Frequently asked questions

What is a doula?

A doula offers a supportive presence, physical comfort and emotional support throughout the birth process for mother, baby, birth partner(s) and family. A doula provides resources and information, can work with you to create a birth plan to ensure your wishes for the birth are followed to the highest possible degree, and is focused during labor on making mother and baby as comfortable as possible.

Why work with a doula?

Particularly if you have chosen to give birth in a hospital setting, your doula may be the only caregiver with you besides your birth partner(s) that you know. In the hospital setting, it is rare for doctors and midwives to attend the births of their patients, and most commonly women are cared for by the physician on-call when they check in. It is not uncommon to experience shift changes during labor, and to be meeting your caregivers for the first time during your birth.

The support measures, information and gentle advocacy a doula can provide can help labor go smoothly and minimize the risk of trauma and of surgical interventions. Doulas provide comfort measures that often mitigate a mother's need for medication during birth. Some documented benefits of having a doula present are:

- 45% reduction in Cesarean rate
- 25% reduction in length of labor
- 50% reduction in use of pitocin to augment or induce labor
- 31% reduction in requests for pain medication
- 34% reduction in need for forceps
- 10-60% reduction in requests for an epidural

Women remember their birth experiences for a lifetime. Why not do everything we can to help make this memory a positive one? A doula also works with a mother as she processes her emotions after a difficult labor, which means mom will heal faster and have an easier time bonding with her baby.

My husband/partner will be at my birth. What can a doula offer in this case?

When one or more partners are also present, a doula can help support the whole family, and relieve the burden and fatigue of relying on a single support person. A doula does not attempt to replace the partner, but rather works with partners and caregivers to ensure the whole team's efforts offer maximum benefit to mother and child.

How is a doula different from a midwife?

Doulas are not medically trained, and play a quite different role from midwives during labor and birth. Since doulas do not play a medical role in labor, they are free to devote their attention to comfort and support mom and help ensure her wishes are honored.

Many women don’t know that midwives and doctor's typically do not join women in labor until it is clear the baby will soon be born. A doula can assist you through early and active labor to offer helpful coping techniques and (along with your caregivers) help you decide when to go to the hospital or call you midwife to come attend your birth at home.

* Figures taken from 10 randomized trials by Klaus.

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