What is a Doula?
A doula supports mothers and their families in the childbearing months. Rooted Beginnings attends births at home, birth centers and hospitals in the metro east area. Our goal is to help you have the birth you want—be it medicated or not, in a tub or on a bed, with doctors or midwives. We bring our knowledge of the physical and emotional stages of labor and offer reassurance and suggestions as labor progresses.
Women successfully cope with labor in a variety of ways, and we will support you in finding the method that works best for you in each moment. Extensive research demonstrates that doula-attended births have safer, more satisfactory outcomes as defined by mothers and their families. A Quick Overview of the difference a birth doula can make...
50% reduction in the cesarean rate 25% shorter labor 60% reduction in epidural requests 40% reduction in oxytocin use 30% reduction in analgesia use 40% reduction in forceps delivery Other benefits include:
Studies have found that birth companions, of which doulas are one type, offer numerous benefits both to the mother and child. Women with support have a reduction in the duration of labor, less use of pain relief medications, lower rates of operative vaginal delivery, and in many studies a reduction in caesarian deliveries. Newborns in supported births have lower rates of fetal distress and fewer are admitted to neonatal intensive care units. In addition, one study found that 6 weeks after delivery, a greater proportion of doula-supported women, compared to a control group, were breastfeeding, and these women reported greater self-esteem, less depression, and a higher regard for their babies and their ability to care for them.[1][2] These results are similar to findings that support from a female relative during childbirth has similar effects.[3]
One study found doula support without childbirth classes to be more helpful than childbirth classes alone, as measured by levels of emotional distress and self-esteem evaluated at an interview 4 months after birth. In particular, it was noted that women in the doula-supported group reported their infants as less fussy than the group attending childbirth class without any doula support.[4] |
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[1] M.H. Klaus, J.H. Kennell, "The doula: an essential ingredient of childbirth rediscovered." Acta Paediatr. 1997 Oct;86(10):1034-6.
[2] P. Keenan, "Benefits of massage therapy and use of a doula during labor and childbirth." Altern Ther Health Med. 2000 Jan;6(1):66-74.
[3] Madi, Banyana Cecilia; Sandall, Jane; Bennett, Ruth; MacLeod, Christina, "Effects of Female Relative Support in Labor: A Randomized Controlled Trial." Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey. 54(10):627-628, October 1999.
[4] Manning-Orenstein, Grace, "A birth intervention: the thereapeutic effects of doula support versus Lamaze preparation on first-time mothers' working models of caregiving." Alternative Therapies, July 1998, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 73-81.