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Doula Delivery

Is a doula delivery the right option for your child birth experience?

Author: Suzy

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Doula is derived from the Greek word meaning "female helper". A doula is a certified birthing assistant. She isn-t medically trained to actually deliver your baby. She can-t replace your doctor or midwife, but she can offer constant support throughout labor and delivery and into postpartum.

So what exactly does a doula do? If you elect to hire a doula to assist in your labor and delivery process, she will be available to offer continuous care and support throughout the experience. Unlike nurses and doctors that work in the labor and delivery ward of a hospital, your doula will only have one patient to care for... you. She-ll offer not only emotional support, but she-s trained to provide pain relief through such methods as massage, breathing techniques and water therapy. This can help in alleviating the need to pain medications and epidurals, and possibly even shorten the amount of time it takes to labor before delivery.

Will a doula replace the traditional birth coach role of dad-to-be? No. Dad-s need to be as much as part of the birthing experience as possible. But a lot of times they just don-t know what to do for their partners. The emotional connections can be such that they just feel frustrated that they can-t take the pain away. A doula can assist mom to be more comfortable and make the labor and delivery process that much more enjoyable (if such a thing is possible.)

You can find a doula in your area either by asking your doctor or the hospital where you-ll be giving birth, or going to www.Dona.org.

About Author

Suzy is a mother of 4 and offers her experiences and knowledge in a variety of parenting articles on her website http://www.suzyskidz.com.

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