After a LONG break, I am back to the blog! I’m hoping I can stay updated, and eventually get all the posts written to fill in the gap between September and now. There have been some big changes and life, in general has been super stressful since the end of September. We will pull through, it will just be a challenge for a while.
On the plus side, I have decided to become a doula! What’s a doula you ask? In short, it’s a woman (or man sometimes) who attends a birth to offer support and comfort to the laboring woman. The LONG definition is:
Doula:
The word ‘doula’ (pronounced ‘doo-la’) is a Greek word meaning ‘woman servant or caregiver’. More recently, it refers to someone who offers emotional and physical support to a woman and her partner before, during and after childbirth. A doula (also known as a birth attendant) believes in ‘mothering the mother’, enabling a woman to have the most satisfying experience that she can, from pregnancy and into motherhood. This type of support allows the whole family to relax and enjoy the experience too.
Studies (and reviews of the studies) consistently demonstrate very impressive benefits for the mother, father and baby, including:
50% fewer caesarean sections
Reduction in the use of forceps vacuum by 40%
60% fewer requests for epidurals
40% reduction in the use of synthetic oxytocin for inductions or augmentations
30% reduction in use of pain medication
25% reduction in labor length
Increased rates of breastfeeding at 6 weeks post-partum (51% vs 29%)
Higher self-esteem (74% vs 59%), less anxiety (28% vs 40%) and less depression (10% vs 23%) at 6 weeks post-partum
Doulas are trained and experienced in childbirth and are usually mothers themselves. They have a good knowledge and awareness of female physiology, but a doula does not support the mother in a medical role – that is the job of the midwife or doctor. She works on keeping birth normal and empowering, and should the birth become complicated and require medical assistance, a doula will still remain by your side and help in any way she can. She will not make the decisions for those she supports, but she assists them through the decision making process and provides balanced information so the couple can make their own choices.
A doula works in birth centers, private and public hospitals and at home birth in conjunction with midwives – but never as the sole care giver at birth. Birthing without a midwife or doctor present is known as free-birthing or unassisted birth.
I finished my intensive training course just a month ago, and am excited to start attending births! My biggest fear is that I will get to a birth and be in over my head and not be able to help the birthing mom. Thankfully, I have a great group of doula friends on Facebook that I can bounce ideas off, and gain knowledge from. Once my website is up I will have a blog space there specifically for birthy stuff, but for now, it will be here!
