So this past weekend I attended a doula workshop to get started on the process to becoming a DONA-certified doula. For those of you who don't know, a doula is an individual that helps a mother through the process of childbirth. They are available for prenatal support and information, as well as continuously throughout the entire labor, generally starting during active labor, unless the mother decides otherwise. They don't do anything medical, but they provide support in other ways, such as natural pain management through relaxation techniques, guided imagery, massage, and counterpressure. They also suggest different positions for laboring and pushing, and help support the mother's partner and family as well. They also provide postpartum and breastfeeding support. Generally they are sought out by women desiring a natural birth, but that's not a requirement. I think that every woman deserves a doula, no matter what her birth plan is.
The presence of a doula at a birth has been shown to shorten labors by 25%, reduce all interventions (including C-sections) by 40%, reduce the risk of postpartum depression and child abuse, increase mother's satisfaction with the birth, and increase breastfeeding success by 40%. Having a doula also helps empower women and make them feel like they had a say in how their labor happened, even if it didn't go as planned. I wish I would have had a doula for my labor, because I think it would have been a shorter, easier labor if I had, and it wouldn't have been so hard on my husband and mother. Sometimes having an impartial support person who has seen many labors is easier than just having people who love you, and have a hard time seeing you in pain.
Anyway, the workshop was amazing, and such a great way to spend a weekend! I got to be surrounded by women that love childbirth and pregnancy as much as I do. And here's my shameless plug, for anyone in the area: Peace Love Doula
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