Doulas Are Evidence-Based Care
Working with a doula is one of the most important steps you can take to have a better birth outcome and a better birth experience. They aren’t just for natural births or unmedicated births! Doulas are for every birth, every pregnancy, and every birthing person who wants to have the support of a trained, experienced, compassionate, and loving professional during their labor and birth. Doulas aren’t just visitors. Doulas are evidence based care. Evidence shows that they improve outcomes for birthing people, their babies, and their partners and help families get off to a safer, healthier, happier start. Healthy mom. Healthy baby. Healthy partner. Have a doula!
What is a doula? A doula is a professional companion and support person. Doulas are not healthcare workers but they are trained to offer support, guidance, and companionship through pregnancy, labor, birth, and the postpartum period. Doulas provide essential emotional, physical, and educational support to their clients. They are also advocates for their clients, facilitating communication between clients and their care teams and ensuring their clients have access to all the information and support they need to make informed decisions about their care in pregnancy, labor, and birth. Doulas offer unbiased, non-judgemental, and continuous support, comfort, and encouragement to their clients. The presence of a trained professional doula is shown to improve outcomes for birthing people, their families, and their babies.
Maternal Benefits: Doulas Improve Maternal OutcomesBirthing people who receive continuous support from a trained professional doula during labor and birth have a:
39% decrease in the risk of Cesarean
15% increase in the likelihood of normal vaginal birth without induction or augmentation (fewer inductions, less pitocin, AND fewer assisted deliveries)
10% decrease in the use of pain relief medications
Shorter labors by +40+ minutes!
31% decrease in the risk of a negative birth experience
Reduced risk of postpartum mood disorders including depression & anxiety
In fact, doulas improve outcomes so much that pioneering doula researcher and professor of pediatrics Dr. John H. Kennell once said, “If a doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use it.” Doulas improve outcomes for birthing parents without any documented risks, consequences, or side-effects! In fact, the presence of a trained doula improves outcomes MORE than the support of a partner, nurse, close friend, or family member. Even the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends doulas to help reduce rising cesarean rates and intervention rates and improve outcomes. The Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) also acknowledges the benefits of continuous labor support for improving outcomes for birthing people, their families, and their babies. If you only take one step to improve your birth experience and avoid a cesarean, hire a birth doula. But doulas aren’t just for birthing people-, babies also benefit from the continuous support of a skilled doula!
Read the research for yourself!
AWHONN Position Paper: https://www.jognn.org/article/S0884-2175(17)30482-3/fulltext
Evidence on Doulas: https://evidencebasedbirth.com/the-evidence-for-doulas/
ACOG Position Paper: https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2019/02/approaches-to-limit-intervention-during-labor-and-birth
Infant Benefits: Doulas Improve Infant Outcomes
Doulas aren’t just for birthing people! Working with a doula prenatally, and the presence of continuous doula support in labor are shown to improve infant outcomes. Babies who experience doula care are shown to have statistically: Statistically, babies who experience doula care are shown to have:
Better APGAR scores for baby
4x less likely to have low birth weight
2x less likely to experience significant complications
Fewer NICU & Special Care Nursery admissions
Higher rates of breastfeeding initiation
More secure attachment & improved bonding
Healthier birthing parents. Healthier babies. Healthier families. Give yourself, and your baby, the best start by working with an experienced professional doula. Even if your birth does not go according to plan, you will know you did everything possible for you and your baby to have the best possible start.
Learn more about the role of the doula in supporting better newborn health outcomes at March of Dimes or at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3647727/#:~:text=Expectant%20mothers%20matched%20with%20a,more%20likely%20to%20initiate%20breastfeeding.
Doulas & Partners: The Ideal Birth Team
Research shows that there is a substantial improvement in outcomes for birthing people when they are supported by both a birth partner and an experienced professional doula compared to those who had either a doula or partner alone. Both your doula and your birth partner bring essential skills to the table and are valuable parts of your ideal birth team. Your partner knows you. Your doula knows birth.
93% of fathers who had doula support during their partner’s birth rated the experience as “very positive.” Partners need support too! They have questions in labor, and. tThey are anxious about their ability to support you well. They are nervous about seeing their partner or their child in distress. Doulas don’t just support birthing people, they support your entire family. A skilled doula will provide support, encouragement, reassurance, suggestions, and guidance for your partner so that they feel confident, capable, and effective in labor. Your partner deserves care and support, just as you do.
If you’re hoping for a better experience of childbirth, you have to start by choosing a new way forward. Start by hiring a skilled professional doula to support you and guide you through this transformational experience. You, your partner, and your baby deserve the best possible start, and hiring a doula is the first step.
Written by: Sydney White, Birth Mavens Team Lead
