If you are like me, I had never even heard of a doula before I entered the world of parenting. I was very uninformed and naive about childbirth and all things related, but I think there are probably lots of other people out there who were just like me.
I remember the first time I ever heard someone mention the word doula. I was still a university student, single, and was several years away from settling down and starting a family. I was going for a walk with a friend and her newborn, and she was telling me all about her pregnancy and being a new mom etc. She told me she had a natural birth and a doula. I asked her what’s a doula? She tried to explain it to me. What I understood was basically: it is someone who you pay $500 to assist you with your labour. I thought that’s really expensive… and isn’t that what husbands/partners and midwives are for, and they are free?! Fast forward now about 7 years and 2 children later, and I have learned a little bit about this subject!
If you don’t know what a doula is, here is a defintion I got from wikipedia:
“A labour doula or birth doula is someone (often trained, though this is not required) who provides non-medical support (physical and emotional) to a woman leading up to and during her labor and delivery, an aspect of care that was traditionally practiced in midwifery. A labor doula may attend a woman having a home birth or a woman laboring at home before transporting to a hospital or a birth center, where she will continue support. Doulas do not perform clinical duties such as heart rate checks or vaginal exams, or give medical advice. Labor doulas rely on techniques like massage, aromatherapy, visualization, positive positioning, emotional support, encouragement, and nurturing to help women through labor. Many offer phone and email support as well as prenatal and postpartum visits to ensure the mother is informed and supported.”
To read more about doulas on wikipedia, click here
I have had the opportunity to meet many women who are doulas since I opened Sweetheart Diapers & More. Many doulas I have come to know were inspired after becoming mothers and experiencing childbirth themselves. My most recent experience with childbirth was 5 weeks ago when my baby Cole was born. I wanted to have a natural birth experience this time, since I had an epidural with my first child. At this recent birth, I had a support team of 2 midwives, a doula, and my husband, and it was amazing. My doula was Kyrsten Burns, and her website is
Kyrsten came to my house during early labour, hours before I would have paged my midwife. Actually she spent several hours with me before my labour even started, because my water broke and labour didn’t start for another 23 hours after that. She came by my house and we did things to encourage contractions to start, including going for a long walk with me in the middle of the night! I ended up going to bed for a couple hours of rest, and she came back again when contractions began. She helped me with various coping techniques so that I could stay relaxed during the contractions which kept me from experiencing pain. Later on when my contractions became more regular (Kyrsten was timing them for me too – I didn’t have to worry about doing anything myself!) we all went to the hospital. Kyrsten and my husband helped me through all of my contractions and I experienced almost no pain! One technique we did was someone would lightly brush the inside of my elbow. It tickles a bit, and I focused on that lovely feeling while breathing deeply and slowly. When contractions got more intense, Kyrsten and my husband each took a hip and applied pressure and rotated my hips slightly while I breathed deeply and slowly and that proved to be a very effective pain killer!
I found Kyrsten’s support to be absolutely invaluable. Yes, our husbands should be there by our sides (and mine was!), but our husbands aren’t trained to assist women with labour and childbirth. And we can’t expect them to know everything. But a doula does know what to do, and they can also help give the husband tips on how he can be of help. My husband would never have thought to brew me tea and to give me ginger candies to help with nausea. Having a doula just makes so much sense to me now. Thank you Kyrsten for helping me to achieve the natural birth that I wanted as we welcomed Cole into the world!
In Windsor many of the doulas are part of a Doula Collective, which you can view here http://thedoulacollective.org. You can also see Kyrsten on there!
For more information you can visit the website of Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association of Canada, or CAPPA, where many doulas get their training: www.cappacanada.ca
I believe that everyone’s labour and birth experience will be improved with the help of a doula by their side, regardless of what type of birth you have from home birth to caesarean delivery. Having an experienced support person by your side who is there to be your personal assistant and coach is absolutely invaluable and will help to make the experience of welcoming your child into the world even better!
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