Black Hills Doula

Why Choose a Doula?

Why Choose a Doula?

 

A doula is a trained professional who helps the birthing woman with emotional support and physical comfort measures during labor and delivery. Even if a woman has a supportive partner and wonderful healthcare providers, she also needs continuous respect, encouragement, and comfort. I am there to provide those things.

The benefits of a continuous doula, as stated by International Childbirth Education Association (based on 11 trials and compiled by Penny Simkin) include:

Obstetric Outcomes

In hospitals where intervention rates (epidurals, oxytocin, and cesarean deliveries) were very high, doula care lowered the intervention rates. 1-6
The most dramatic improvements in obstetric outcomes came in those hospitals where:
• interventions were high
• women were not allowed to have a loved one present
• the doulas were not clinically trained (ie. nurses, midwives, or students are clinically trained)



Psychological Outcomes
All six trials that investigated postpartum outcomes found that women who had doulas had these more positive outcomes than those without doulas: 1, 7-11
• successful breastfeeding
• strong maternal infant interaction
• lower rate of postpartum depression, anxiety, and self-esteem
• strong maternal assessments of their baby when compared to the “standard baby"
• higher satisfaction with the birth experience



According to Doulas of North America (DONA), numerous clinical studies have found that a doula’s presence at birth:

• tends to result in shorter labors with fewer complications.

• reduces negative feelings about one’s childbirth experience.

• reduces the need for pitocin, forceps, or vacuum extraction.
• reduces the requests for pain medication and epidurals, as well as the incidence of cesareans.


1 Sosa, R., et al. 1980. The effect of a supportive companion on perinatal problems, length of labor, and mother-infant interaction. N Engl J Med 303: 597-600.
2 Klaus, M. H., et al. 1986. Effects of social support during parturition on maternal and infant morbidity. Br Med J 293: 585-587.
3 Kennell, J. H., et al. 1991. Continuous emotional support during labor in a US hospital: A randomized controlled trial. JAMA 265: 2197-2201.
4 Hodnett, E. D., et al. 1989. Effects of continuous intrapartum professional support on childbirth outcomes. Res in Nursing and Health 12: 287-289.
5 Kennell, J. H., et al. 1993. Labor support by a doula for middle-income couples: The effect on cesarean rates. Pediatric Res 32: 12A.
6 McGrath, S. K., et al. 1998. Induction of labor and doula support. Pediatric Res 43: 13A.
7 Garcia, C. 1997. The eighth doula study: Social support during birth in Mexico. Conference proceedings of Doulas of North America, Austin, TX, June 20.
8 Hofmeyr, J., et al. 1991. Companionship to modify the clinical birth environment: Effects on progress and perceptions of labour and breastfeeding. Br J Obstet Gynaecol 98: 756-764.
9 Landry, S. H., et al. 1998. The effects of doula support during labor on mother-infant interaction at two months. Pediatric Res 43: 13A.
10 Walton, D., et al. 1998. The impact of a hospital based doula program in a health maintenance organization setting. Am J Obstet Gynecol II.
11 Wolman, W. L., et al. 1993. Postpartum depression and companionship in the clinical birth environment: A randomized, controlled study. Am J Obstet Gynecol 168: 1388-1393.