
	"Labor Preparation for Partners" Class
	LIST OF LOCAL DOULAS
	A Few of the Many New Babies
	Client, Nurse, & Caregiver Feedback
	Doula Videos
	Can I Contact a Birth Doula Too Soon or Too Late? What Is It Like Having A Birth Doula Assist You In Labor? What If I Want An Epidural? What If I Have A Cesarean? Myths About Partners & Birth Doulas
	Postpartum Doulas FAQs Partners and Postpartum Doulas
	Questions To Ask A Potential Birth Doula/Postpartum Doula
	How Much Does A Birth Doula/Postpartum Doula Cost?
	Becoming A Doula

Disclaimer
Information contained within this website should in no way replace the guidance and suggestions of your care provider. Please use this information as a basis for conversation with your care provider, and to build consensus and agreement about your labor and birth. Always share your concerns with your care provider and create a plan together that meets both your needs.

Our Favorite Links

	DOULA NETWORK
	CHILDBIRTH CONNECTION
	CIMS: MOTHER FRIENDLY CHILDBIRTH INITIATIVE
	STORKNET.COM
	CHILDBIRTH.ORG (INTERACTIVE BIRTH PLAN TOOL)
	DR. BREWER'S PREGNANCY DIET
	CHIROPRACTIC CARE IN PREGNANCY
	SPINNING BABIES
	CHOOSING AN EPIDURAL
	LAMAZE INTERNATIONAL
	THE BRADLEY METHOD OF NATURAL CHILDBBIRTH
	BIRTHING FROM WITHIN
	ICAN-INTERNATNAL CESAREAN AWARENESS NETWORK, INC.
	BREASTFEEDING.COM
	KELLYMOM.COM
	LA LECHE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL
	LA LECHE LEAGUE OF FARGO/MOORHEAD
	ASK DR. SEARS (PEDIATRICIAN)
	ATTACHMENT PARENTING INTERNATIONAL (API)
	API OF MOORHEAD, MN/FARGO, ND

Start your page right here, right now! It's so easy you'll be amazed.

1. Go to bottom left corner of this page and click on "EDITPAGE" link.
2. Enter your user id and password.
3. Click on the "EDIT" button for this section.
4. Scroll past the picture to the text box.
5. Type something in the text box in front of these instructions, pushing the instructions ahead. Click "Save Changes." Your stuff is on your page.

Congratulations: you're officially a webmaster! Now you can return to your edit screen and erase these instructions. Edit every section of your OrgSite just as you did here.

A BIRTH DOULA . . .

-recognizes birth as a key life experience that the mother will remember all her life

-assists the woman and her partner in preparing for and carrying out their plans for the birth

-understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor

-provides continuous emotional support and physical (non-medical) comfort measures to the mother throughout labor

-gives an objective viewpoint and assists the woman and her partner in getting the information they need to make informed choices

-compliments rather than displaces the partner and clinical care provider(s)

-assists with learning the art of breastfeeding

Numerous clinical studies have found that a doula’s presence at birth:

tended to result in shorter labors with fewer complications

increased partner's effectiveness and confidence

reduced the need for pitocin (a labor-inducing drug), forceps or vacuum extraction and cesareans

lessened the need for pain medication and/or epidurals

decreased anxiety and tension

increased positive feelings of birth experience

A POSTPARTUM DOULA . . .

-offers emotional support, discusses the birth and experiences of being a parent

-nurtures parents into their new role as parents, promoting parent-infant bonding

-provides newborn feeding support/assistance

-teaches newborn care, infant massage, and soothing skills

-insures mom is getting adequate rest, wholesome meals and snacks, time for personal care

-provides practicle assistance with simple meal preparation, errands, laundry for baby or mom, and dishes

-helps with multiples

-provides referrals for lactation, postpartum depression, parenting support groups, child care resources

-tailors her services to meet your individual/family needs

Research shows parents who receive doula support in the postpartum period:

feel more secure and cared for

are more successful in adapting to new family dynamics

have greater success with breastfeeding

have greater self-confidence

have less postpartum depression

increased bonding with baby

The benefits of having a doula's support in labor has been recognized by the:

World Health Organization

Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologist of Canada

Institute for Health Care Improvement (Boston)

Medical Leadership Council (an organization of 1200 US hospitals)

Further Research Sources

Given the clear benefits and no known risks associated with intrapartum support, every effort should be made to ensure all labouring women receive support, not only from those close to them but also from specially trained caregivers. This support should include continuous presence, the provision of hands-on comfort, and encouragement.
Hodnett, E.D. Support from caregivers during childbirth (Cochrane Review) in Cochrane Library, Issue 2. Oxford Update Software, 1998. Updated Quarterly.

