Everyone knows the answer to what is a doula, but not everyone understands what exactly it is that they do. While a doula is there to provide support to the mother, they are also there to ensure that labor is safe, a little easier and sometimes faster. This can be attributed to the continual emotional, physical and informational support that they provide during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.
So, what exactly does that mean in terms of what the doula can do? Below is a list of things that doulas can do to provide support for expectant mothers.
- Answer any questions you might have
- Provide different solutions or positions that can help you to find a comfortable position to try and get some sleep toward the end of pregnancy
- Follows up after your doctor or midwife appointments, and discusses any new information and how it plays into your labor plan
- Shares referrals on the best prenatal yoga classes, birth classes and other professional services
- Talks to you when your contractions start to help you determine if labor is starting or if you are experience Braxton-Hicks contractions
- Suggests different ideas throughout labor to help your labor progress and you to be the most comfortable you possibly can
- Keeps the environment and everyone around you calm
- Makes sure that lights are turned down, or off, door is shut and curtains are pulled every time someone comes in or out of your room
- Rubs your back during labor to help you relax
- Reminds you of your preferences for labor when labor starts to get extra challenging
- Supports you in getting what you need
- Feeds you ice chips between pushes, or during recovery following a cesarean birth
- Provides friends and family members in the waiting room updates on how things are progressing
- Helps you to get your baby to latch on in the first hour, and learn how to nurse
- Comes to your house after giving birth to check up and see how your birth experience was
While this is not a complete list of all the things that a doula does, it does help to better answer the question as to what is a doula! To learn more about what doulas do and how they can help you to have a pleasant birthing experience, visit International Doula Institute today!
Author: Aliza Juliette Bancoff
Aliza Juliette Bancoff is a well-known doula and doula trainer who has been providing doula services to families for over a decade. She is the founder of Main Line Doulas, a doula group providing doula support in the great Philadelphia area for the last decade, the International Doula Institute, which provides online doula training and lactation training and certification programs and the International Breastfeeding Institute which provides lactation training and certification. She is the co-founder of United Birth, a company devoted to increasing access to doulas across the country to make the perinatal time safer both physically and emotionally. “Every birthing person deserves access to quality doula support. And we are working to make that a reality across the country. The work we are doing to get doulas to every birthing person will decrease the black infant and maternal mortality rate significantly by 2030.” Says Bancoff. Aliza is known for her compassionate and empowering approach to doula work, and she has been featured in numerous media outlets, including United Nations Maternal Health Report, Parent Magazine, CafeMom, theBump and many more. Aliza's journey into doula work began when she gave birth to her first child and felt a strong calling...