You may be asking, "Why is a doula telling me that I don't need her services??"
Well, the operative word there is "need." Women have been having babies since the dawn of time, and for 99% of that time, they've been giving birth with no medical help. Even if they had a midwife or other birth helper in the past, the real work of birthing a baby was done by the mama herself, in most cases.
No one "needs" a doula to have a baby. But here are 6 results from a 2012 study drawn from over 15,000 births that illustrate why you should definitely want one:
- 31% decrease in the use of Pitocin
- 28% decrease in the risk of C-section
- 12% increase in the likelihood of a spontaneous vaginal birth
- 9% decrease in the use of any medications for pain relief
- 14% decrease in the risk of newborns being admitted to a special care nursery
- 34% decrease in the risk of being dissatisfied with the birth experience
Did those numbers catch your eye? They definitely caught mine! In today's hospital birth setting especially, the doula plays an important role of holding space and empowering families to create the births they want.
Doulas provide the support, experience, and non-judgmental compassion that birthing families need.
Your birth story is something you will remember for the rest of your life! If you want to increase the likelihood of being satisfied with your birth experience, then you want to hire a doula. And this doula will look forward to hearing from you soon.