What is a Doula?
Doula, Nikki Mather, gives six reasons (and countless benefits) for investing in a Doula.
www.thedoulaelement.co.uk
Have you thought about having a birth doula or postnatal doula but are unsure whether you need one? Your husband is fantastic, your mother or mother in law supportive and your best friend is your rock. Have a look at just a few of reasons a doula may be good for you and your partner and grandparents too.
1.Support you to make informed decisions.
So you came away from your antenatal appointment with a whole bunch of leaflets and a folder containing an empty Birth Plan-what is next? Hiring a doula can help you and your partner to make informed decisions by supporting you to make choices suitable for your needs and she can encourage you to do some research to find out how and where YOU would like to birth. A doula can advocate for you to ensure your Birth Preferences are taken into consideration from the offset and she can be proactive in creating and protecting the birth space you want to achieve.
2. A doula is a continuous presence during your labour and birth. This ensures you have consistent support throughout your journey to motherhood. There is evidence to show the role of a doula is important in childbirth. Hodnett et al. (2012)* published an updated Cochrane review on the use of continuous support for women during childbirth. The randomised controlled trial included more than 15,000 women and some of the outcomes are shown below. For four of these outcomes*, results where a doula was present throughout were better than all the other types of continuous support that were studied.
* 31% decrease in the use of synthetic oxytocin*
* 28% decrease in the risk of C-section*
* 12% increase in the likelihood of a spontaneous vaginal birth*
* 9% decrease in the use of any medications for pain relief
* 14% decrease in the risk of newborns being admitted to a special care nursery
* 34% decrease in the risk of being dissatisfied with the birth experience*
REFERENCES
*http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23076901
*http://evidencebasedbirth.com/the-evidence-for-doulas/
*http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1911582
*http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12011869
*http://doula.org.uk/content/doula-support-has-dramatic-impact-breastfeeding-rates-says-doula-uk-following-unicef-report
*http://www.unicef.org.uk/Documents/Baby_Friendly/Research/Preventing_disease_saving_resources.pdf
*http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/postnatal-depression/#.VkMn_r_tODk
*http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9656503
*http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23857334
*http://doula.org.uk/content/find-a-doula-0
Pregnancy & Birth