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| My big girl loving on Leslie's little girl. I think it's so beautiful that these young ladies will grow up learning to Trust Birth! |
In case you've missed it, our meetings have been moved to the third Thursday of the month, so as not to conflict with the Tarrant County Birth Network meetings. This month, our focus was on birth attendants. We touched a bit on anyone who can be a birth attendant - an OB or Midwife, a birth photographer, of course, your partner and family, and doulas. I went for a specific focus on doulas for the majority of the meeting. The following notes were mostly copy-pasted from various websites, which I will site at the ending of this post.
The word doula means "women's servant", or "one who serves women".
There are three kinds of doulas.
Antepartum Doulas provide help and support to a mom who has been put on bed rest or is experiencing a high risk-pregnancy.
Postpartum Doulas are there to support you in your first weeks of being a mom. They provide informational support about feeding and caring for the baby. They provide physical support by cleaning, cooking meals and filling in when mom needs a break, and they provide emotional support by encouraging a mom during those times when she feels overwhelmed.
Birth Doulas who provide support during birth, whether a mother wants a un-medicated birth, or is having a planned cesarean.
During delivery, doulas are in constant, close proximity to the mother at all times. They can provide comfort with pain relief techniques, such as breathing, relaxing, massage and laboring positions. Doulas also encourage participation from the partner and offer reassurance. A doula acts as an advocate for the mother, encouraging her in her desires for her birth. The goal of a doula is to help the mother have a positive and safe birth experience, whether the mother wants an un-medicated birth or is having a planned cesarean birth.
After the birth, many labor doulas will spend a short time (typically 2-3 hours) helping mothers begin the breastfeeding process and encouraging bonding between the new baby and family members.
A doula doesn't provide medical care, so she can completely focus on the emotional and physical support of the laboring woman.
Doulas encourage
fathers and birth partners to engage in the process with greater
confidence and effectiveness and relieves them of the pressure to
know and do everything.
If unforeseen
circumstances should arise, a birth doula remains calm, keeps you
informed on what is happening, and helps you adapt to changing
circumstances.
Studies have shown that women who birth with a doula have better overall birth outcomes.
Reduced the
overall cesarean rate by 50%
Reduced the
length of labor by 25%
Reduced
pitocin or oxytocin use by 40%
Reduced the
use of pain medication by 30%
Reduced
forceps deliveries by 40%
Reduced
requests for epidural pain medication by 60%
Reduced
incidences of maternal fever
Reduced the
number of days newborns spent in NICU (neo-natal infant care unit)
Reduced the
amount of septic workups performed on newborns
Resulted in
higher rates of breastfeeding
Resulted in
more positive maternal assessments of maternal confidence
Resulted in
more positive maternal assessments of maternal and newborn health
Resulted in
decreased rates of postpartum depression
I think those numbers really speak for themselves. Certainly as a VBAC mom myself, I would never attempt birth in a hospital without one, and I really think that if I had that support, I never would have had the C-section in the first place.
Many thanks to Rosemary from Sweetbirth Maternity Services, and Tiffany Fleming from Doulable who both spent some time chatting with me about what local doulas specifically do and charge. Some of our amazing mommas who came to the meeting also had wonderful input about birthing with doulas from their personal experiences.
References:
