Women who are planning a natural birth often do hire doulas to help increase their support team. High risk mothers often feel the need to have someone taking care of her family emotionally while she is receiving the best in high technological care from her clinical staff. Sometimes single mothers will choose doulas because of the lack of support from family or her partner.
Current research has shown us that using a professional doula during labor provides you the following benefits:
- 50% reduction in the cesarean rate
- 25% shorter labor
- 60% reduction in epidural requests
- 40% reduction in oxytocin use
- 30% reduction in analgesia use
- 40% reduction in forceps delivery
Do dads feel left out?
No! Doulas do not replace the father in any way, shape or form. In fact many of the dads that I work with say that they are very happy to have me there. It is often forgotten that dads are going through this labor too, while not physically, they are emotionally invested. Some have a hard time remembering what was taught in class, or others did not attend classes, so are trained in labor support. Doulas can take that pressure off by allowing them to do what they do best, love their partner.
