Are doulas just for home births?
Doulas are labor support professionals. However it is still not well understood what a doula does for example, do they only assist in home birth settings? This is a common misconception I hear from clients and casual discussion. It’s understandable, there’s so little representation of doula work in the medical model of care, so most people have never even heard of a doula let alone understand the context of how we show up. The easiest way to answer this question is simply this, “a doula offers non-medical support to the birthing person and partner during pregnancy, child birth and the post partum period.” Typically this question is immediately followed up with, “what is the difference between a doula and a midwife?” This is a fantastic question in it’s own right, and worth breaking down. If you want to read about that, here is a great synopsis on Evidence Based Birth’s website.
It’s important to note, that a doula does not replace your partner, your birth provider, or your own efforts to prepare and educate yourself on your options. A doula is a labor professional, think of us as human performance experts in the sport of childbirth. We are trained to observe the physical and mechanical functional aspects of birth, such as body position, muscle tension, movement, and fuel intake. Our primary focus is ensuring that your physical and emotional needs are met, in sequence with the other members of your birth team. In fact, your partner may be the most important person present in your birth if their presence offers you a sense of peace, safety, security, love and relaxation. This is ideal, for it will bring forth positive feelings and the hormone oxytocin which allows for labor to progress as nature intended. Since most partners have never experienced a birth, the doula is a coach and guide to both parents through out the exciting experience of bringing your baby into your arms safely.
In a home birth setting doula care is simplified in that there is less external interactions to navigate. The home environment is significantly more intimate, quiet and comfortable. There may be a small child to tend to, a family fur baby or close family in attendance. Naturally, the access to various interventions is much more limited, so a doula may assist in ways beyond what a mother laboring with an epidural may require. Each birth is so different, so again I encourage everyone I meet to consider what their values are going into birth. Privacy? Autonomy? Freedom of movement? No restrictions on fuel intake? No restrictions on monitoring and IVs? Access to one’s own bed, shower, fridge and “birth space.” Avoidance of a stressful hospital transfer? Believe it or not, many people want all of the elements of a home birth once they fully understand what that looks like. For those that are low risk with no medical concerns, they tend to have the same fears or concerns that reinforce their choice to give birth in a hospital. (What if something awful happens to mom/baby, and access to pain meds). This is okay. This is not ideal, as a doula who advocates for home birth for low risk pregnant people. But it is certainly improving. We have seen an explosion in home births the past decade, a 20 fold increase. This is remarkable. To me, that says something. Personally, I do the work I do regardless of birth location. I don’t look at it as a compromise either, I look at it as a privilege. Remember, I had my own three home births….they were great, because I was supported. So dear mama, I am here for you, and together we will work towards your beautiful birth.
