Thanks so much for all your responses to this! I should probably clarify that I certainly don't expect my doula to offer me medical advice - I know that is not her responsibility, and it would be putting any doula in an awkward position if you were looking for medical recommendations from them. After having a think about things and reading your posts, it does seems like I am looking for a different mode of communication/discussion from what is currently happening. I suppose the tricky thing is though - how to implement that? I don't want to offend her in any way, but I am a little uncertain as to how to broach the topic. I suppose I could always say to her that I am feeling at the moment that I am needing more emotional support, and am wanting to talk through things...but again, is that too demanding? It's a first-time experience for my husband and I, just as it is for our doula, so I suppose to some degree we are all trying to find our feet. I don't know...it is a new experience for all of us!

The question of advocacy in relation to a doula is incredibly interesting, though; I think that initially I had a very different idea about what a doula does and does not do. I remember I had some kind of image of my doula barricading the door to the birthing suite to keep out any unwanted visitors (can you imagine the tension that would cause in a hospital setting?!), but soon came to understand that the kind of advocacy a doula provides doesn't involve speaking for you, but gently reminding others of your preferences if neccessary. At least, that is how I think about part of the role of the doula during birth. Gosh, it's great to be able to throw ideas around like this in a forum - so useful!