Do you Doula?

I have been an accountant for 11 years now. I have never enjoyed it and not only that it has always felt unnatural.

 

When I became pregnant with my first child, Goo I kept hearing from people that I should hire a Doula. Even my OB/GYN suggested it. I didn't know what that was and in effort to conceal that I just nodded.

 

Throughout my pregnancy I was obsessed with everything that was happening or was going to happen. I read books and articles. I read, and talked nothing but baby. I was convinced that after being told by Gynecologists, and Reproductive Endocrinologists that C and I were unable to have kids that this would be my only shot at having my own child.

 

When I had a spontaneous pre-term rupture of the membranes all the reading flew out of my head. I panicked and so did C. After 12 hours of labor my heart stopped. The doctors were able to bring me back but Goo's heart beat had dropped below 30 beats and had stayed that way for over 9 minutes.

 

My doctor preformed an emergency cesarean birth. There she determined that I had a complete abruption of the placenta and was hemorrhaging to death. Obviously I survived.

 

My experiences and my research allowed me to be a great resource for other pregnant women and I soon found them asking me all kinds of questions. Soon I had become a pregnancy guru and I loved it.

 

Two years later I was working for a baby gear manufacturer and I encountered a woman in Florida that owned a baby boutique. Her name was Diana and she was a doula. She told me that I was perfect to become a Doula and she really thought I should look into it. The word kept coming up so I asked her what it was. She explained that it was a woman trained in pregnancy, labor, and support. She helps the woman through labor and afterwards to establish breastfeeding.

A labor doula or birth doula is someone (often trained, though this is not required) who provides non-medical support (physical and emotional) to a woman leading up to and during her labor and delivery, as aspect of care that was traditionally practiced in midwifery. A labor doula may attend a woman having a home birth or a woman laboring at home before transporting to a hospital or a birth center, where they will continue their support. They do not perform clinical duties such as heart rate checks or vaginal exams, or give medical advice. Labor doulas rely on techniques like massage, positive positioning, emotional support, encouragement, and nurturing to help women through labor. Many offer phone and email support as well as prenatal and postpartum visits to ensure the mother is informed and supported. The terms of a labor/birth doula's responsibilities are decided between the doula and the family. The doula is also an ally for the father or partner, who may have little experience with the labor process and may also find the process anxiety provoking. Studies have shown that childbirth education can help reduce paternal anxiety ^[5] and one of the doula's roles is to educate.^[6] A responsible doula supports, encourages, and educates the father or partner in their support style rather than replacing them.^[7]

Having a doula can have a powerful impact on a woman's labor including a 50% reduction in c-section rates, a 60% reduction in requests for pain medication, and mothers who were supported by a doula believed their babies cried less than others' babies and that they were better able to care for their babies than anyone else.^[8] Dr. John Kennell, who has studied the impact doulas have on mothers, babies, and childbirth, says, “If a Doula were a drug, it would be malpractice not to use it”.

 

 

Finally I found out that there was a name for what I had already been doing and even more I could get paid to do it!

 

 

I started training and am proud and happy to say that I will soon complete the schooling part of my training and begin to attend births. Soon I will be

 

Sherilyn CD(DONA)