In the US, around 98% of births occur in the hospital. While there’s been an increase of parents hoping for less interventions, most births still occur within hospitals. As doulas, we know that environment can impact hormones and how labor unfolds. So, how can we help clients have a positive birth experience even in a hospital?
We can help them plan to soften the hospital environment. While a hospital can be cold and clinical, we can help them create a space that feels more like home. A space that feels softer. How? These tips can help:
Be Aware of The Lighting
As a doula, you know that hormones impact how labor unfolds, and environment can influence hormones. Oxytocin, the hormone responsible for labor contractions, works synergistically with melatonin.
As you might know, melatonin is involved with our sleep and is higher at night or in dark and quiet settings.
Helping families understand the impact of environment is an important part of prenatal preparation. You can help families plan to keep dim lights, use flameless candles, and request no overhead lighting except when necessary for medical care.
Some doulas will keep flameless candles and battery-operated fairy lights in their bags to help create a calmer environment in the hospital.
Keep an Eye on Temperature
Some hospital rooms allow patients to adjust the temperature. However, even in spaces which do not allow that, one can influence how they are feeling with some outside things.
In earlier labor and the postpartum period, the hospital room might feel cold and clinical. Warm blankets, fuzzy socks, a rice sock, and warm compresses can help.
During active labor, transition, and pushing, due to fluctuations in hormones and activity, the birthing person is likely to feel hot. A cool compress and even a battery operated “stroller” fan can be great. Many doulas will pack a portable stroller fan in their bags.
Be Intentional About Sound
People give birth best where they feel safe and with calm environments. Many laboring people also find they labor better when they can focus inward.
Chatter outside the room, machines, and conversations in the birthing space can be distracting. I often tell partners they can become “gatekeepers” of the space, reminding people who enter the room to match the sound and energy. If it is quiet, don’t strike up conversations.
Adding sound with intentional can also help. Encourage parents to make a playlist if they find music helpful. They can also use white noise type sounds, or environmental sounds like the ocean or nature sounds.
Parents should also be aware of and comfortable with vocalizing during birth. Many laboring people will make loud primal sounds. Ensuring the birthing person knows this beforehand and that they don’t need to fight it can help the birth be more positive.
Respect and Encourage Privacy
Most mammals do not give birth with an audience. Many mammals find a quiet, small space and birth alone. While humans tend to be more social creatures and may find comfort in having people around, there is still a need for privacy.
Keeping the birthing space free of an “audience” or people without a purpose can help labor progress. As a doula, there are times it can be helpful to give the couple space. Let them know you are taking a quick walk and give them time alone. You will develop intuition about when it is ideal to give them some space.
You can also talk with the couple about requesting space from any unnecessary providers being in the room outside of checking vital signs, active procedures, or when it is time to push.
Comfort and Basic Needs
When someone is giving birth, so much is happening it is easy to forget about simple measures which go a long way. Basic comfort and needs being met can create a more positive birth experience.
Uncomfortable hospital pillows? Bring a favorite pillow from home. Tend to run cold? Be sure to have a warm and comfy robe, fuzzy socks, etc. Be sure to educate parents about being mindful of what to bring to make the hospital feel homier.
Finally, encourage them to listen to their body. Meet basic needs for food, hydration, emptying the bladder, etc.
As a doula, you can help prepare families as well as bring items to help create a softer environment in the hospital. Not sure how to help families? Get started on your doula journey today and register for birth doula training!
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...