What is a birth doula?
The word, doula, is a Greek word that means, "woman's servant" or "handmaiden." For as long as there have been babies, women have been giving birth surrounded by women who have given birth and are knowledgeable about pregnancy and childbirth. They were elders, aunts, cousins, mothers, sisters and the like. In today's birthing environment, the doula is a women who possesses a large amount of knowledge about labor and birth and supports the laboring woman and her partner as they transition through the final stages of pregnancy and the birth process into parenthood.
A birth doula is someone who provides emotional, physical and informational support to a woman and her family before, during, and after childbirth. She is available to answer questions, find needed resources, provide encouragement and to help them prepare for the birth. At the birth, she is with her clients from the time she is requested until several hours postpartum. The doula provides pain management techniques, a knowledgeable viewpoint, and helps her clients better communicate with the hospital staff. She can also provide breastfeeding support which can be critical in the first hours after birth to ensure a positive breastfeeding relationship between mom and baby.
