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.

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Ok here’s my post baby annoying post and my takeaway from pregnancy. Women are the shit. Men are cool and whatever but women are fucking warriors and capable of anything. I was lucky enough to get to have a doula. Her name @domino_kirke @carriagehousebirth 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 fuck, what they say is true. The second you give birth it’s gone. @hgmoms has the best research I found on the condition The only thing that helped me with my nausea was products from @thelordjones I learned that globally 1 in 5 births take place without the assistance of a skilled birth attendant. @everymomcounts is a great place to donate $250 equips a midwife with a bag of medical equipment needed to provide care to hundreds of women and babies in Guatemala. All my friends. Friends I’ve had for 30 years or people who encouraged me to “keep going” or telling me “it will be worth it”. Thank you. Every woman I encountered is so willing to help and advise you and I felt all their strength. And you were right. Thank you ladies from my family. Chris, Gene and of course Tatiana #titsleaking #wearingadiaper

A post shared by @ amyschumer on May 11, 2019 at 11:13am PDT

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/ )

Doulas, ACOG Has A ‘Fourth Trimester’ Postpartum Toolkit – What You Need To Know About It

Are you a birth doula wondering how to best support your clients after birth?

Are you a postpartum doula looking for evidence-based information to share about your work?

While most doulas are aware of the importance of the postpartum period, the general public, potential clients and even some healthcare providers aren’t always aware of the importance of the ‘fourth trimester’.

Many expectant parents prepare for birth, register for the latest baby gear and design a gorgeous nursery without ever being aware of how important it is to have postpartum care and support.

Why? As a culture, we fail to recognize this important time for a mother and her baby.

ACOG’s Postpartum Toolkit

Fortunately, ACOG President, Haywood L. Brown, MD, worked with colleagues to create the ACOG Postpartum Toolkit to help providers better support their new mothers.

In the toolkit’s introduction, Brown wrote, “The weeks after birth are a critical period for a woman and her infant, setting the stage for long-term health and well-being. There is a need to educate health care providers and patients on the importance of attending postpartum visits and leveraging postpartum care as a doorway to future health. During my presidential term, I convened a task force with the goal of redefining the concept of the postpartum visit by reevaluating the timing and content of postpartum care.”

As a doula, you’re not responsible for the clinical aspects related to postpartum recovery or their postpartum follow-up visit. However, you can play a vital role in helping prepare parents for the reality of the postpartum period and encourage them to attend all follow-up visits.

Shockingly, upwards of 40% of women don’t attend their postpartum visit. Yet nearly 70% of women report at least one physical problem in the 12 months following birth. This doesn’t even account for around 16% of women who are diagnosed with postpartum depression (PPD).

What does this mean for doulas? Your support and education can be vital for women during the ‘fourth trimester’. Helping women understand the importance of follow up visits with their midwife or doctor can help them address any physical complications as soon as possible.

There’s also a lot to be said for a new mother realizing she isn’t alone in her recovery. It’s normal to need weeks or even months to physically recover from pregnancy and birth. Reminding a mother that her postpartum recovery is recognized by ACOG can reassure her that her healing is important.

What Do Doulas Need To Know About The Postpartum Period?

Whether you’re a birth doula or a postpartum doula, understanding the months immediately following birth is vital to helping your clients adjust to life after baby.

ACOG’s toolkit covers several topics, including these which are important for doulas to know:

• Postpartum Complications
• Reproductive Life Planning, Contraception, and Sexual Health
• Support Team for New Mothers
• Newborn Care
• Breastfeeding
• Postpartum Depression
• Intimate Partner Violence
• Long-Term Follow-up from Pregnancy Complications

As a birth doula, the topics above can be used during prenatal education and postpartum support. While doulas aren’t clinical providers, we can help point clients to evidenced-based information and help them be aware of topics to discuss with their midwife or doctor.

Being aware of postpartum complications can help doulas educate their clients about typical healing. When a new mother is aware of what is typical as well as what might be concerning, she might be able to reach out to her provider as soon as she sees red flags, rather than waiting until something becomes extremely concerning.

As a postpartum doula, it’s helpful to be aware of evidenced-based newborn care, breastfeeding, perinatal mood disorders and more. Before services start, you can help parents understand what to expect during the postpartum period and help support them.

If more families are aware of the potential physical complications in the postpartum period and the risk of PPD, they may be more likely to have a postpartum plan in place, including hiring a professional postpartum doula for support.

By having a postpartum plan in place, new families can get more adequate rest and time to heal. Should complications arise, they already have support in place to work through the challenges.

What Does ACOG Say About Breastfeeding And Newborn Care?

As doulas, preparing and supporting parents for breastfeeding and newborn care is an important part of our career. While ACOG presents a lot of evidenced-based information regarding these topics, this toolkit provides more information about each of these topics in easy to understand printouts.

While these are geared towards OB/GYN providers, the information can be helpful as a doula.

Their breastfeeding printout says:

• “Mounting evidence supports the substantial benefits of breastfeeding for women and their infants. Breastfeeding rates in the United States continue to increase as 81% of infants born after 2013 started to breastfeed and more than one half were breastfed at 6 months.”
• “Adequate evidence indicates that interventions to support breastfeeding increase the duration and rates of breastfeeding, including exclusive breastfeeding.” – doulas can provide breastfeeding support, our role is important!
• “…women should be provided with contact information for community-based lactation support for follow-up and telephone support information, if available.” – doulas should be able to provide community-based support and maintain a resource list for their clients

You can read the printout in its entirety by clicking here.

Their Newborn Care printout can be accessed by clicking here and provides a number of resources geared towards parents.

Why Is The ACOG Postpartum Toolkit Important?

Recognizing the importance of the postpartum period is vital in reducing postpartum complications, perinatal mood disorders and helping parents adjust to life with a new addition.

The US has some of the least postpartum support resources and professional follow up among developed countries. Our women return to work sooner after a period of less support, and it’s no wonder so many women are struggling.

This toolkit is designed to help ob/gyn providers better educate and support their patients. It also serves as a reminder to new mothers that their recovery and health matters.

As doulas, this information can help you educate and support your clients. It also serves as evidence of the importance of doula care in supporting new families.

How Can I Learn More About Supporting My Clients?

Are you looking to learn more about supporting your clients?

Be sure to check out the doula and breastfeeding counselor courses available through the International Doula Institute.