Why Amy Schumer Is Thankful She Used A Birth Doula
If you follow celebrity news, it’s no surprise Amy Schumer is more than thankful her pregnancy is over. Schumer reportedly suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum throughout her pregnancy; meaning she had relentless nausea and vomiting necessitating hospitalization and IV treatment.
And while she’s more than relieved her pregnancy is over, she didn’t simply suffer through the birth process like some believe is the only option. Schumer, like many other celebrities, made use of a professional birth support known as a doula.
Schumer can even say she went the royal route, as Meghan Markel the Duchess of Sussex reportedly hired a doula to welcome her first born, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
ttps://www.instagram.com/p/BxVPcp1l9jd/
Why Having A Doula Was Completely Worth It
Schumer faced a horribly challenging pregnancy. For many women facing HG, giving birth can be extra hard as they’re already feeling defeated by pregnancy. Many wonder if they’re going to be defeated by birth too.
Rather than waiting to see, Schumer made an excellent choice to set herself up with amazing support. With doula Domino Kirke of Carriage House Birth, Schumer was able to go through her birth set up to have a positive birth experience after a harrowing pregnancy experience.
What’s most amazing about doulas, you don’t even need to understand exactly what they do to fully benefit from their care.
Schumer wrote, “…what do doulas do? I don’t totally know. But what she did was make me and Chris feel totally secure and supported throughout my pregnancy and the birth process.
“I really recommend getting one if you can. Doctor Brill and all the nurses and pediatricians at Lenox Hill and all the other hospitals I spent time in this year, thank you for everything. I did Pilates with strong women and went for walks. I threw up violently and felt sick mostly every day of my pregnancy. Hyperemesis is real and it’s awful. But f***, what they say is true. The second you give birth it’s gone.”
A doula is support. A doula brings security. A doula is there throughout your pregnancy, your birth and during the postpartum period. Schumer may have had an incredibly hard pregnancy, but she had the best support available.
The most amazing thing about doulas, whether you’re a royal, a celebrity or an every day mom-to-be, you receive the same professional and personalized support.
Why Are Doulas Recommended?
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently shared a Cochrane Review comprised of 26 randomized controls including more than 15,800 women.
The WHO reported, “The authors found that women who received continuous labour support were more likely to give birth vaginally, and had fewer caesarean, forceps or assisted vacuum births. In addition, women were less likely to use pain medications, were more likely to be satisfied with their birth experience and had shorter labours. It was also found that newborn babies were less likely to have low ‘Apgar’ scores – a test for the vital signs of health and well-being in infants. No harms of continuous support were identified.”
Whether Schumer utilized medicinal pain relief or not, for a woman who battled HG for nine months, the extra support to reduce the risk of interventions could have been vital in helping her have a healthy birth.
Some research indicated an increased risk of perinatal complications in women suffering from HG, especially for those who suffer beyond the second trimester.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) released Approaches to Limit Intervention During Labor and Birth, a committee opinion. They wrote, “Evidence suggests that, in addition to regular nursing care, continuous one-to-one emotional support provided by support personnel, such as a doula, is associated with improved outcomes for women in labor.”
While anyone can hire a doula, access can vary in different communities. As professional support for births, most doulas do have a fee as it is their profession and livelihood. Continuous labor support is proven to improve birth outcomes, so slowly we’re seeing more initiatives to make doulas available to more women.
Should I Hire A Doula?
There are few times in most of our lives where we can say we hired or experienced something like a royal or a celebrity. By hiring a doula, you could say you did both.
Of course, for most birthing mothers, that’s the furthest thing from their minds. Most birthing mothers hope for a healthy birth and a positive experience along the way. While a doula can’t guarantee anything, evidence truly shows they improve birth outcomes.
Women who give birth with the non-medical support of a doula (alongside their medical care providers) can experience:
- A reduced likelihood of a c-section birth or assisted birth (forceps or vacuum)
- A reduced likelihood of using medicinal pain relief such as an epidural
- Reporting a positive birth experience, even when medical intervention is chosen or necessary
- A shorter duration of labor
- Increased breastfeeding success
Be sure to read Should I Hire A Birth Doula? Evidence, ACOG, And Celebrities Say, ‘Yes!’ to learn more.
And to Amy Schumer, happy first Mother’s Day warrior mom!
(embed – https://www.instagram.com/p/BxVPcp1l9jd/ )
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...