What is a Birth Doula, anyway??

A birth doula is a person trained and experienced in childbirth who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after childbirth.  The word comes from ancient Greek and roughly translates to "Woman's servant."  There was a time when women labored together and with the help of the women in their families and community.  As birth moved to the hospitals, women lost the advantage of having community with them.  Doulas are trained to help a woman manage labor.


What effects does the presence of a doula have on birth outcomes?   Numerous clinical studies have found that a doula’s presence at birth:

• tends to result in shorter labors with fewer complications
• reduces negative feelings about one’s childbirth experience
• reduces the need for pitocin (a labor-inducing drug), forceps or vacuum extraction
• reduces the requests for pain medication and epidurals, as well as the incidence of cesareans

The effects of a the presence of a doula on the mother and on the babies?

When a doula is present during and after childbirth, women report greater satisfaction with their birth experience, make more positive assessments of their babies, have fewer cesareans and requests for medical intervention, and less postpartum depression.  Studies have shown that babies born with doulas present tend to have shorter hospital stays with fewer admissions to special care nurseries, breastfeed more easily and have more affectionate mothers in the postpartum period.

Finding a Doula
Finding  the right doula can take some leg work.  Call several doulas.  Have a list of questions ready for the doula.  Take your time, that phone call is the first interview.  To find DONA trained doulas in your area visit DONA's web site and choose the "doula locater" link.


From Doulas of North America (DONA)

Birth Doula Services Through Enable Joy

Interview  Enable Joy will happily have a phone or in-person interview with families looking for a doula. There is no obligation. Enable Joy thinks it is important to find a person who is the "right fit" to be your doula. Maybe that is Enable Joy, maybe it isn't. (Of course we like to think it will be!) We will discuss your goals, what to expect, fees and any concerns you may have. If Enable Joy isn't the doula for you, we'll do our best to help you find someone who is. If we are the doula for you we will schedule two prenatal visits.

Two (2) Prenatal Visits These are personalized visits designed to answer any questions you may have.

Labor Support The doula meets you where you are having your baby and provide massage and comfort measures, help with breathing for relaxation, suggestions for positioning to increase comfort and create an environment to foster maximum self-determination in birthing parents.

Immediate Postpartum  Your doula will stay one (1) to two (2) hours after the baby arrive to make sure the Mom and partner have everything they need.



Services a birth doula does NOT provide

• Doulas do not replace nurses or medical staff. Doulas do not perform clinical or medical tasks like taking blood pressure or temperature or monitoring fetal heart rate.
• Doulas do not make medical decisions or intervene for the client. 
• Doulas are not there to be a "know it all!" The doula is there to support the laboring mother and her partner, not to create drama.