Advice on whether a doula is for us

[volunteerdoula]

Hi again, yes that is absolutely what a doula does/can do for you as a support person during your labour. It sounds like a doula would be a perfect fit for you and DH.

There is an awesome website called mybirth.com.au and it has statistics on all the hospitals around Australia. This is a great tool for evaluating the type of care or the "practicing style" at each hospital. It would be an interesting comparison between your local public and private hospitals! In particular, check their caesarean, induction, epidural and episiotomy rates. By way of example, there are 2 public and 1 private hospitals clos-ish to me. Their episiotomy stats are 7 - 16 - 30% with the private hospital having the 30%. IMO that is ridiculously high! I'd be steering clear of that hospital. However, in saying that, private hospitals can have some perks (like hubby being able to stay) so it would just make it even more important (if you chose a birthplace with high intervention rates) to surround yourself with a great support team (i.e. DH and doula), make sure you like the midwives and maybe do some extra prep like Hypnobirthing for example. Your local doulas will also know a bit about each hospital so ask what their experience has been with them too.

Personally, I think it's really important to have a woman in the room whom you know and trust (especially if you don't know the midwives or who you will get on the day) and who can be there continuously. This helps the mum (and dad) to feel safe which is so important during the birthing process. The feelings of anyone in the room can have a profound effect on the birthing process and the presence of a doula can protect the couple's emotional space, help you to stay positive and thus have more of a chance that everything will progress smoothly.

BellyBelly actually has an awesome article on doulas and one sentence really stands out to me:
"A recent review of many studies from around the world have concluded that a doula’s support is more effective than hospital staff, friends or family."
Plus of course all the (statistical) benefits of having a doula such as:
•50% less caesarean sections
•Reduction in the use of forceps by 40%
•60% less requests for epidurals
•40% reduction in the use of synthetic oxytocin for inductions or augmentations
•30% reduction in use of pain medication
•25% reduction in labour length
•Increased rates of breastfeeding at 6 weeks post-partum (51% vs 29%)
•Higher self-esteem (74% vs 59%), less anxiety (28% vs 40%) and less depression (10% vs 23%) at 6 weeks post-partum"
That's reason enough for me to believe that having a doula is a very, VERY good idea!!

I really wish I had had a doula at my first birth. My first birth was emotionally traumatic and I believe this was because I did not know any of the staff and so their ability to help me relax and encourage me was limited. Having a pre-established relationship is very important (to me at least)! We were counting on my caseload midwife (public hospital program where you get assigned 1 midwife for all your care) to be there but (in a case of very bad luck) she wasn't available when I went into labour so I didn't know anyone except DH of course and I really think this affected how my labour progressed (or didn't as it turned out!). When the midwives who attended said "you're doing great" "it's going to be fine" "just relax" I just could not believe them. I think if I had heard those things from someone I knew and trusted it may have helped. And even if it had still been a difficult labour, I think that having a doula with me would have helped me to process my feelings afterward and be ok with it all. As I said, it was emotionally traumatic (not physically) and I think this is because I felt so alone and scared and things just didn't go to plan.
In comparison, my 2nd and 3rd births were amazing and I attribute this to 2 things:
1. Preparation: I prepared for these births with hypnobirthing, which left me feeling much more confident, relaxed, positive and focussed (plus I had tools to help me through the labour which I didn't for my first).
2. Support: I still didn't know about doulas at my 2nd birth but I did have a midwife that I knew and trusted with me. She was like my doula and midwife all rolled into one! (this is not the norm for hospital births so I was very lucky to have her!)

In regards to your other questions:
1. Yes, give the doulas in your area a call. I'm sure they will be happy to meet with you and chat so you can see who you gel with best.
2. Yes, it's a good idea to put in your birth plan that you will be having a doula and who that will be. Then discuss your birth plan with your care provider to see how they feel about your birth preferences. You do not need their "permission" to have a doula with you as a doula does not provide clinical care and is more like a friend or relative (just with more experience with birth!). I would be very uneasy if a care provider/hospital expressed concerns over using a doula!
3. Yes, book your doula asap. The earlier you book her the more time you will have to develop a relationship of trust and friendship with her and is good just in case she gets booked out later on!

Anyway, I love this video about doulas - food for thought: xxxx

Best wishes and feel free to email me if you have any more q's.

Christa
xx