TOP 8 REASONS TO HIRE A DOULA. 

 

1. Look at the Stats!

Studies show that when continuous labor support is provided by a doula;

• Labors are 25% shorter.

• Cesarean rates are reduced by 50%.

• Decrease in the need for oxytocin by 40%.

• People request 30% less pain medication and 60% fewer epidurals.

• 14% decrease in the risk of newborns being admitted to a special care nursery.

• 34% decrease in the risk of being dissatisfied with the birth experience1,2.

 

 

2.  Doulas are an asset be a asset to your partner.  Your partner is an essential support person for you to have by your side. However, your partner will need to eat and use the bathroom at times. Doulas and partners can work together to make up a labor support team. Your partner will appreciate an extra hand massaging you and assisting in a double hip squeeze.  They can do all the little annoying things like warm up a hot water bottle or get you some food so your partner can concentrate on you and comfort you in a way only a partner can.  They can suggest ways your partner can help with pain relief and remind them of things you talked about in your birth plan. 

 

3. Doulas are an asset to your midwife, nurse or doctor.  Many people assume your caregiver will have time to show you the best birth positions, massage your back and comfort you, but they already have a big job of making sur the laboring person and baby are physically healthy and often don't have time to do this "extra" stuff.  Most caregivers appreciate a doula because they recognize the benefits they give to families.  

 

4.  Ongoing reassurance, encouragement, and comfort. This is possibly the doula’s strongest tool of their trade: knowing what to say, how to say it, and empowering a laboring person. A  doula’s ongoing reassurance and encouragement brings more comfort to a laboring person than anything, and if for no other reason, this is why you should hire a doula. 

 

5. Photos!  A doula knows what is precious and what moments need to be captured. They will pick up one of your phones, a camera, or bring their own to ensure that the sweetest and most monumental moments are captured.

 

6.Your doula will be there.  No matter when or where you have your baby your doula will be there. Unlike a doctor who may or may not be on call or the rotating nurses that leave when their shift is over. 

 

7. Educational/Informational support.   Doulas assist you in making your birth plan with all of the necessary information; they explain integral parts of the experience to you and your birth partner, step by step. They thrive in helping you understand exactly what your body is doing, what is natural, what is not, and what your options are.  You can contact them anytime to ask questions in the weeks leading up to the birth. 

 

8.  Pain Management.   Doulas have a vast knowledge of how to manage pain and how to induce comfort for a laboring woman.  Women who use doulas ask for less pain medication because they feel less pain under a doulas care. 

 

You deserve a doula, your family deserves a doula!

 

 

1 Mothering the Mother, How a Doula Can Help You Have a Shorter, Easier and Healthier Birth. by Kennell, Klaus, and Kennell(1993)

2 Hodnett ED, Gates S, Hofmeyr G J, Sakala C, Weston J. Continuous support for women during childbirth [PDF]. Cochrane Database Syste Rev 2011, Issue2.