It’s World Doula Week, so what better time than to write about the amazing work that Doula’s do, the evidence behind how Doula’s can increase your chances of having a positive birth experience and how they can support you during pregnancy, labour, birth and the postpartum period.
What is a Doula?
Doula’s provide support, encouragement, reassurance and care for the new family. Doulas provide support to women and families in all kinds of situations, who have different kinds of births and who make a wide range of parenting choices. The services offered by a doula vary greatly according to the needs of the woman, couple or family that they are working with.
"We decided to have a Doula, because I was very nervous about pregnancy, birth and also the transition to motherhood and wanted a bit of extra support. We had a bit of up and down support from our midwife and I wanted someone on hand, that I could trust, throughout the process. If you are at all nervous or worried about anything to come, a Doula is worth their weight in gold!" – Harrogate Mummy
"Julia is cool, calm and collected. She was friendly and flexible to whatever we needed. She has buckets of emotional intelligence and is an extremely kind person." – Castleford Mummy
How Doula’s Differ from Midwives
Doulas do not take a clinical role, but they work alongside midwives and doctors. They do not advise, but they can support a woman to find balanced information, to make informed decisions about her maternity care.
"If you are at all anxious about having a baby, then a Doula can be invaluable to help you make decisions, advocate for you during birth, and manage your anxieties.” – Leeds Mum
According to Doula UK, doula's provide continuous support for the whole family through pregnancy, birth and in the early days of parenthood. They are there to listen, give confidence and not judge. They offer flexible practical and emotional support in homes as well as in hospitals. "Research shows that women value and benefit from the presence of a support person during labour and childbirth. This support may include emotional support, continuous presence, reassurance, praise and information about labour progress. It may also include advice about coping techniques, comfort measures and speaking up when needed on behalf of the woman.
"Julia did exactly what she said she would; provided moral and emotional support to my husband, offering reassuring words to him throughout, supported me practically and emotionally, and advocated for me. She cooled me down with a flannel, helped me with my breathing exercises, held my leg up while I pushed and cheered me on when I thought I couldn't do it. She was a sensational support from start to finish." – Leeds Mummy
"Lack of continuous support during childbirth has led to concerns that the experience of labour and birth may have become dehumanised. Modern obstetric care frequently means women are required to experience institutional routines. These may have adverse effects on the quality, outcomes and experience of care during labour and childbirth. Supportive care during labour may enhance physiological labour processes, as well as women's feelings of control and confidence in their own strength and ability to give birth. This may reduce the need for obstetric intervention and also improve women's experiences." (The Cochrane Collaboration, 2022).
Evidence from Childbirth International, suggests that by having a doula and having continuous support, this can reduce:
The risk of a caesarean birth by 51%
The risk of an instrumental birth by 57%
The risk of the need for painkillers or epidurals during birth by 36%
The rate of induction of labour by 71%.
Doula UK suggests that the use of doula's can:
Shorten labour
Increase the parental satisfaction with the birth experience
Lower the incidence of depression symptoms
Increase the likelihood of initiating breastfeeding
Increase the likelihood of successfully established breastfeeding
Increase the rate in which women are still breastfeeding at 6 weeks post birth
"Julia was a fabulous birth doula and was able to connect well with us on a friendly, yet professional level. She listened and understood our needs and was able to support us in the way in which we wished. My husband, my Son and I were all comfortable in her presence and she always asked us what we would like and never passed judgement or made us doubt our decisions. Julia very subtly empowered us through the whole process and this led to a great birth experience (despite changing plans last minute) that I will always look back on with positivity". – Wakefield Mum
"Whilst our birth ended with everything we didn't want (epidural, induction and c-section), the tools and support that we gained from having Julia as our Doula, meant that at every stage, we felt in control of what was happening and came out the other end still feeling empowered and like we'd had a hard, but good birth. A Doula won't ensure that you have all the outcomes that you want, but they will help you feel in control and empowered, which is the most important thing I believe, when it comes to ensuring a new Mum's mental wellbeing, after giving birth". – A.S, Leeds Mum
Doula Support is more important than ever, right now...
With the rate of induced births and caesarean sections rising significantly in the UK and across other parts of the world, there has never been a greater need for Doula support. In Yorkshire (Leeds Hospital Trust & Mid Yorkshire Hospital Trust) the average induction rate over the last 4 months was 37% and the average caesarean section rate was 39%. The average induction rate in the UK is around 40% and caesarean section rate around 36%. More than 50% of women who have an induced birth, go on to require further intervention, such as an instrumental birth (forceps/ventouse) or a caesarean section. Only around 1-2% of women are giving birth in water or at home. We know the huge benefits of home births and have supporting evidence that home births are safer than hospital births, in most cases and we know the huge benefits that can come from having a water birth. So why are so few women having water births or home births? There are a few theories.
