The word “doula” is Greek, and means “woman’s servant”. For thousands of years, women have served other women during their births, and their support has been proven to have positive outcomes.
“It is a matter of the woman being comfortable, not stressed, in a place where she feels safe, without people fussing, without other people stressing, without anyone else trying to have the baby for her, no clocks, no timing, no telling her what her body already knows.” — Libby Williams
A doula is a woman who has been trained in childbirth, either professionally or through experience, to aid women in their prenatal, labor, birth, and postpartum experience. Her main goal is the mother’s health, wellness, and comfort. She will provide emotional, physical, and informational support throughout the process.
Usually, doula’s are available 24/7 for texting and phone call support, and are available in the weeks surrounding a mother’s birth.Her place is always by the mother’s side, or helping to do the things a mother needs to have done.
Months before your baby is due, you should already hire your doula, so everyone can build a strong relationship in preparation for the child. They are able to lower your birth risks, first and most importantly by helping you write up a cohesive birth plan. Doula’s concern themselves with the mother’s health and wellness, and will aid the mother in making nutritionally sound choices, and this leads to reduced rates of preeclampsia and gestational diabetes during pregnancy. They are able to aid in laboring techniques, which results in statistically lower use of epidurals and other pain interference during the birth process. Having a doula has been proven to reduce c-section rates, as well as give the mother and father a greater satisfaction with birth experience.
Doula’s are not there to take the husband or partner’s place; they are there to
“My husband (partner) is my left hand and my doula is my right.” — from “Doula’s Making a Difference”.
support and affirm both parents. Doula’s give the partner comfort and confidence in their role, can help the partner remember key decisions in rapidly changing situations, and can make sure the partner is in the right place at the right time.
Just as importantly, a doula gives your medical staff assistance as well. If you end up deciding that you would like medication, your doula can remind you of your birth plan, or tell you about your options as needed.Doctors and nurses tend to feel their patients are more informed when they have a doula in the room, and they also know that the mother with a doula is usually calmer and less anxious than other mothers. This leads to quicker, safer births.
Lastly, having a postpartum doula can lead to reduced postpartum depression, as well as gives the mother the much needed rest that she not only wants but requires! More and more evidence is showing that how a mother is taken care of in the year after her child is born (but especially during the 4th trimester!) effects her for the rest of her life! It is so vital and important for a mother to spend her first month postpartum in bed, and this is where a postpartum doula can come in. She can give the motherbreastfeeding support, help with small housework such as laundry and cooking, and look after the baby for a moment so mom can grab a quick shower! A postpartum doula is also a good person to talk to about postpartum belly binding, if you think you are interested.
Black infants consistently have had the lowest rates of breastfeeding initiation and duration across all study years. Black mothers may need more, targeted support to start and continue breastfeeding (cdc.gov). Hiring a doula can help you gain confidence while breastfeeding a newborn.
Every woman should have a doula at her birth–and worldwide there are thousands! There are so many women eager and willing to give another woman the care she deserves during her child bearing experience, please be sure to ask around your town for help no matter what your financial situation, or how well you think you can handle everything alone!
Please contact me if you have any more questions about what a doula is or does!
At the moment, I service Postpartum mothers through belly binding and pregnancy, postpartum, and birth rituals. If you are looking for a birthworker of color still feel free to talk to me, however! I am connected with hundreds of birthworkers across the United States (and some beyond!) and would love to see if we can connect you with someone who can closely align with your personal needs!
“The way a woman gives birth can affect the whole of the rest of her life. How can that not matter? Unless the woman herself does not matter?” –Beverley Beech and Belinda Phipps
Many moms ask me, “Tahtahme, is it too late to start?” You will find people who claim that there is no evidence belly binding works, or that it is a waste of time to do after the first 40 days postpartum. From my own experience and others I have witnessed, as well as thousands of years of indigenous historical evidence, I would say that is not true. Women at all stages of their journey have found postpartum belly binding and waist training to be useful to themselves, even beyond the fourth trimester.
Many mothers still find belly binding useful beyond the 4th trimester, even several years and pregnancies after their first child!
I started binding at almost 90 days postpartum, and saw drastic results the first day I tried it. Women who get cesarean sections are often encouraged to wait anywhere from a few days to a few weeks postpartum to begin binding–allowing their incision to heal–and they still express relief, comfort, and healing from belly binding. In addition, many women begin belly binding several years and several babies later. They, too, experience positive results with their “mommy tummy” (which is often simply undiagnosed diastasis recti).
I did not start belly binding until the 4th trimester was almost over, and have had many clients who started decades after their last pregnancy with success.
What you need to do for fitness might vary depending on how recently you had a baby, but binding can still aid you on your journey! Waist training should never (and could never) replace healthy eating and exercising, but nothing can replace those things. Belly binding is a useful aid for repairing your abdominal muscles, working on your posture, strengthening your core, suppressing a large appetite, bringing saggy skin back up to the body, and realigning your womb.You will never know if this could work for you until you try!
Many women find that even though they had originally assumed they would need thousands of dollars worth of reconstructive surgery, all that they needed were the correct tools to assist their healing!
I can’t control this one.
Again
I find myself embarking on adventures
With you…
Unsure of where the road takes us I have had to learn to trust
I have had to learn to breath
I have had to learn that
When it comes to us
Things will be different and
Unexpected.
I consider so many possibilities
But
In the end I
Release them all into
The still night as you
Snore beside me in your peace.
I could never predict
Where the path we hold hands on
Will lead to.
The Path of a Goddess 