Doula is a Greek word meaning "servant." It has presently become a term for those who support women and their families in the birth and postpartum period. Doulas love birth and babies and honor this time as an important rite of passage in a family's life.

Birth doulas are trained and experienced in childbirth, although they may or may not have given birth themselves. The doula's role is to provide physical, emotional, and informational support to women and their partners during labor and birth. The doula offers help and advice on comfort measures such as breathing, relaxation, movement and positioning. She also assists families to gather information about the course of their labor and their options. Perhaps the most crucial role of the doula is providing continuous emotional reassurance and comfort. Doulas specialize in non-medical skills and do not perform clinical tasks. Most importantly, doulas do not make decisions for their clients; they do not project their own values and goals onto the laboring woman. The doula's goal is to help the family have a safe and satisfying childbirth as the laboring couple defines it.

Postpartum Doulas are trained in postpartum adjustment, newborn characteristics, care, feeding, and development, and the promotion of parent-infant bonding. They are experienced in supporting families through their postpartum experience. Coming into the home during the fourth trimester following birth, the doula's role is to provide education, non-judgmental support, and companionship, and to assist with newborn care and family adjustment, meal preparation, sibling care and light household tasks. Postpartum doulas offer evidence-based information on infant feeding, emotional and physical recovery from childbirth, infant soothing and coping skills for new parents and can make appropriate referrals when necessary. By dedicating herself to the family in this way, the doula validates and enhances the parents' intuitive ability to nurture and encourages them to develop and implement their own parenting style.

Doula Services: An Introduction Video

Studies confirm the presence of a doula resulted in:

• 50% fewer cesarean deliveries
• 25% decrease in length of labor
• 30% decrease in the use of pain medication and forceps
• 60% decrease in the request for epidurals
• Increase in confidence of the father
• Increased success in breastfeeding
• Greater maternal satisfaction