Childbirth, Women, and Doulas

Abstract

This note of thanks written to Amy's labor support woman, referred to as her doula, displays the intensity with which some women view the childbirth experience and the experience of childbirth with a doula as transformative. While not every woman has the same experience with a doula, the overall medical consensus is that doulas provide positive childbirth outcomes for women and their babies. One of the roles of the doula, specifically in hospital childbirth, is to advocate for the laboring woman as she navigates the medical system in addition to providing continuous physical and emotional support. How and in what way this happens is the target of this book. This research investigated the work of doulas and the perceptions of how doulas differed from other medical personnel. It examined the different aspects of the doulas' role as they prepared, accompanied, and then reflected back with the birthing woman and her partner about the childbirth experience.