A Doula? What a doula is and why you need one!

Jessica Harvey
Mar 23, 2018
3 min read

Congratulations! You're expecting, whether it's your first pregnancy or more and you are so excited. You've done your research, you've packed your bag and you still feel like you're missing something. Try a doula!

Hey everyone, Jessica here. I am the owner of Bean to Babe Doula Services.

Today is all about what a doula is and why you want to hire a doula to support you and your family during pregnancy, birth and in the postpartum period.

Here we go!

What is a doula? A doula is a professional that has been trained in childbirth. A doula does not have medical training and is there as a support for you, your partner and your family. As a doula, we receive training in how to provide emotional, physical and informational support. This is included in prenatal meetings, support during labour and delivery and in postpartum visits. A doula is not your advocate and will not take away your voice but instead encourage you to use your own voice, help guide you through the birth that you planned and is there to help answer questions you may have regarding procedures and options during birth. We are your personal pregnancy and birth books, at the ready!

The next question is why choose a doula? If you already have a partner there, you may not feel like you need to have another person in the room. A doula can be a support person for your support person too! We can make sure that they are eating, drinking and even sleeping if it is a particularly long birth. We can step in and support when they need to step out. Prior to going into labour, we are there with prenatal meetings to go over your birth plan and discuss the options available for pain-relief/management. During delivery, we are there to provide pain-relief techniques, relaxation techniques, massage, acupressure and labouring positions. When using a doula, the birthing person is less likely to need pain-relief medication and are less likely to need a caesarean section. Length of labour has been shown to be reduced by 25%, and use of oxytocin reduced by 40%.

During a caesarean, a doula can provide continuous support and they can let the birthing person know what is going on throughout the procedure. They can also stay with the birthing person while the partner heads to the nursery with baby, if this is needed.

So that all sounds really great but why a postpartum doula? A postpartum doula is there for a wide range of supports. We have lists of other supports in the community. We can provide breastfeeding support and many doulas have a breastfeeding support class under their belts. Usually used during the first six weeks postpartum, the doula can help with questions about feeding and caring for the baby. They can help you with light cleaning, meal prep and watching the baby while the birther takes a break. They may even help with sibling support while you have your hands full with the new baby.

We are there to help you out in ways that you didn't recognize you would need and every way you want. Once you've decided that you would like to find a doula, make sure you choose one that you feel most comfortable with. Most doulas will not charge for an initial consultations. Take advantage of this interview and ask as many questions as you need to and make sure you've found yourself the right match!

Thank you so much for hanging out with me and learning about what a doula is and why you should choose one for your birth! Please feel free to LIKE my page, Bean to Babe Doula Services on Facebook. Make sure to check out my other posts about potential interview questions for your Doula and what to pack in your hospital bag!

Have a fantastic day!