What is a doula?
Written by Anna Applebaum, Postpartum Doula + Family Chef
A doula is a non-medical professional that provides support in many different transitional life experiences. A doula walks alongside their client and holds space for them to step into the unknown. They offer support to help foster informed, meaningful and empowered experiences. In many traditional cultures around the globe, families live intergenerationally. The elders play a unique role in offering their collective wisdom and experiences of birth and the postpartum period to these new families. They serve as a guide through this passage into parenthood. They “mother the mother” by creating a defined period of time, usually around 40 days, when the new mother is not expected to take care of anyone else but the baby. The mother is cooked for, massaged, given ritual baths among other things. In more westernized and modern cultures these postpartum practices are rarely observed.
As our society becomes more and more global and we move away from our families or origin we move away from this model of care. Many new families are lacking this community support and may feel isolated from resources. The postpartum doula’s role is to close this gap in familiar and community support by providing a space where new families can be nourished, rest and heal. A postpartum doula serves as a guide through this passage into new parenthood. A postpartum doula steps into the care of the daily household responsibilities so that the mother/newborn unit have time and energy to bond, rest, heal and be nourished into health for years to come.
A birth doula supports people during pregnancy, labor and birth- regardless of their gender identity. A postpartum doula provides education, non-judgemental support and companionship, assistance with newborn care and family adjustment, meal preparation and household organization. Full spectrum doula supports offer reproductive and life experiences- including people who are postpartum, trying to get pregnant, or going through adoption, abortion, miscarriage, stillbirth and even death. A doula’s role is to provide physical, emotional, and educational support to their client and families, as well as to provide referrals and resources.
There is evidence to support the benefits of birth doula support. Having a trained doula lowers the risk of maternal and infant mortality by decreasing Cesarean birth rates by 28%, length of labor by up to 25%, use of Pitocin by 31 %, use of pain medications by 9%, preterm birth by 22% and lowering rates of postpartum depression. Having a doula has also been shown to increase rates of breastfeeding initiation, higher newborn APGAR scores and increased satisfaction with the birth.
