We have coaches for everything: personal trainers in the gym,
sports coaches at schools and
… labor coaches in the delivery room?
We have coaches for everything: personal trainers in the gym, sports coaches at schools and … labor coaches in the delivery room?
Having doulas on hand during a pregnant woman’s delivery is a small but ever-growing trend in childbirth. Doulas are not midwives, nurses or doctors, and they do not deliver babies. Instead, they are labor companions who provide pregnant women with knowledge, emotional support and encouragement before, during and after giving birth. The word “doula” comes from the Greek for “trusted servant” or “women’s servant.”
“Oh, we do all kinds of things for our clients in the delivery room,” said Jeanne Batacan, a doula and Morgan Hill resident. “We encourage the mother and tell her what a good job she’s doing, we offer support to the fathers, and we tell parents what rights they have as patients. We’ll also give the mothers a massage to help her with discomfort she’s feeling, or we’ll wipe her face with a cool cloth. We’re basically there to help make the experience better for the parents.”
There are two kinds of doulas: birth doulas and postpartum doulas.
Birth doulas meet with expecting mothers a couple of times before the birth to prepare them for the experience, to answer questions the mothers may have and to discuss the mothers’ wishes during the birth. The doula is there during the birth and often meets with the new mother at least once following the birth.
Postpartum doulas meet with new mothers after the birth. They help mothers adjust to having a new baby in the house, sometimes simply by watching the child while the mother catches up on sleep. Other times, they answer questions about breastfeeding or how to bathe a new baby.
After hearing her boss rave about her experience having a doula present during her labor, Melissa Hirth made the decision with her husband, Blake, to hire a doula for the birth of their first child.
“My husband travels a lot, so I thought a doula would be good to have just in case,” said Hirth, a Gilroy resident. “Also, because this was my first child, I had a lot of questions.”
After interviewing other doulas, Hirth decided on Theresa Hernandez, a Gilroy resident who has worked as a doula in Hollister, Gilroy, San Jose and other areas in and around the South Valley. Hirth said she would recommend a doula like Hernandez to anybody.
“I wanted a doula who would support me if I decided to have an epidural, and I wanted someone who I was comfortable with and who I connected with, and Theresa was all those things,” Hirth said. “When it came time for my son’s birth, we were so happy to have Theresa there. My husband was in the forefront. He was there, doing all the stuff with me, and I was able to lean on him. He focused on me instead of all the other details Theresa was taking care of, and Theresa massaged my back and my feet, which really made me feel so much better.”
Doulas educate women about what will happen during a normal birth and explain the alternatives women have to medical procedures, such as massaging certain muscles to avoid using drugs. Another main job of doulas is to provide relief for fathers, said Debbie Harmer, a doula from Gilroy.
“Some husbands want to be very involved, others want to be more in the background,” Harmer explained. “We talk about the role they want to play ahead of time. It is very difficult for the men to see their loved one in pain. We can give husbands a break, and they feel they can go make a phone call, grab some food or just go for a short walk, and their wife is good hands.”
Though women hiring doulas is still fairly uncommon, many doctors have seen doulas in the delivery room, including OB/GYN Dr. Pam Edillon at Kaiser Permanente’s Gilroy Medical Center.
“The doulas I’ve seen work in conjunction with family members that are there at the birth,” Edillon said. “Overall, I think they’re really good for providing support, especially during the early part of labor. Some women’s families just aren’t as supportive as they need them to be, so when family support isn’t there, doulas can be extremely helpful.”
Postpartum doulas can also help new mothers deal with many of the frustrations of having a new baby, including helping them adjust to the hormonal shift they experience, as well as helping parents learn how to change diapers and adjust to functioning on significantly less sleep, Edillon said.
“There are lots of great classes out there that will do the same thing, but doulas are more focused on the individual,” she said.
There are, however, two potential problems with women hiring doulas, said Edillon. The first is the cost of doulas’ services.Doulas may or may not be certified, and prices range anywhere from $475 to $1500, often on a sliding scale.
“Doulas are probably a luxury for a lot of people, because not everyone can afford to have one,” Edillon said.
The second potential issue, Edillon said, is a doula who forces her own ideas and beliefs onto the expecting mother.
“I haven’t really seen this, but it could be a problem if a doula has preconceived notions and she tries to steer the mother in a certain direction that maybe the mother doesn’t necessarily want to go,” Edillon explained. “The mother may not necessarily agree or believe the same thing, but she may go along with the doula anyway. A good doula will support the mother’s decisions no matter what, and obviously it would be important to talk to a doula about what the mother wants ahead of time.”
Giving support and understanding to mothers and fathers is what being a doula is all about, Hernandez said.
“I feel it’s really important for people in our community to know we’re here,” she explained. “This is what I love to do, and I want to help women have the best birth experience they can possibly have. I think it’s important for women and their partners to have support during one of the biggest events in their lives. We want parents to be educated and ready for the birth of their baby.”
The Dish on Doulas
Other resources for finding out more about doulas and natural childbirth:
www. cappa.org
www.dona.org
www.bayareabirthinfo.org
www.alittlemiracle.org
www.motherfriendly.org
Meet the Doulas
To meet birth and postpartum doulas to ask them your own questions and to learn more about their practices, attend an informational meeting hosted by doulas.
Meet the Doulas Tea
3pm April 22 at 7740 Ponderosa Drive, Gilroy
For more information, call Theresa Hernandez at (408) 847-6961.
