A labor doula:

• Is knowledgeable about the childbearing year, from the prenatal months to the “fourth trimester” (postpartum period).
• Understands that birth is a normal process and that most women are capable of birthing their babies when given plenty of support and encouragement.
• Has insight into the culture of birth in their particular location and can help mothers and their partners to navigate the myriad of decisions that they will make between conception and the postpartum period.
• Is knowledgeable about breastfeeding and can help mother and baby begin their breastfeeding journey.
• Uses massage, visualization, kind words, suggestions for position changes, and other techniques to help mothers cope with the discomfort of labor.
• Many women hire a doula when they are seeking support for a natural, non-interventive birth, either at home or in a hospital or birth center. However, doulas can also help women who are high-risk or who either require or want a more medicalized birth. Our role is not to push one sort of birth experience but to help families make informed medical choices, enjoy their pregnancies and births, and maximize their satisfaction with their birth experience.

A labor doula does not:

• Replace the mother’s partner during the pregnancy or birth process. A doula can provide support and reassurance to both the mother and her partner.
• Provide medical services or advice. A doula is not medically-trained.
• Make medical decisions or speak to the nurses, midwives, or obstetricians on the mother’s behalf. Doulas can help educate families about their birthing options and about evidence-based maternity care, but it is the mother’s and partner’s responsibility to make their own informed medical decisions about their pregnancy and birth.

Hiring a doula has been shown to:

• Reduce the risk of unnecessary cesarean section.
• Reduce the risk of birth interventions.
• Increase satisfaction with the birth process.
• Increase incidence of breastfeeding success.