What is a doula?
The word 'Doula' (pronounced 'doo-la') is a Greek word meaning a 'woman servant or caregiver', but has come to mean an experienced woman who offers emotional and practical support to a woman (and her partner) before, during and after childbirth. A doula will stay with a woman and her partner throughout labour and birth helping to create an environment in which they both feel safe and secure, enabling a woman to have the most satisfying and empowered experience possible of pregnancy, birth and the early days as a new mum.
Birth doulas are trained and experienced in childbirth, and have a good knowledge and awareness of female physiology however the doula is not supporting the mother in a clinical role - that is the job of the midwife/medical staff.
Research has shown that having a doula present at a birth can:
Shorten
first-time labour by an average of 2 hours
Decrease
the
chance of caesarean section by 50%
Reduce the use of forceps during delivery by 40%
Decrease the need
for pain medication
Help
fathers
participate with confidence
Increase
success in breastfeeding
Mothering
the Mother
Klaus, Kennell
& Klaus,
1993
Postnatal doulas work flexible hours to suit the family, offering practical and emotional support to the new mother and father in the home following the birth of baby. In the West today, too often mothers are rushed back into normal day-to-day activities; in many cultures women are confined to bed and rest for a period of up to 40 days. This may be impossible in our society but with the help of a postnatal doula, a mother can enjoy some of the benefits of a prolonged "lying in" period. This will help her bond with her baby and spend extra time with any older siblings. Postnatal doulas empower a family to take care of itself and facilitate this by helping around the house and with older children as well as offering encouragement and suggestions with the new baby.
I am available to women and their families in Cambridge and the surrounding villages as well as parts of Suffolk, Essex and Hertfordshire including Saffron Walden, Halstead, Haverhill, Newmarket, Bury St Edmunds and Royston. I am happy to travel to clients up to an hour from my home.