What is a doula?

 It's 2022! I hope your new year so far has been wonderful. 

I am so excited for my blog posts for this month. 

This month, I want to delve into the ins and outs of what I do as a doula, why you should hire one and why my journey to becoming one. This is one of my favorite topics! 

So. Let’s start with “What is a doula?”

A doula is a trained professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support  during pregnancy, labor, birth, directly postpartum and in the months postpartum. There are birth doulas, postpartum doulas, bereavement doulas, doulas who also take professional pictures during your birth, doulas who encapsulate your placenta, and so many more. 

A doula's primary focus is to support of the birthing mother and her partner (whether that's a spouse, parent, etc). They are not a medical professional- they do not check cervical dilation or check c-section stitches or offer medical advice. 

Birth doulas can attend births at hospitals, birth centers and at home. We meet the client at the place of their choice to aid during the labor process, often at home first, them do whatever is next on the birth plan- following them to the hospital and helping them check in while their partner parks the car, getting the birth tub set up, etc. 

Birth doulas also assist in helping make decisions if the birth does not go as expected. They also provide emotional support and understanding during difficult times during the birth process.

After the birth is done, doulas often stay for a couple of hours, helping the new mom breastfeed for the first time. Nurses often have many patients to care for, but doulas can stay continuously by the new mom's side and be there for her. 

How about Postpartum Doulas? What even is that, Rachel? 

Postpartum doulas provide emotional, practical and informational support during the postpartum months. Often times, postpartum doulas attend families as soon as 24 hours after birth and up to 3 months old, but care could be provided up the first year.  

Postpartum doulas can help with breastfeeding and safe sleeping, as well as household tasks so the new parents can rest and focus on their new baby. They can hold or feed baby while parents shower or sleep, take care of older siblings and run errands. Many postpartum doulas offer overnight shifts so parents can get some much needed sleep. 

There are several different organizations through which to become a doula. DONA International is the organization I'm going through.

I am a birth and a postpartum doula, so my job entails both of what is described above. I have only done birth work for some people, only postpartum for others- my favorite is being able to do both for the same client! 

I hope this was clarifying for you as to what doulas are! Next week I'll be sharing why you should hire one, so make sure you tune in! 

For a more in depth look at what a doula is and what we do, join my Facebook community: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/thesemicrunchydoula/?ref=share