What is this doula thing that so many pregnant women speak of?
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’.
She enables a woman and her partner to have the most satisfying birth experience possible, from pregnancy and into motherhood. This type of support allows the whole family to relax and enjoy the experience too.
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Doula Services Available
What Does A Doula Do? -
A doula may provide some or all of the following services, dependent on her training and skills. Often doulas are also qualified in other therapies too, so it always helps to ask!
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Birth education and preparation
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Birth planning (including creating a written birth plan/birth preferences document)
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De-briefing previous births
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Massage and other comfort measures
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Optimal fetal positioning Suggest positions and changes to help ease pain and facilitate a smoother, more effective labor
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Provide reassurance and encouragement
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Talking through emotional blockages which may come up during pregnancy and in labor
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Keep your ‘environment’ going – aromatherapy, music, candles etc
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Assisting you with negotiation of your preferences
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Photography and/or video of the birth itself, as well as those precious first moments as a family
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So much more!
One of the the biggest bonuses of hiring a doula is that fact that she is a professional birth support person.