What is a doula anyway?
Isn’t a doula just something new the middle-class have fabricated to justify throwing more cash down the baby rabbit hole? Or just for bare-foot hippies who have their heart set on giving birth in a field? Or something you can just ask your Aunt Margery to do?
Nope, nope and nope (well you could ask Aunt Margery, but are you totally sure she’s not going to flake? No offence Aunt Margery…).
Give the word ‘doula’ a quick Google and you’ll see that it actually means a person who is trained to provide support to pregnant people and their families during pregnancy, childbirth and the period of time following birth (Collins English Dictionary, 2020), and that the concept was actually around well before the invention of the baby shower and over-priced gadgets.
So what does a doula actually do? In short, whatever you need them to do. Your doula will be there to act as your cheerleader, your advocate, your confidante and support. They’re there to provide you with emotional and physical support and to be your (sometimes only) continuity of care - that’s when you see and work with the same professional throughout your pregnancy. Giving birth can be one of the most vulnerable experiences you’ll ever have (in a wonderful way!), so having someone right there by your side who you trust can make a huge difference to how you feel about your experience.
Isn’t that what your birth partner is there to do? Yes, you’re absolutely right but there are a couple of things to consider here. To start with, some don’t have a partner to ask, who they can rely on or who is available. For those who do have their partner by their side, hiring a doula frees them up to fully focus on their joint experience, leaving their doula to take care of all of their other emotion, mental and physical (non-medical) needs.
Now this is the really important part. A doula is there to support your pregnancy, birth and postnatal choices. It’s their job to support you to have the experience that you want and to advocate for the things that are important to you. No matter what those choices are. They’re definitely not there to encourage you to make specific choices or to try to create a birth experience for you that is anything other than the one you want. Your doula is 100% on your team.
Doesn’t that all sound just peachy? I know, I know, that’s all well and good but show me some hard facts.
It’s time to let the stats do the talking. Hiring a doula can mean a…
39% decrease in the risk of Caesarean
15% increase in the likelihood of a spontaneous vaginal birth
31% decrease in the risk of being dissatisfied with your birth experience (Evidence Based Birth, 2019)
It’s pretty logical really - the more relaxed and safe you feel, the better your chances of having an efficient and comfortable birth experience (I talk about this loads with my Hypnobirthing clients). Having continuous support right there by your side can be one of the most powerful ways of helping you to let go and allow your body do its thing and birth your baby.
So there you have it. The reasons to hire a doula in a nutshell. I’m a super proud Badass Doula in training, so if you have any questions please just send me a message. I don’t know if you can tell but I love chatting about this stuff! ;)