About Doulas

What Is A Doula?

"If a doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use it."

~Dr. John Kennel, Perinatologist and founding member of DONA (Doulas of North America)

The word “doula” is of Greek origin, meaning a woman who serves women. The word has come to refer to “a woman experienced in childbirth who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the mother before, during, and just after childbirth.” A doula also provides support and suggestions for partners that can enhance their experiences of birth.

Benefits of hiring a doula include:

50% reduction in cesarean section rates

25% shorter labor

40% reduction in the use of Pitocin

40% reduction in foceps deliveries

60% reduction in requests for pain medication

Statistics are excerpted from the book, Mothering the Mother; Klaus, Kennel & Klaus (1993).

A Doula…

* Recognizes birth as a key life experience that the mother will remember all her life…

* Understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor…

* Assists the woman and her partner in preparing for and carrying out their plans for the birth…

* Stays by the side of the laboring woman throughout the entire labor…

* Provides emotional support, physical comfort measures, an objective viewpoint and assistance to the woman in getting the information she needs to make good decisions…

* Facilitates communication between the laboring woman, her partner and clinical care providers…

* Perceives her role as one who nurtures and protects the woman's memory of her birth experience.

-Taken from DONA's (Doulas of North America) website, www.dona.org.