Labor Support/Newborn Care Specialist

Have you considered what will be important to you during labor? What are your concerns? Would you like a non-medical, specially trained professional who is experienced in childbirth to provide continuous physical, emotional, informational support? Would it help to have someone there whose goal is to preserve the memory of this most precious time in your life? A ‘doula’ is a women who supports  a woman through labor and birth, giving back rubs and providing continuous emotional support. Simply put, they know how to help a woman in labor feel better.

What does a Birth Doula do?

1.Recognizes birth as a key experience the mother will remember all her life

2.Understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor

3.Assists the woman in preparing for and carrying out her plans for birth

4.Stays with the woman throughout the labor

5.Provides emotional support, physical comfort measures and an objective viewpoint, as well as helping the woman get the information she needs to make informed decision

6.Facilitates communication between the laboring woman, her partner and her clinical care providers

7.Perceives her role as nurturing and protecting the woman's memory of the birth experience

8.Allows the woman's partner to participate at his/her comfort level

Numerous clinical studies have found that a doula’s presence at birth

1.tends to result in shorter labors with fewer complications

2.reduces negative feelings about one’s childbirth experience

3.reduces the need for Pitocin (a labor-inducing drug), forceps or vacuum extraction and cesareans

4.reduces the mother’s request for pain medication and/or epidurals

A  doula is supportive to both the mother and her partner, and plays a crucial role in helping a partner become involved in the birth to the extent he/she feels comfortable. When baby comes home, families take time to adjust to the changes this new person has created. Many new parents have had little or no parenting education and do not have support to help them through the postpartum weeks. A doula can help by providing support during the day or overnight.

Baby Nurse vs. Postpartum Doula?

Some people want to employ the services of a Baby Nurse. How does a Baby Nurse differ from a postpartum doula? A Baby Nurse is an experienced trained infant/newborn specialist who comes into your home in the first weeks of your infant’s life to assist Mom and Dad with the day-to-day care of their new baby. A postpartum doula serves as a role model to new parents by demonstrating newborn care, providing breastfeeding support and helping with everyday household chores like light housekeeping, laundry and meal preparation. Our Postpartum Doula is specially trained in breastfeeding and newborn care and, therefore, functions as both.

What does a Postpartum Doula do?

1.Offers education, companionship and nonjudgmental support during the postpartum fourth trimester

2.Assists with newborn care, family adjustment, meal preparation and light household tidying

3.Offers evidence-based information on infant feeding, emotional and physical recovery from birth, infant soothing and coping skills for new parents and makes appropriate referrals when necessary

Research shows parents who receive support can:

1.Feel more secure and cared for

2.Are more successful in adapting to new family dynamics

3.Have greater success with breastfeeding

4.Have greater self-confidence

5.Have less postpartum depression

           6.  Have lower incidence of abuse