Educated Arrivals

Certified Doulas are educated and experienced in childbirth and the postpartum period. They provide physical, emotional & informational support to women and their partners during pregnancy, labor, and the weeks following childbirth. Research overwhelmingly supports doulas make a very impressive difference!

What is a birth doula?

A birth doula is like having an educated friend along with you and your partner at your birth. She will meet with you and your partner during your pregnancy. She will provide you with factual information about pregnancy, labor, delivery, postpartum, newborns and breastfeeding. You make the choices that are right for you and she supports your choices with the knowledge she has to work toward your goals. She will help you to develop a birth plan, give you continuous support in your labor with comfort measures like positions, comfort touch, breathing, escape visualization, emotional and informational support. She guides your partner to what may help you in the labor process and how to do it. Helping Dads and other partners to be most affective for Mom. She is not there to conflict with medical staff, she is completely non-medical.  She is there to encourage communication with your provider to get all of your questions answered in order for you to make the decisions that are just right for you. Once you have delivered your precious baby she will help you establish breastfeeding and will meet with you in the postpartum stage to answer your questions and offer information and support.


What do major studies tell us about the effectiveness of doula support?

Continuous doula support in labor has shown to:
(Data Analysis compiled from meta-analysis of 12 trials in a wide-variety of settings.)

• Reduce pitocin augmentation by 71%
• Reduce use of forceps by 57%
• Reduce Cesarean birth by 51%
• Reduce analgesia use by 35%
• Reduce length of labor by on average 98 minutes