Another hour or two, and the sensations are growing, I want to stop when a new fight comes, wait it out, take a breath. Then a little more time passes and a slight feeling of pain appears. Thoughts swirling in my head: “What if I can’t do it? If I can’t handle the pain? I want support and help. And at that moment the doula appears. This is a kind sorceress, a caring friend and a loving mother at the same time! The task of a doula is to ensure that a woman is comfortable during childbirth. This is the assistant who will fulfill any request, support with encouraging words, which a woman sometimes needs so much. A doula can give massages to ease contractions, bring water and breathe with the mom-to-be. A doula is a support and support. Sometimes it happens that a loved one cannot go to the maternity hospital with a woman or is not able to help in a home birth. It is in such a situation that a doula will always come to the rescue. There are some misconceptions about doula competence. We will debunk them! So how can a doula help?
Voice the wishes of the woman or tell the medical staff about the symptoms seen (in case the birth takes place in the maternity hospital) Bring water, fitball, put on relaxing music Make the bed, help change clothes Help change posture, stand up, lie down, go to the toilet Make Pain relief massage Provide rebosotherapy Encourage the woman, praise, breathe together Help to breastfeed (often doulas are also lactation consultants) What not to do with a doula: Put CTG Take blood and other tests Perform any medical manipulations Give recommendations Persuade a woman to take any actions or dissuade them Evaluate the actions of a woman, scold her, call for order and calmness Criticize Interfering with the actions of the medical staff Carry out the work of a nurse (wash the ward, remove garbage, etc.)
Literally translated from the ancient Greek “doula” means “slave”. In a sense, these strong and wise women do become slaves for pregnant women, but their blessed work cannot be compared with the stereotypical ideas of slave labor.
In a number of clinics in Europe and America, there are special programs for cooperation with doulas. For example, Denbury Hospital, after certain educational, certification and preventive procedures, issues a doula certificate as a hospital employee and subsidizes her services. Many international insurance companies cover doula services.
What is the doula effect?
The most important mission of a doula is to create comfort for a woman, therefore, the result of her work is a more natural and successful childbirth without stress and tears. In addition, there are statistics that show that the participation of a doula in childbirth reduces the percentage of caesarean sections and other medical interventions.
What else can a doula do?
· Rebozo Massage The Rebozo is a traditional Mexican scarf that women use for a variety of purposes. They can hide, you can carry your baby in it like in a sling, you can use it as a hammock. And besides that, they get a massage. · Stranding Stretching is a well-thought-out physiological effect on a woman in labor that has come down to us from our ancestors in order to restore her as soon as possible. It is designed to return the spent energy to a woman and help the body regain its tone, and the body to become elastic and slender. Everything is interesting in povivanie: ritual songs, sacred numbers, and connection with all the elements of nature, and especially Mother Earth. Postnatal care, in its essence, collects a woman after childbirth – the body, psyche, emotions, frees the mind. · Encapsulation of the placenta If childbirth takes place at home, the woman keeps her placenta and has the right to dispose of it at her own discretion. There are different ways to use the placenta and one of them is encapsulation. It is believed that eating your own placenta helps a woman’s body recover faster and get in shape. Many doulas encapsulate the placenta by drying and crushing it.
Who can be your doula?
A doula, that is, a support and assistant in childbirth, can be your sister or close friend, who herself has experience in childbirth and understands the whole psychology and physiology of the process. There are also qualified doulas, such as the Association of Professional Doulas. Doula education involves the passage of a program that includes the following lectures: The role of a doula, the effects of non-judgmental support, a resource for a woman in labor Non-judgmental emotional support Communication, empathic listening Finding yourself in a doula position Etc. But the most important thing for a doula is constant experience and learning from real life situations.