A doula...

Recognizes birth as a key life experience that the mother will remember all her life...

Understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor...

Assists the woman and her partner in preparing for and carrying out their plans for the birth...

Stays by the side of the laboring woman throughout the entire labor...

Provides emotional support, physical comfort measures, an objective viewpoint and assistance to the woman in getting the information she needs to make good decisions...

Facilitates communication between the laboring woman, her partner and clinical careproviders...

Perceives her role as one who nutures and protects the woman's memory of her birth experience.

Doula Statistics

Studies have shown the use of a doula
during labor and delivery can have the fol-
lowing beneficial effects:

•50% reduction in the cesarean rate

•25% shorter labor

•50% reduction in epidural requests

•40% reduction in oxytocin use

•30% reduction in analgesia use

•40% reduction in forceps delivery

LongTerm Benefits:

•Improved breastfeeding

•Increased time spent with baby

•Increased maternal satisfaction with
birth experience

•Decreased postpartum depression

Summarized—Chapter 3 of Mothering the Mother—How
a Doula Can Help You Have A Shorter, Easier, and Healthier Birth by M.H. Klaus, J.H. Kennell, and P.H. Klaus; Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., New York (1993).

 

Doulas make a difference !

Sakinah Irizarry
Doula
Saugerties, NY
Tara Schatzel
Doula
Saugerties, NY
Nadine Hoffstatter
Doula
Saugerties, NY
Fiona Cottrell
Birth and Postpartum Doula
Saugerties, NY
Dana Scarano
Birth Doula
Massage Therapist
Ulster Park, NY 		Jill Kiernan
Birth Doula
Stanfordville, NY

Your doula is there for you each step of the way