5 Things I Wish People Knew About Doulas
I feel that the idea of a doula is misunderstood in so many ways. In fact, I even named my business The “Modern” Doula because I felt that we needed to modernise the type of care women and their partner’s receive in birth, as we now birth in systemic places like hospitals, instead of the home where traditionally, circles of women and birth keepers would be present.
Perhaps I’m too far ahead of myself though because, let’s be honest, most people don’t even know what a doula is. If i could direct those people here, I would. In the meantime, here are 5 things I wish more people knew about doulas.
1.Doulas are non-medical pain relief.
Yes it is true. Doulas in themselves are a form of pain relief as we provide comfort, support, reassurance and practical hands-on techniques to reduce labour pain. Even just having a doula in the room can relieve feelings of pain because we are the gatekeepers of the space and promote a safe environment for the mother to express the powerful sensations of birth however she sees fit. Dr Kennell (a paediatrician) famously stated that “if a doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use it”. If you’re working toward having a physiological birth, a doula is your secret weapon. Check out all the stats on doulas here.
2. Doulas don’t replace your partner/midwife/OB
Doulas have a very important role on the birth team as they often act as a conduit between the medical team and your emotional support team. A doula is not (usually) medically trained, but often has a lot of experience in the hospital system and understands the risks and benefits of common medical interventions and has experience supporting women in the system. A doula will never be able to replace the deep emotional connection you have with your partner, and will not be able to perform any clinical care like your midwife or OB, so they play a perfect “in-between” role. This means a doula can support you physically with tools like massage, stretching, acupressure and positioning while your partner plays the role of emotional support. On the other hand, while your midwife or OB is looking after your clinical care, your doula can be encouraging your non-medical pain relieving tools like movement and breath work.
3. Doulas might look like they’re not doing a lot…but they are.
It takes a highly skilled doula to be able to sit back and let you do your thing without always needing to interfere. A secure and experienced doula knows that you don’t need much to birth your baby, and will hold space and protect the “cave” (AKA the birth room) without always needing to be DOING something. She does this with her presence, picking up on vibes and mood, and gently switching things up to change the environment. This could be as simple as turning off the lights, switching playlists, closing a door or asking people to talk outside the room. Sometimes, a doula is doing absolutley everything by doing absolutely nothing and this is important work in the birth space.
4. Doula’s are not ‘anti hospital’ or ‘anti epidural’.
Although there may be some doulas with strong opinions on these, it would be a huge generalisation to say that ALL doulas are anti hospitals or medical pain relief. Doulas exist to support you through the huge, life changing transition of pregnancy, birth and postpartum, wherever and however this may happen. Having said this, many doulas have witnessed and experienced birth trauma at the hands of the hospital system, and have seen the cascade of interventions that can occur in hospitals. This does not mean they are “anti” either of these things, but have seen the impact of this first hand, and want to reduce these things occurring for future women. A lot of time time, reducing the chances of birth trauma comes directly from a strong foundation of education, so having a doula antenatally is a great way to get across this information so you are prepared for when the time comes.
5. Doulas are worth their weight in gold
So you’ve probably checked out your local doula and gone straight to the packages page on their website and gone WOW that’s A LOT. I want to challenge this notion with everything in me and ask you a couple of questions with ZERO judgment. Firstly, how much did you invest into your wedding day? How much have you spent on your gorgeous new baby when you add up the bassinet, the cot, the pram, the outfits and toys? How much was that outfit you bought for that wedding you went to that last year that you haven’t worn since? We spend money on a lot of things, and life is expensive. Consider the cost of a doula an investment not just in your birth experience, but for your foundations of parenthood. The chance of having a positive birth experience is scientifically proven to be higher when investing in a doula, and we know that the impact of your birth experience is a ripple effect to our partners, our children, and the women around us. Having a positive birth also impacts positively on your postpartum journey, lowering your chances of postpartum depression & anxiety, improves your long term pelvic floor health and of course, your breastfeeding journey.
Also, consider that because doula work is mostly heart led (in that women become doulas not to make shit loads of money but because they are truly passionate about helping others), majority of doulas are severely undercharging. The price on the website that you see if often the lowest they can possibly make it because doulas WANT this service to be utilised so they can support as many women as possible.
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