The science of support: why you should hire a doula

First and foremost, let’s address the elephant in the room- what is a doula? I get this question almost every time that I tell people what I do for a living. In fact I’m pleasantly surprised when someone tells me that they know what a doula does or have used a doula themselves. A doula is a non-medical birth professional who supports birthing people throughout pregnancy, labor, and the immediate postpartum period informationally, emotionally, physically, and sometimes spiritually. Historically, this role has been filled by experienced women within a community who have gained plenty of knowledge about childbirth from having their own children or constantly being around other women having children(think your favorite aunt with 3 kids that attended all of her sisters and cousins birth too), but as the role of community declines more and more, we have had to be more intentional about continuing to fill this important role because it truly does take a village.

So why should you hire a doula? There is scientific evidence to how doulas can positively impact birth outcomes and there are anecdotal reasons for how continuous support from a doula can positively impact the well-being of the birthing person and their family. I will discuss both here.

Let’s start first with the scientific evidence. Doulas provide continuous knowledgable support about how to navigate the ebbs and flows of birth and the medical approach to birth that often occurs in the hospital setting which many people coin the cascade of interventions. Doulas ensure you make informed decisions about your birth beforehand and in the moment when things can be made to seem much more hectic than they actually are. Trust me when I say that if there’s a true emergency you will know because you will be flooded with staff from every related department compared to a slower trickle of these same relevant staff into the room. Doula assisted birthing people have been shown to less likely have a low birth weight baby with some studies recording that this was 4 times less likely for those who chose to have doula support(Gruber, Kenneth J et al.) Doula support has been shown to correlate with a decrease in c-section rates, epidural use, and an increase in breastfeeding rates, according to Sobczak, Alexandria et al. and other studies. This can likely be attributed to the fact that doulas should be providing evidence based information surrounding pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period including non-medical alternatives to pain management and coping, as well as, less invasive alternatives to an epidural such as nitrous oxide aka laughing gas. Doulas do not replace medical care, but they can help empower expecting mothers and birthing people with the necessary tools to birth the way they want to birth- medicated or unmedicated.

Anecdotally, doulas continuous support have filled in unexpected gaps that many families did not expect and allowed for partners and family members to rest without guilt of the birthing person feeling isolated and lonely in their labor experience. I have stood between my clients and their pushy mothers and mother in laws who feel they know best because of their own experiences. I have arranged for postpartum care once friends and family stopped providing meals and help cleaning sometimes even doing it myself. I have prayed with my clients who ended up having no one who could drop everything to attend the birth with them as expected. I have even babysat one of my doula babies last minute when a client needed to go to orientation for school and pick up her partner from the airport right after. All of these things are because our role is to foster community and support to a group of vulnerable people that are easily forgotten once the novelty of a newborn has worn off. I can’t force anyone to hire a doula, but what I can say is that every single person I have talked to that has had one says that they would never want to give birth without one again or that they couldn’t have made it through their first pregnancy without one because of how uneducated and unprepared they were. So I encourage you to make the decision for yourself on if you should hire a doula and feel free to reach out to me with any questions you have, and I will point you in the right direction for the appropriate resources.

Sources:

Gruber, Kenneth J et al. “Impact of doulas on healthy birth outcomes.” The Journal of perinatal education vol. 22,1 (2013): 49-58. doi:10.1891/1058-1243.22.1.49

Sobczak, Alexandria et al. “The Effect of Doulas on Maternal and Birth Outcomes: A Scoping Review.” Cureus vol. 15,5 e39451. 24 May. 2023, doi:10.7759/cureus.39451