How does a Doula help create a Positive Birthing Experience?

Learn about what a Doula does. 10 ways Doulas help a pregnant woman and her partner or support person before, during, and after birth.

Birth Doulas can be massively influential to a woman’s experience during pregnancy, labor, and beyond. Birthing a real life human baby is a miracle. Science can try to explain it but until you have carried a baby, felt it grow inside of you, then held that little slimy human as it takes in the outside world for the first time, you can’t possibly understand how miraculous the whole process is. 

Every Birth Doula has their own style and personality that they bring into their job. Some are massage therapists, mental health therapists, acupuncturists, nutritionists, grandmas, medical students, and even men! Anyone can become a doula. It doesn’t take a degree and formal training isn’t even required to call yourself a doula. Although most doulas today have attended training and obtained certification.

Now that you know who can be a birth doula, you are probably wondering-

What even IS a Birth Doula?

According to the DONA International website, a Doula is “a trained professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to their client before, during and shortly after childbirth to help them achieve the healthiest, most satisfying experience possible.”

In other words, 

A Doula is:

“Client” refers to the birthing woman. A doula also provides support to the Client’s support person or team as needed. A doula will be a member of the birth team and ensure good communication between medical and non-medical staff and the Client.

A Doula is not:

For a more thorough breakdown, see my website for what a doula does throughout pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. If you’re thinking of hiring a doula for your birth, but still have questions, here are 10 ways a doula can help.

How does a Doula help?

1. Doulas help you prepare for prenatal appointments 

To make sure you go into labor and delivery feeling as confident and comfortable as possible, you need to prepare for your prenatal appointment. Doulas make sure clients understand that they are not required to have a cervical exam or get certain tests if they don’t want to or if they feel that these tests will cause unproductive anxiety. They inform clients about the hormonal cascade that happens when a cervical check is done and what the difference is between a membrane sweep and a less-invasive cervical check. 

Doulas talk to clients about asking about hospital policy regarding things like number of support people allowed, continuous monitoring vs. intermittent, eating and drinking during labor, etc. We want to make sure that there are no lingering anxieties in the client’s mind when they go into labor. And we want to make sure they aren’t caught off guard by anything.

2. A Birth Doula will never leave you- even when things go a little unplanned

Birth plans are great, and there are some really comprehensive templates online. But I have yet to find a birth plan that tells the L&D nurses how the client will respond to the anxiety and fear of things not going to plan. Probably because it’s completely unpredictable! No one knows how they will handle the news that they’ve been laboring in intense pain for multiple hours only to hear that they’re only 6 cm. Or that they need an urgent c-section because there is too much bleeding. Or that the epidural just doesn’t work for them.

The medical staff has an important job to keep the client and baby healthy. But having someone you know and trust there calmly guiding you through breath after breath and contraction after contraction is invaluable. 

3. Doulas make sure to keep you grounded when the pain gets intense

Anyone who says labor is easy may have harnessed a superhuman power…. Or they’re not being completely truthful. Birth is the most powerful transformative part of the human experience. When that baby comes out, you’re a MOM!  The pain of labor is preparing you to step into the most important job in the world- being a mom! 

Doulas help prepare their clients with coping mechanisms so when they feel the ring of fire, they have techniques to fall back on. We also help educate clients on the process of birth so they understand WHY their body is in so much pain. 

4. Birth Doulas help you decide when to go to the hospital

One of the biggest questions new moms have is- how do I know when it’s time?? 

For first time moms especially, fears about not making it to the hospital in time or getting to the hospital too early then having to labor in an uncomfortable environment for too long can make the last few weeks of pregnancy VERY nerve wracking. While every labor looks different, there are some signs that typically mean it’s time. 

When I was in labor a month before my son’s due date, everyone told me it was just Braxton Hicks. My husband, however, knew something was different because he walked with me through every part of pregnancy. Other women, even those with multiple kids, couldn’t see the shift I made because they weren’t involved enough in the pregnancy to tell the difference. My husband was a first time father and even though he didn’t know anything about labor or pregnancy, he could see the difference and knew that when I said “let’s go” I meant it. 

