What is the role of a Birth Doula?
A birth doula provides physical, emotional, and informational support to women and their partners during pregnancy, labor and birth. She offers help and advice on comfort measures such as breathing, relaxation, massage and positioning. She provides assistance to families in gathering information about the course of their labor and their options, both prior to and during labor and delivery. During labor and delivery the birth doula is a source of continuous emotional reassurance and comfort and can help explain medical procedures and their usefulness. Nursing staff often attends to more than one mother in labor at a time, and therefore is often absent for long periods of time. A birth doula supports the mother (and birth partner) through the entire labor and delivery. During labor and delivery birth doulas offer nonmedical skills such as massage, counter pressure and other comfort and pain relief measures. The birth doula works with the mother and birth partner, using numerous proven br
