A doula...
- Is a trained labor support person who provides emotional, informational and physical support, and an objective viewpoint to a laboring woman and her partner in a hospital, birth center or home birth setting
- Recognizes birth as a key life experience that the mother will always remember
- Understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor
- Assists the woman and her partner in preparing for and carrying out their birth plans
- Stays by the side of the laboring woman throughout the entire labor
- Facilitates communication between the laboring woman, her partner and the clinical caregivers
- Perceives her role as one who nurtures and protects the woman's memory of her birth experience
Women supported by a birth doula have been shown to have...
- 50% reduction in cesarean rate*
- 25% shorter labor*
- 60% reduction in epidural requests*
- 30% reduction in analgesia use*
- 40% reduction in forceps delivery*
- 40% reduction in Pitocin use*
- Decreased likelihood of prolonged infant hospitalization*
- Decreased likelihood of maternal fever*
- Increased likelihood of successful breastfeeding**
- Improved maternal-infant interaction**
- Decrease in postpartum depression, anxiety and increase in self-esteem**
*Kennel, J, Klaus, M, McGrath, S, Robertson, S, Hinkley, C. 1991. Continuous emotional support during labor in a US hospital. Journal of American Medical Association 265(17): 2197-2201.
**Hormeyr, G, Nikodem, V, Wolmen, W. 1991. Companionship to modify the clinical birth environment: Effects on progress and perceptions of labor and breastfeeding. British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 98; 756-764.
**Hormeyr, G, Nikodem, V, Wolmen, W. 1991. Companionship to modify the clinical birth environment: Effects on progress and perceptions of labor and breastfeeding. British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 98; 756-764.