Yes, it’s true. Doctors love doulas! Earning your doula certification doesn’t just help mothers and babies – doctors can benefit from your services, too.
You may not realize it, but doctors have a lot to gain when a laboring mother uses a doula. Although there seems to be a misconception that having your doula certification means you should butt heads with doctors, I can’t stress enough how much of a misnomer this is. This actually bears repeating, doulas who have gone through the IDI doula certification program are a doctors ally as well as a moms ally. Doctors and doulas are a team. They work together to make sure mothers have safe, and emotionally satisfying births.
Here are five reasons why doctors love doulas.
Shorter Births
Did you know that when you have your doula certification you can help reduce the length of labor by 25%? Of course, the benefits of this to the laboring woman are obvious. For a doctor, spending less time with one patient frees up time for other patients, time to do necessary paperwork, or time with their own families.
Higher Apgar Scores
To determine if a newborn will require medical assistance, they are given a simple assessment, or Apgar score. Babies are scored at one and five minutes after birth. It’s been shown that babies have higher five-minute scores when a doula is present for the birth. Simply put, fewer medical interventions mean that the doctor’s job is finished more quickly.
Less Need for NICU Visits
In addition to higher Apgar scores, newborns are 14% less likely to need NICU care when there is a doula assisting with the birth. Less need for interventions leads to less work and less stress for doctors. Plus, there’s the satisfaction of knowing that the baby they delivered is healthy.
Lower Cesarean Section Rates
When you have your doula certification, you can help reduce a woman’s chances of having a cesarean section by 28%. When a baby is born vaginally, doctors don’t need to spend any time in surgery. They can be assured that their patients will have an easier recovery. Even the ACOG put out a recommendation for OBGYN’s to utilize the services of doulas to help lower the United States Primary Cesarean rate. If a cesarean does become necessary, the doctor has peace of mind knowing that the doula will be a calming presence for the mother.
Higher Press Ganey Score
The mothers you work with when you earn your doula certification will be more likely to report having a higher satisfaction with their birth. This sense of satisfaction will color their overall experience; likely, they’ll feel satisfied with everyone who was at the birth. For doctors, this means the mothers they serve are apt to give them a higher satisfaction rating, leading to a better Press Ganey score.
As you can see, your doula certification will benefit more people than you may think.
If you’re ready to become a doula, the International Doula Institute is here to help! Contact us today and you’ll soon see first-hand what a great team doctors and doulas make.
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...