Welcome to ‘The Gentle Journey’. I hope you will pour yourself a cup of tea, sit down and join me as I share thoughts, inspiration and more from my work as ‘The Gentle Doula’.
“So,” you may ask, “what exactly is a doula?” That’s a good question! So many words come immediately to mind: companion, helper, friend, guide, listener, assistant, cheerleader…
I find that only about half the people I talk to about my newly chosen profession have heard of doulas before. If you’re one of the many who don’t yet know what a doula is, the simplest explanation is that a doula is a support person. To define it more clearly, a doula’s model of support involves providing a high level of individual care while working alongside a client in a very personal and caring way.
Looking more specifically at what a birth doula is, a birth doula (also known as a labour and birth doula) is someone outside of the medical profession who is familiar with the processes of labour and birth, is dedicated to providing comfort and encouragement to a labouring woman, and is committed to supporting their clients from pregnancy right through to the first postpartum weeks.
Doulas are generally available to talk, answer questions, provide encouragement or just listen throughout a woman’s pregnancy. Scheduling several prenatal meetings ensures that the client and the doula get to know one another and allows time to learn the expectant mother’s needs and thoughts for the birth, discuss any comfort measures that might be used, and share any fears or concerns that the client may have around labour and birth. Once the due date nears, the doula is available 24/7 and, when the time comes, will be available to provide in-person support throughout labour. After the baby’s birth, a doula will stay to see the new mother settled and, lastly, will connect with her client for one last visit a few weeks after baby arrives.
So, what exactly is a labour and birth doula? A birth doula is a support person whose purpose is to be a resource, friend and guide to an expectant woman – with the goal of making the journey to birth a better one for each of the clients she works with.
Whether for yourself or for someone you know, I hope that this brief description might help you decide that hiring a doula for an upcoming birth is a great option to consider!
Coming up next: A look at the benefits of having a doula