Doulas are labor support professionals experienced in childbirth who provide continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the laboring woman before, during, and just after childbirth. Doulas assist women giving birth in hospitals, birth centers, and home. Doulas are not a regulated or licensed profession. However, doulas can be certified, and I recommend hiring a PALS Certified Doula for your upcoming birth.

benefits of a doula

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 cesarean 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.