The Doula

We (mostly Tanya) have done some research into having a Doula.

What's a Doula? From the Web - "The word, "doula," comes from the Greek word for the most important female slave or servant in an ancient Greek household, the woman who probably helped the lady of the house through her childbearing. The word has come to refer to "a woman experienced in childbirth who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the mother before, during and just after childbirth."

A friend for mine at my work, Sharon, recently had her first child. Donny, her husband, was as skeptical as am I about the need for what I at first considered was just another 'consultant'; when the Hospital and Clinic we've been attending seem quite enlightened and are 'baby friendly' already.

Though Sharon and Donny had similar reservations, friends of their's had glowing reviews/opinions regarding the benefits of having a Doula and we were impressed enough with their thoughts and comments to explore further. In fact, Sharon's friend said that if Sharon did not want to have a Doula, they'd personally pay for Sharon to have a Doula - because it had been such a great experience for them.

Sharon had two of her sisters with her (both of them had had their own children already) and they both were impressed enough with having a Doula, that they said if they were to get pregnant again, they would both choose to have Doula's as well.

The Doulas plays the role of contant advisor / attendant - providing the nursing services you might otherwise expect the Hospital nurses to provide - but apparently the Hospital nurses are not able to provide the care you would like because they are dealing with multiple patients and have a tremendous amount of paper-work to attend to.

You meet with them several times before the birth event and page them when thing get cooking. The Doula then works with you to estimate / evaluate how quickly or not-so-quickly things are progressing and hopefully lets you stay at home untill the real action picks up and you really have to get going to the hosptial. Then, they stay with you 24-7 as you go through the birthing process and act as your advisor / proponent in dealing with hosptial staff.

They provide post-partem consulting services as well (some are lactation consultants as well).

So, that being said, we (I) am a little more willing to look into these baby-popping consultants.... Looks like there are some freaky 'new-agers' out there and also some more 'traditional' Doulas that may be a good fit us.

We've found one in-fact, who is European, has written numerous on-the-Web and conventional-print articles and more importantly attended thousands of biths, She is an RN, IBCLC, CD (DONA), LCCE, FACCE (whatever the rest of these after RN stands for) and is a speaker/educator who spent several decades in New York as a Child-birth expert and is a Doula extra-ordinarre. She's retired to the San Diego area to be near her son as heis a Marine at Camp Pembleton, thought she just can't fully retire.

We'll meet with her this week to feel her out and to learn more about 'Doulism' first hand.