How can a doula help with knowing exactly when it’s time? No one knows exactly when the perfect time to head into the hospital is. However, your doula is like a close family member that walks with you through the last months of pregnancy so they understand your “normal”. Unlike my husband, however, they know what labor looks like. The client-doula relationship armed with the doula’s knowledge makes doulas very valuable in helping decide when it’s time to call the midwife or head into the hospital.

5. Birth Doulas work with you and your support person to make sure you have the support you need during labor (if hubby is squeamish, we make sure he stays by your head)

I wish I could say that every husband or support person knew how to behave during a birth. Unfortunately, too many women find themselves directing their loved ones while also pushing out a baby. A big part of this is planning during pregnancy and communicating expectations. Doulas meet with clients and their support person to open the dialogue about what labor actually looks like and what the woman may need or want during different stages of labor. 

Going into labor, you may have specific criteria for your support person such as

• Take pictures
• Make sure I have water 
• Study my birth plan so if a nurse has questions about my preferences you can answer for me while I rest
• Dim the lights and put on this playlist

But what if your support person gets so overwhelmed that he freezes? Or what if your big tough husband gets faint watching his wife’s body stretch and make noises he has never heard before?

The doula is the one to help your support person show up for you exactly how you need them to and fill the gaps when the support person has to rest or accompany the baby to the NICU.

6. As a Birth Doula, I will help you work through your fears before you go into labor

Fears about labor, parenting, life change, physical healing, etc. can affect how you experience pregnancy, labor, and delivery. But these fears can also affect how labor progresses. I’ve heard many stories of women who were past their due date and couldn’t get their body to go into labor until their mom arrived in town.

The mental preparedness is important, but having these unresolved fears can keep a pregnant woman from getting enough rest leading to exhaustion during labor. Exhaustion then leads to birth interventions they may not have wanted such as an epidural or c-section or IV fluids. 

Postpartum can also be affected. Stress is associated with difficulty breastfeeding, postpartum depression, and relational strain. Doulas help bring these fears and worries out to the open so they can be addressed before delivery.

7. Doulas advocate for their clients if the client feels unheard, disrespected, or invalidated by the medical staff or support person

It’s becoming more and more widely acknowledged that women of color are more likely to experience poor birth outcomes and discrimination in the birth space than other populations. There has been extensive research done to understand his race discrepancy and it has been discovered that it is just that, a race discrepancy. Education level, location of birth, preexisting health conditions considered, the discrepancy is still significant. 

Women of all races, ethnicities, religions, and socioeconomic statuses should go into birth knowing that they will be heard, taken seriously, and treated well. Doulas can help by asking for a new nurse or hunting down someone that can get you the warm blanket you need. Doulas advocate for you so you can focus on giving birth to a beautiful, healthy baby.

8. Doulas help you reflect on the labor and work through any residual trauma from the birth

Birth is WILD. A minute can feel like an hour and an hour can fly by in a second. Sometimes things happen that bring up strong emotions- joy, anger, sadness, frustration, excitement, etc. In the postpartum meeting, doulas review the birth with you to make sure you process labor and delivery. Everywhere I go I meet women with birth trauma. Birth trauma is the trauma that occurs when something doesn’t go to plan during labor. It can influence postpartum mental health and greatly affect future pregnancies. Doulas keep track of the events of labor so you don’t have to. This can aid in processing anything that happened. It’s also great for remembering the really great things that happened to reflect throughout your child’s life!

9. Hip squeezes, hip squeezes, hip squeezes!

Doulas offer physical support throughout labor. If you are a first time mom, you can’t understand how wonderful hip squeezes feel. They relieve the pressure during contractions. Doulas also assist in position changes and support you in any other way you feel you need.

10. Our #1 goal is to make your first experience as a momma as beautiful, positive, and satisfying as possible

Enough said. Everyone deserves a doula. For more information about what a doula does, see my “What is a Doula” page here.

If you’re looking for a Doula, I offer Birth Doula services anywhere within a one hour drive from Black River Falls, WI. If you live outside this area, I also offer virtual services. See my Contact page if you’d like to chat.