A doula provides support consisting of praise, reassurance, measures to improve the comfort of the mother, physical contact such as rubbing the mother’s back and holding her hands, explanation of what is going on during labour and delivery and a constant friendly presence. Such tasks can also be fulfilled by a nurse or midwife, but they often need to perform technical/medical procedures that can distract their attention from the mother.
Care in Normal Birth: a Practical Guide. Report of a Technical Working Group. World Health Organization, 1996.

Facing unprecedented pressures to reduce expenses, many hospitals are targeting the largest single budget item – labor costs… (An) unintended consequence of nursing cutbacks may be an increased cesarean rate; the inability of pared down nursing staff to provide continuous coverage to laboring mothers (has been) shown to increase the chance of a cesarean…Doulas clearly improve clinical and service quality; they provide an absolutely safe way to reduce cesareans and other invasive birthing interventions.
Coming to Term: Innovations in Safely Reducing Cesarean Rates. Medical Leadership Council, Washington D.C. 1996.

Professionals have paid much attention to innovative technology and the many new options for monitoring and managing labor. While the technology is important, it can become so prominent that clinicians ignore both the natural aspects of labor and the non-technical needs of women in labor… Changes that support the patient in labor and reinforce the natural, physiologic process…. Includes providing one-to-one psychological support for patients using nursing staff or doulas.
Reducing the Cesarean Section Rates while Maintaining Maternal and Infant Outcomes. Bruce L. Flamm et al. Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Boston, 1997.

The continuous availability of a caregiver to provide psychological support and comfort should be a key component of all intrapartum care programs, which should be designed for the effective prevention, and treatment of dystocia (non-progressive labor).
Guidelines on Dystocia. Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, 1995.

Continuous Support for Women During Childbirth, new Cochrane Review through the Childbirth Connection (Formerly Maternity Center Association), July 2003
Copy and paste this link: http://childbirthconnection.org/article.asp?ck=10272&ClickedLink=200&area=2

Listening to Mothers: Report of the First National U.S. Survey of Women's Childbearing Experiences,Childbirth Connection (Formerly Maternity Center Association), October 24, 2002
Copy and paste this link: http://childbirthconnection.org/article.asp?ClickedLink=205&ck=10068&area=2

Caregiver Support for Women During Childbirth: Does the Presence of a Labor-Support Person Affect Maternal-Child Outcomes?, American Family Physician, October 1, 2002
Copy and paste this link: http://www.aafp.org/afp/20021001/cochrane.html

Lying in, Canadian Medical Association Journal, September 17, 2002
Copy and paste this link: http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/167/6/675

Social Support By Doulas During Labor And The Early Postpartum Period, Hospital Physician, September 2001 (pdf)
Copy and paste this link: http://www.turner-white.com/pdf/hp_sep01_doulas.pdf

Care of Women in U.S. Hospitals, 2000, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, October 2002
Copy and paste this link: http://www.ahrq.gov/data/hcup/factbk3/factbk3.htm)

About Doulas of the Red River Valley

We are a chapter of the Childbirth Collective (www.childbirthcollective.org), a Minnesota non-profit serving birthing families. The Childbirth Collective is a tri-state (Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota) birth network of over one hundred doulas and other birth professionals who support families and each other. We execute our mission by educating families and the birth community about the role of the doula and providing ongoing education for doulas.

We endorse the CIMS Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative and use it as a mission statement for our organization. Take some time to read this important document at www.motherfriendly.org.

Download our Birth Doula Standards of Practice and Birth Doula Code of Ethics MS Word file

• Fargo, ND
phone: contact a doula member

355 Visitors

TOP