Are Doulas Just For Home Births?

 Are doulas just for home births?

Most people imagine doulas as a crunchy naturalist woman who supports women during a birth without medication at home in their own bed or in their bathtub but they are so much more than that. 

What is a doula?

According to Websters Dictionary a doula is defined as:

a person trained to provide advice, information, emotional support, and physical comfort to a birthing person before, during, and just after childbirth

This means that they can support anyone giving birth anywhere they choose to (or just end up due to unforeseen circumstances) give birth. They don’t just feed ice chips and rub backs. They help the birthing person advocate for themselves and understand any intervention or change in plans made during the process of that birth. They can offer suggestions about positioning, massage aching backs, keep up morale, lead breathing or meditation exercises, take pictures, or even support the birthing person through unplanned/planned c sections. From water births to medicated and epidural c sections or births a doula can be your information, emotional and physical support person to make sure you have a say and feel like part of the team during your birth.

What about surrogates, adoption situations and other special circumstances?

Absolutely, a doula can support and assist in almost any situation where someone is giving birth. It is not their job to judge or give medical opinions, they are there to support a birthing person and their family no matter what that looks like. There are even doulas that specialize in supporting birthing people through pregnancy loss, trauma or death. End of life doulas are even their own specialty for people on hospice/palliative end of life care. Some doulas specialize in postpartum support that will come to the house of the new family in their own home. They come to the house and help the family adjust, work through feeding and sleep issues, and might even help with light housework or make a meal to help ease the tension and feeling of overwhelm most families with newborns feel in the fist few months.

So How Do I Find a Doula That Fits With My Story?

It's like dating. You need to call around and talk to several doulas before you settle on one. It is important to feel connected and safe with them so you shouldn't just settle for the first one you find. In order to locate a doula it helps to ask your friends and collegues that have used one, ask around in parent groups online or contact your hospital/doctor to locate your local birth/doula network. Discuss what you want from them and what sort of experience would fit your family's needs. Be specific and thorough, have your questions ready beforehand to make sure you don't forget anything important. Take your time doing research and deciding on what would make the perfect fit for your situation and desires. Do not leave it to the last minute so you can make sure the fit is right before the big day.  

What are the Differences in the Kinds of Doulas?

There are differences in every doula just like there are differences in doctors or first dates but depending on the goal you are looking for the doula to help you reach or the part of life you are looking for support during there can be different doulas for each one. So what kind of doulas are there and what do they help support people through?

The most well known perhaps are the birth and postpartum doulas. They can be different people or the same person depending on what the doula has decided to specialize in and offer for their clients. 

Birth doulas often meet with future families and birthing persons to come up with a birth plan and teach you basic skills and items the family may need to prepare for their new family member(s). 

--They can help you know what to expect from labor, birth, the hospital stay and postpartum period. 

--They can give you information about different kinds of births and hospital regulations so you can decide what scenario(s) feel right for your situation. 

--They can prepare you for common issues and answer questions about all your concerns in the weeks before labor about what labor feels like, how it works and what they may be feeling during that time. 

--They often teach the birthing person different methods and positions to help cope with labor and delivery of baby

---When the time comes they come with you to the hospital, house or via virtual call to offer support, information and help the birth go as smoothly as possible no matter the situations that arise (because nothing can be predicted where birth is concerned its always different and special each time).

--- After the birth they are able to help troubleshoot with breastfeeding, changing diaper and dressing baby, bonding methods and sleep issues while in the pace of birth to help new families learn about their new member(s) in a comforting judgement free environment before they are "left to their own devices"

Postpartum doulas do not attend births or meet with families before the arrival of baby. They come to your house after the birth and give support, help and information in the weeks after coming home.

--- They can teach methods of bathing, changing, feeding or swaddling to help take some of the concern and stress out of new parenthood.

--- They can help be extra hands for caregivers of newborns to relieve feelings of being overwhelmed

--- They can offer ideas about positions and navigate issues with breastfeeding or bottle feeding to maximize success

--- They can give information about parent support groups nearby to build a support system for new families.

---- They can help with light chores around the house to get caught up or just relieve stress

---- They can offer distraction for older children so new baby can be fed, bathed, or sleep without interruption for a small amount of time (think enough time for new parent to grab a shower or snack in peace)

---- They can answer questions about "is this normal" so new parents can be reassured about things that are normal for new babies or have second opinion about whether more intervention or investigation is indicated (need a medical opinion or expert advice)

The less commonly known and more specialized doulas include but are not limited to (always finding more different kinds and niches for different needs): antepartum doulas, sibling doula, grief and loss (bereavement) doulas, fertility doulas, geriatric doulas and end of life doulas.

Antepartum doulas help birthing persons anytime during their pregnancy. They provide information, education, emotional and physical support throughout the pregnancy and help families to be deal with common and uncommon medical or pregnancy related issues during this time.

Sibling doulas help new siblings to adjust to the new family member(s) before and after birth by seeing their social and emotional needs and helping families understand how to meet them where they are and adjust to new sibling(s).

Bereavement doulas help people deal with grief. Whether the loss of a pregnancy, a family member or life changing medical diagnosis which causes someone to mourn the life they had. A doula offers physical, emotional, and educational support during this very difficult time.

Fertility doulas help families trying to have a baby. No matter what their journey looks like whether using traditional or non traditional methods to conceive they can offer information and support about how the body works, methods to try and people to reach out to when needed as well as helping families talk through the pros and cons of every method and find the ones that work for their family and budget.

Geriatric doulas help people and families with aging family members. They offer information, education and physical support for people during this very transitional period of their lives. They can help people understand new or ongoing medical diagnoses, issues with mobility and health concerns. They can help people understand which things are part of the aging process and which ones need medical support.

End of Life doulas are support for people who are nearing the end of their life. Whether sudden or gradual this is a very hard time for people as no one really expects "that time" to be now. These doulas help people accept, cope and receive the care and support they need from doctors, families and counselors during this difficult period. They work with the person preparing to pass and the families to make this transition as gentle and positive as it can be.