A Doula is a Woman experienced in childbirth who provides advice, information, emotional support, and physical comfort to a mother before, during and just after childbirth. A Doula is not a Midwife or Doctor.
- 50% reduction in the cesarean rate
- 25% shorter labor
- 60% reduction in epidural requests
- 40% reduction in oxytocin use
- 30% reduction in analgesia use
- 40% reduction in forceps delivery
My journey to become a doula began with the birth of my first child. She was born in March of 2007 at a hospital here in Omaha. She was delivered by an obstetrician that I built a very good rapport with. My birth was wonderful. I was happy with the care that I was receiving from both the nurse and from my doctor when she was in the room.
After my daughter's birth I started talking to other moms about their birth experiences. I got into a conversation with one mom that had hired a birth doula to attend her birth along with her husband. It was her third child and the birth was completely different than her first two. It was then that I found out that I was not as well researched as I had thought I was.
WHAT...? You mean I didn't have to be on my back to give birth; that it's actually better to be on your hands and knees. I didn't have to have an epidural? I could have been in the bathtub during the second stage contractions? You mean I didn't have to push when I was told to? This new information was a huge breakthrough for me.
And so, one of my main goals as a birth doula is to make sure that the moms know what all of their options are before the day their little bundle arrives.