(Guest Blogpost from Helping Hands Doula)
1. Science Supports Doulas
Yes, you read that right! The Cochrane Review of a combined 26 trials with more than 15,000 people, shows very clear benefits of continuous doula support through childbirth that are hard to ignore. Plus, there was no evidence of harm with having a doula in labour, aka no risk to having the support! For the purpose of having the best birth possible, these are just a few of the pros to having a doula with you:
- 31% less likely to have a dissatisfied birth experience
- 39% less likely to have a cesarean
- 10% less likely to request pain medication in labour
- Shorter time in labour, with 41 minutes shorter on average
2. Doulas are like having Google in Your Back Pocket
Going down the wormhole of googling your questions/symptoms during this life phase can be tempting but detrimental. The problem with google is that you cannot put enough customization into the search engine to fine tune the results of what you are actually asking. You can get a whole spectrum of information back from ‘everything is normal’ to ‘it’s an emergency’.
Welcome to Dial-a Doula. Where you have access to your doula team 24/7 your ENTIRE pregnancy, for questions ranging from silly to serious. Doulas are trained childbirth educators to help you navigate the ‘normal’ changes that pregnancy brings. If you are in need of medical advice, they help you to know the appropriate channel of where to access that. Whether it is ok to wait until your next check up with your healthcare provider or head into labour & delivery. It can take a huge weight of stress off your shoulders to have the reassurance of a human on the other end of the phone.
3. Doulas Help You with Birth Preferences
Doulas are your insider with what is available at your place of birth, what the protocols are and typical processes. This can be different from hospital to hospital, as well as between health care providers working at the same place. For example, Markham Stouffville Hospital has two streams of care under the same roof.
Wherever you decide to welcome your baby, they teach you what the benefits and downsides are of potential interventions, and help to facilitate conversations between you and your partner of what is important to you.
4. Your Doula is your Cheerleader
Doulas really don’t care what tools you want to use to stay comfortable during birth. The misconception that doulas are for those that want a drug free birth, are just not true. This also means that your doula is not going to be swaying you to have a certain type of birth. Heck, if you want to have an epidural in the parking lot of your hospital, we are all in! I kid, I kid, obviously that isn’t possible, but helping you advocate for medication is definitely something doulas are here to help facilitate.
5. Your Doula Helps your Partner be Involved
This is my favourite misconception to dispel. Doulas do not replace partners, they help them to know what tools are available to provide comfort, and when it is appropriate to use each tool. Doulas help partners to know what to expect at each phase of birth, where to stand, what questions to ask, when to advocate for the things that are most important to both of you.
In fact, it’s often the partners that are our biggest cheerleaders telling all of their friends, “you need to hire a doula!”.
Helping Hands Doula is a full service Doula Team in the Greater Toronto Area, including Durham Region. Their mission is to create confident parents and positive experiences. They do so by providing high quality education and support during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. For more information, contact our team for a complimentary consultation or welcome package.
At Durham Pelvic Health, we support working with doulas as there is great evidence to support their benefits. If you have any questions we would be happy to meet with you to discuss your birth plans and expectations during and after pregnancy. As pelvic physiotherapists, we can show you exercises to help prepare your body for the upcoming changes. We also offer seminars on Preparing For Birth and Post Partum Care to help support you on this journey!!
(416) 484-3814
