeeding and mothering. Someone to mother them as make the transition to motherhood. Most often, this role was fulfilled by a woman's own mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, midwife, neighbour or elder in their community.
In this way, women learned everything they needed to know about women's bodies, birth and babies by watching, helping and being around the women of their community from a young age. Pregnancy, birth and babies were considered natural parts of a woman's life cycle. When it came time for them to cross the threshold to motherhood, they knew what to expect, trusted that they could do it, and could rely on the close emotional and physical support they needed from people they knew intimately.
In modern times, this kind of continuous support and experience is often not available within a woman's family. Many women live great distances from their families, or feel that they cannot provide the kind of support they need.
A doula recognises the power and significance of the birth journey, and brings the traditional woman-to-woman support, nurturing and wisdom back to the birth space.
The support of a privately employed doula can make a significant difference to how comfortable labour is for a woman, the level of complications and interventions experienced, and how the woman feels about the birth and her baby (see
Benefits of a Doula). Additionally, employing a doula is often the only way a couple can experience true continuity of care throughout the birth journey.
Many women and their partners believe that the midwives and doctors looking after them will provide the emotional and physical support needed to guide them through labour. However, hospital midwives often have more than one woman labouring at a time (usually two or three), and with staff changing shifts regularly there is also little chance of having one midwife attending for the entire labour and birth.
In the hospital environment, it is very rare for midwives to 'labour-sit' with a woman - in general, their role will focus on monitoring the baby and mother for any abnormalities, documenting the labour, and reporting progress or problems to the doctor. In addition, in most cases the couple will not have previously met the midwife attending them, or had the opportunity to build up a relationship or to discuss their needs and preferences for their birth. Doctors, including private obstetricians, will generally only be present for the final minutes of the birth, unless there is a problem prior to that requiring medical intervention.
A doula is your own personal birth attendant who stays with you from early labour (often at home), tailoring her care to your preferences and needs, until after your baby is born. A doula acts as a protector of the birthing space, providing a familiar face and calming presence through changing hospital shifts and care providers. A doula does not split her focus between you, other women and other duties, and does not go home at a crucial moment because its the end of her shift. A doula spends time getting to know you during pregnancy, so that there is a trust and understanding between you about what your needs and preferences are for your birth, and she commits herself to helping you achieve your goals.
Individual Support