Home births:
Many women are not aware of the benefits and not given enough supporting information, to be able to make an informed decision and are made to believe that hospital births are safer.
The home birth team have to be redeployed into hospital units, due to shortage of staff.
Women are considered “high risk” and told that a home birth isn’t safe for them or their baby. Very often the “high risk” label is too easily given to women and not all “high risk” women are actually at a higher risk of something bad happening to them or their baby.
Water births:
Again, women are given the “high risk” label and told that they are “not allowed” to give birth in water. To be clear, you are “allowed” to give birth however and wherever you want. You might have a BMI that is higher than the guidelines for having a water birth or you might have had a previous c-section and be told that you will need constant monitoring throughout labour. If you want a waterbirth, there are ways around this, regardless of whether you’ve been told you are not allowed or not. It’s about knowing all the information and the percentage risk for YOU.
Not enough women understand the benefits of giving birth in water and so they don’t consider it as an option.
So many women are induced and an induced birth, means that a water birth is less likely.
Epidural rates are high, because many women are going into their births feeling scared, which increases their level of pain. Having an epidural means that a water birth isn’t possible.
With the support of a Doula, families are able to make their own informed decisions, that feel right for them and increase their chances of having a positive birth experience.
"I would recommend a doula to any or my friends or family that are planning to have children in the future. I believe the birth experience is completely different with a doula by your side, guiding you through, step by step. The care that you receive in the NHS is not all-round care or resourceful enough to cater for women's whole birth experience and emotional well-being. I wish we had been aware of what a doula was and what support they can offer, a few years earlier, before the birth of my first child." - Wakefield Mum
“Julia spent a lot of time with us before our due date, to understand our wishes and help to make it happen, where possible during labour. She helped myself and my husband consider our options when we were asked about interventions, such as the clip on baby's head, to measure heart rate and advocated for our needs with midwives.” – S.W, Leeds Mummy
Where Doula’s support you?
Doula’s will support you wherever you decide to give birth. Whether you choose to give birth in a birth centre, hospital or at home, a Doula will support your decision.
How Doula’s Support you?
Doula’s offer emotional support and practical support. As a Doula myself, I can support you during the fertility stage of your journey, during pre-conception. Whether you are going through IVF or whether you are trying to conceive naturally, I can offer that unconditional emotional support, helping you through this difficult, emotional stage in your life. I can also support you during pregnancy, offering antenatal support and helping you to prepare for your birth, providing you with information, so that you can make informed decisions. I can support you during labour, birth and bonding. Having a Doula present at your birth, can really increase your chances of a positive birth experience. I can also support you postnatally too, offering emotional support and physical support around the home, allowing you to get the rest and opportunity to recover from your birth.
“Having a doula helped us better prepare for labour by prompting us to consider things we hadn't previously thought about, and the additional resources/info provided were really valuable. Also, my husband was able to relax a little, knowing he didn't need to have intimate knowledge about birth and labour when we had the support of a doula - he could then focus on providing emotional support to me during birth and didn't need to worry about coaching me through decision making or advocating for my needs.” – Leeds Mummy
When Doula’s support you?
Doula’s will support you at anytime of your fertility, pregnancy or postnatal journey. Some people like to plan ahead and book their Doula early on in their journey. Whereas other people don’t book their Doula until they’ve had their baby and realise that they would like postnatal Doula support. It’s always worth exploring the option of hiring a Doula as early as possible though, especially if this is something that you are interested in. Having your Doula in your life from an early stage, can really help you to get your pregnancy and parental journey off to a good start, having the support early on.
Why Doula’s support you
As a Doula, the reason why I support families, is because I am extremely passionate about helping them to have a positive birth and parenting experience, however that looks to them. I love educating families about birth and the postnatal period, coaching them, nurturing them and seeing that transformation, when they start to feel positive, confident in their abilities and trust their instincts. Becoming a parent and giving birth, is a life changing experience and the memories will last for a lifetime. It should be a positive experience for everyone!
If you would like to hire me as your doula, to support you through fertility, pregnancy, birth or the postnatal period, get in touch, for a FREE video consultation. Alternatively, visit my website to find out more.
Julia x