Benefits

What are the Beneficial Effects of Birth Doula Support?

Studies have shown that ALL birthing women greatly benefit form doula support. It is not just for first time mothers, and not just for women who desire an un-medicated birth. There is excellent scientific research about the non-medical role of a Birth Doula.

The numbers are impressive. "Women cared for during labor by a birth doula, compared to those receiving "usual care" were

26% less likely to give birth by cesarean section

41% less likely to give birth with a vacuum extractor or forceps

28 % less likely to use any analgesia or anesthesia

33% less likely to be dissatisfied or to negatively rate their birth experience"

(DONA International, 'Position Paper: The Birth Doula's Contribution to Modern Maternity Care'. 2005)

Mothers with birth doula support

report greater satisfaction with their birth experience;

breastfeed longer;

are less likely to suffer from postpartum depression.

Babies

breastfeed more easily;

have shorter hospital stays and fewer admissions to special care nurseries.

Why is Doula Support so important to Mothers and Babies?

The delicate hormonal balances that enable a woman’s body to open up for childbirth also open her emotionally and spiritually in a way that she cannot control. A birthing mother is both incredibly powerful and incredibly vulnerable to every word spoken to her, kind or unkind. Being kind to a mother and helping her through her labor with knowledge and experience means infinitely more than just making her more comfortable.

Emotional support has a profound influence on how the birth will unfold - this is the secret how doulas are able to help women achieve shorter labors, and reduce or eliminate the need for medical interventions. Emotional support also helps a woman and her partner to trust their instincts and feel empowered, ready to take on the responsibilities of parenthood.

For a woman, the childbirth experience is not just another memory that fades over time. The same hormones that open the body and mind are also responsible for creating a memory trace so vivid and clear that women will recall every detail and every single word spoken to them 20, 40, even 60 years after their birth!

Babies, too, remember birth. The newest research is beginning to prove what mothers and many birth attendants have always known: that the baby is an active and conscious participant in his or her own birth. Babies choose the time when they are ready, they choose positions they prefer, and they choose to emerge only when they feel safe. They are human beings who deserve to be treated with respect for their physical and emotional integrity, and a sensitive birth attendant will do just that. A well supported happy mother makes for a happy baby.

The birthing process holds amazing, transformational power; it is so much more than just a means to an end. Each birthing that is accomplished with kindness and sensitivity is a small but crucial step towards a more sensitive and sensible world.

Contact info@birthingwithchild.org Phone 406-570-4359
Please do not print or distribute any pictures or text from this site without permission. Thank you for your consideration.
Copyright © 2012 Birthing with Child. All Rights Reserved.