Every Woman Deserves a Doula
What is the first thing that pops into your head when you hear the word, “childbirth”?
PAIN BABY CONTRACTIONS LABOR FAINTING HYSTERICS
PROFANITY BRIGHT LIGHTS EXPOSURE
The anticipation of “BIRTH DAY” and all that labor involves brings about emotions of FEAR, fear of the unknown being one. TV sitcoms promote fear in the birthing arena. How many of us have seen craziness in the labor and delivery room in the movie 9 Months or in the episode of Friends when Jennifer Anniston gave birth to her baby. Pregnant women are often accosted by mothers of young children wanting to share their horror stories of giving birth.
The miracle of birth affects each and every one of us. How many of you have ever witnessed an actual birth? We have the honor of being invited into the intimate arena of labor and birth by our clients. We are DOULAS. Doula is a Greek word that means servant. A Doula or Labor Support Person accompanies a woman and her partner during her labor and birth. She is there to educate the couple, thereby reducing the fear surrounding birth. She supports the woman emotionally and physically. She acts as a role model for the partner and is in no means there to take the partners place. She helps them gather information to make decisions. Her main purpose is to help the birthing couple achieve their goals for labor and birth and to help make the birthing atmosphere loving and safe.
Women have been attending women through childbirth for centuries. Research shows that when a woman has a Doula present during her labor and birth:
When a woman is nurtured during the perinatal period she is better able to turn around and nurture her baby.
The mother/infant bond is the infant’s first social relationship. A strong bond leads to the development of independent, trusting, loving, babies, toddlers, teens, adults, communities.
Women are EMPOWERED by the process of natural birth
The clinical or hospital birth does not support the process of normal birth. The more medical interventions one has during her labor the more likely it is she will have a cesarean birth. More than six out of every ten women have a cesarean birth.
Education is power. It allows the laboring couple to be advocates for the health of the woman and child. This is true for all of us as well in regards to our own health care.
We are DONA certified Doulas. DONA stands for Doulas of North America. Doulas are educated in the birthing process and we provide the comfort measures needed for an easier birth.
We incorporate relaxation, massage, touch, eye contact, focal points, mantras, rhythm, rituals, breathing, imagery, music, scented candles and lotions and more for the laboring mother during her birth.
Each woman is different in what support she needs during labor to reach her goals. Every labor is different. A safe environment frees her to do the work she needs to do in order to birth her child.
Fear of the pain, the hysteria, the exposure, and the unknown in childbirth is the plight of all pregnant women.
We as a society are conditioned to the “quick fix” when it comes to what ails us. The epidural is the laboring woman’s painless escape from reality which in reality numbs her from the vibrancy of the miracle of birth.
Birth profoundly affects women. Women love to share their birth stories and they remember the details for years to come. The Doula’s role is to assist the woman in what ever way necessary for her to reach her goals.
Women attending women during birth is a tradition that is centuries old. Every woman deserves a Doula.
For More information please contact:
Maggie Horn IBCLC, CD(DONA), HBCE
305/527-6225
Yoly Leal Castellanos CD(DONA), CLC, HBCE
305/297-4955