A doula is a professional trained in childbirth who provides support to the woman who is expecting, in labor or has recently given birth. The doula's role is to help women have a safe, memorable and empowering birthing experience.
A doula is a professional care provider who understands and trusts the process of birth, who respects its transcendent and sacred aspects as well as its physical and emotional aspects, and who facilitates the birth experience for the parents, baby, and primary care givers.
A doula supports and encourages woman-centered, non-technical, unmedicated birth as the safest possible choice for mothers and babies today. Doulas provide continuity of care prenatally through the postpartum period consisting of:
- Emotional Support (encouragement, reassurance, continuous presence)
- Informational Support (education, informed choices, alternatives)
- Physical Support (comfort measures, positions, relaxation techniques, breathing)
- Advocacy/Facilitation (promoting collaboration among the birth team)
Most often the word doula is referring to the birth doula, or labor support companion, but there is also the antepartum doula and the postpartum doula. In the following information, the word doula will be referring to the labor doula. Doulas can also be called labor companions, labor support specialist, labor support professional, birth assistants or labor assistants.