HW#42

Doula: labor coach: an assistant who offers support for a woman in labor by encouraging her to use techniques learned in childbirth-preparation classes.

           A doula’s position is to be at the woman’s side during her birth process. Aside from giving her continuous care from a physical and emotional standpoint, the Doula is medically trained to assist pregnant women should anything go wrong. Much like a midwife, the Doula provides a peaceful environment with no stress. The only difference is that the midwife is much better suited to fix medical problems that can occur during the birth. The Doula’s main concern is the woman and giving her what she wants. The Doula’s main tool is his/her ability to stay calm even in the tensest situations which is why they prove to be so valuable to the pregnant women.

          Over the course of history while women have become more independent, they have also been losing connection with their family and the bond that it formed between its members when they pass though a situation such as birth, together. The Doula’s job was first the simple idea of what a mother or sister or any close relative did when assisting the birthing mother. Over time this idea formed into a job position that some women could fill although not in the exact same way a person related to you could. As women began to be encouraged to make decisions they also decided to take the necessary precautions to assure that their child would be born the way they wanted to without any real danger. The importance of this job especially stands out today because of the increasing number of teenage pregnancies and single mothers that like any woman want a natural childbirth without unnecessary risks.

           Prime examples include nearly every result from a Google search on Doula’s and the experience that most of these people have under their belts is more than impressive and allows for a wide range of choice when a mother to be is faced with a decision. Taking a look at the first few results from a search it became immediatlly obvious that Doula’s have become just as important to some as doctors or OB/GYN’s and a lot of people have begun to notice. DONA International is a website dedicated to giving pregnant women information on Doulas with links to other web pages that allow the women to find a doula or consider becoming one. On this one site, there are links to every possible website with anything that has to do with Doula’s to avoid women having questions or worries. Aside from these links the website also has news articles related to homebirths and advances in medicine to update the reader on the latest news. Doula.com shows the basic in’s and out’s of hiring doula’s, the price ranges and other pages relating to doula’s and natural birth. The 3rd website (that to me is the most important) is a directory of all the Doulas in my general area with one general directory for each state. The importance of this website comes not only from its educational value but also from the help that it provides to women that would be otherwise oblivious to this “theory” of natural birth, midwives and doula’s. More specific websites are only about single Doulas such as www.doulaura.com. This website caught my attention and stood out to me like no other did because it helped me realize that being a doula is more a way of life than a way to make money. Laura Gigantino, the Doula that is being advertised tells her story and explains the reason why she became a doula. The more I read, the more I became convinced that she is a real person and how honest she was being to her audience. To make herself pop out a little more, she broke away from the traditional presentation of the straight facts such as her work experiences and went on a more personal note that more readers can relate to.

     Aside from this one example, there were pages upon pages of information on doula’s as well as actual doula’s for hire. Over the course of finding my sources and proof that doula’s are very helpful, I learned from looking at the results that doula’s are the real deal and many people are beginning to find it to be common place for a smart woman to seek for a midwife or a doula to assist her in birth. Along with many positive websites, I came across a handful of websites that took aim at the profession and attempted to make points that where either invalid or not supported by enough evidence. One of the most commonly talked about issues is the infant mortality rate and how having a homebirth (most common setting for a midwife or doula) can be a danger for the child and mothers life. The reason why this is not an accurate statement is because of the obvious contradictions with data that has disproved this theory. More of the ideas posed by these websites can simply be dismissed using common sense. Does it really make sense that a woman can be safe going to a hospital with the level of stress doctors put them through and the unavoidable Cesarean section? Having a birth at home rarely results in a visit to the hospital because the mood is incredibly different and there is practically no reason for a woman to need a c-section, unless the baby is too big or it is a breech baby.

       All of those failed attempts at bringing down the vocation only accentuate its growing strength amongst pregnant women and women planning on having children and how truly safe it is to have someone assisting you throughout your process. Over time I hope to see midwives and doulas become a more common thing as they are beginning to now and I hope to see each profession mix with medicine in a more equal way, such as doctors working hand in hand with the midwives and doulas.