What is a Doula?

What is a doula?ndou·la n. A woman who assists another woman during labor and provides support to her, the infant, and the family after childbirth.

Some of you may ask, "Isn't that the role for the nurse, the father, the partner, the friend, the family, the doctor, the (insert name here) to play?"

Traditionally, yes. But these days a lot of couples are starting their families later in life and cannot depend on their parents to support them before or after a new baby enters a family. Some people move around the country due to school or employment reasons and aren't surrounded by close friends or family.

Labor nurses typically look after more than one patient and don't, reasonably, have the time to spend helping you labor through changing positions or offering massage. Doctors typcially don't see the laboring mother until it's time to push the head of the baby out. These are just a few of the reasons why families are turning to doulas for support during this most important time in their lives.

Doulas not replace the father or partner at home or in the delivery room. The doula's role is to help not only the mother through her effort but the family as a whole. We encourage the partner to take an active part in the labor process as well as the after-care of the mother and new infant.