BENEFITS:

WHAT'S A DOULA?
A doula provides professional, non-medical, emotional, physical and informational support to women and their supporters before, during and after childbirth.  

Labor doulas support women during the process of labor and birth, but their services often include prenatal preparation for birth as well as some postpartum support.  Antepartum and postpartum doulas support women on prenatal bedrest and during the postpartum period.

Doulas do not advise on medical matters or perform clinical tasks like vaginal exams, fetal heart rate monitoring or measurements of blood pressure or temperature; these tasks are generally done by doctors, midwives and nurses.  

Instead, doulas focus on fostering as much mental calmness, emotional confidence and physical comfort as is possible throughout the process of birth, whatever the mother's birth preferences are and however the birth experience unfolds.
RESEARCH SHOWS:
Having a labor doula can:
  • Reduce the need for Pitocin by 40%.
  • Reduce the need for pain medicines by 30%.
  • Reduce the requests for epidurals by 60%.
  • Reduce the need for forceps by 30%.
  • Reduce the need for cesarean birth by 50%.
  • Reduce the length of labor by 25%.
Women who work with a labor doula report:
  • Greater satisfaction in their birth experience.
  • Greater satisfaction with their partner.
  • More positive perception of their baby.
  • More successful breastfeeding.
  • More maternal-infant interaction.
  • Less postpartum depression and low self-esteem.
More information regarding these statistics and the benefits of hiring a doula can be found in:
The Doula Book: How a Trained Labor Companion Can Help You Have a Shorter, Easier and Healthier Birth by Marshall Klaus, John Kennell and Phyllis Klaus and on the DONA International website.
IN ADDITION, A LABOR DOULA GIVES YOU:
  • A KNOWLEDGEABLE COMPANION who is happy to provide answers to your questions as you sort through the myriad of maternity care choices and traverse the new frontier of your unique journey during pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period.
  • PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE that is unhindered by third party policies or interests and thus can truly prioritize your desires and welfare.
  • CONTINUOUS, PERSONAL LABOR SUPPORT from someone you chose and know, throughout the whole process of your labor, birth and initial postpartum period, helping you feel safe, maximizing your relaxation, and strengthening your trust and faith in yourself, your baby and the process.