FAQ

What is a Doula?

Doulas are professional birth coaches who provide emotional, informational, physical, and mental support to women during the prenatal, birth, and postpartum periods. Doulas do not provide medical care, but they are extraordinarily knowledgeable about childbirth. Their major role is to provide necessary support to the mother leading up to and during childbirth. There are also specific types of doulas, such as Antepartum Doulas, who assist women who are having a high-risk pregnancy or are on bed rest during pregnancy, and Postpartum Doulas, who assist women during the postpartum period.

What do Doulas do during the prenatal period?

Generally, doulas make themselves available to their clients during the prenatal period in the months leading up to birth. They will commonly meet with soon-to-be parents and discuss any concerns they have, learn about their birthing preferences, help to formulate their birth plan, and be available for phone calls or messages when further questions or concerns arise.

Doulas also provide evidence-based resources to help parents make the many decisions involved in childbirth. 

What are the benefits of hiring a birth doula?

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has found that the assistance of a doula during childbirth has produces improved birth outcomes. One study showed that mothers who had doulas were two times less likely to experience birth complications, four times less likely to have a low birth weight baby, and significantly more likely to successfully breastfeed. Other studies have shown that women who had doulas experienced shorter labors, lower operative birth rates, babies with higher 5-minute Apgar scores, increased maternal satisfaction with the birthing process, and lower rates of anesthesia and analgesia use.