What is a Doula?
A Labor Support Person (often called a doula):
- Recognizes birth as a key life experience and understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor;
- Assists a pregnant woman in preparing for and carrying out her plans for birth;
- Stays by the side of the woman throughout labor - no change of shift
- Provides emotional support, practical comfort measures, an objective viewpoint, and information to aid decision-making;
- Acts as a liaison between the laboring woman, her partner, and clinical care providers;
- Perceives her role as nurturing and protecting the woman's memory of the birth;
- Does not replace the woman's partner or clinical care providers.
Recent studies indicate better outcomes for babies and their mothers: shorter, more comfortable labors; fewer complications; and greater maternal satisfaction when a labor support person present. A doula's nurturing patience, expertise, and commitment to childbearing women and their partners can help women to have safe and satisfying birth experience. Doulas fill a void that has existed for generations in our maternity care system.
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