Why And How To Choose A Doula

Choosing the perfect team to assist you as you give birth will highly affect your birthing experience – which is why some women opt to choose a doula or a professional birth assistant. A doula is a health practitioner who supports pregnant women throughout the whole course of their pregnancy. She is there to provide support from labor to the actual delivery. More than just that, she offers informational, emotional and physical support to the woman giving birth. Doulas do not offer medical support. They are not medically trained and so they cannot perform vaginal checks, assess fetal heart tones or take a woman's vital signs. In this article, we will share with you some important tips to keep in mind when you choose doula.

The misconception – A misconception among doulas is that they only help women who choose natural birth,  meaning birth delivery without pain medications and the like. Contrary to what most people believe in, birth doulas may be able to assist women for various types of birth deliveries – cesarean section, high-risk deliveries, induction and the like. In fact, women who have a sensitive  pregnancy are advised to choose a doula. As we all know, unnecessary medical interventions may cause higher risk of discomfort both to the woman and the baby. Your doula will make you understand the different benefits as well as the possible disadvantages of his services. Her primary goal is to provide you with a healthy, safe, happy and satisfying birth experience.

The advantages of hiring a doula – It has been proven by various studies that having a doula decreases one's risks of C-section and epidural requests. Aside from that, it may also shorten the length of labor. Some women who have given birth with a doula claimed that they have had great experience in breastfeeding, satisfaction during the actual delivery and even decrease postpartum depression.

You may consider the tips below when planning to choose a doula.

• You may contact some major certifying organizations. - There are several institutions which may be able to provide you a list of doulas in your area. These include the DONA International, Childbirth and Postpartum Professionals Association and the Association of Labor Assistants and Childbirth Educators.
• Make an online research – A lot of doulas today have websites. They may be nowhere in the Yellow Pages but through the internet, you're sure to get a directory of doulas in just a click.
• Ask your doctor – Your family doctor, midwife or your OB may be able to help you locate a good doula. In fact, some obgyns even work with a specific group of doulas. In some cases, the doctor may tell you that hiring a doula is unnecessary and that it is just an added expense. If this is the case, you may find another doctor. Keep in mind that you have the right to choose the people who you want to be with you inside the delivery room.

Make it a point to shortlist at least three doulas. Once your list is ready, it's time to interview your candidates for the screening. Be sure to ask a lot of questions during the interview. It helps if you list down all of your possible questions even before you meet with your doula candidates.