Re: Re: whats a doula?

[Guest guest]

Tori, this is late and you probably got an answer already, but a doula

is someone who is there just for YOU. As birth nears, the doctor's,

nurses' or midwife's focus is basically entirely on the baby. And with

doctors and nurses the focus tends to be there during all of labor as

well. This is not entirely a bad thing-- the baby may need help and

everyone wants to be alert to that possibility. The baby is, after all,

the point to all this. But it can make it hard on the mother, who can

end up totally ignored except for the small area between her legs. The

doula has nothing at all to do with the baby, and everything to do with

the mother. They do whatever the mother needs--that is their only

concern. I didn't have one but I know people who did, and they loved

it. I planned on a homebirth when I had my son. I labored at home, but

ended up transferring to the hospital after pushing started when it

looked like the baby might be in distress. After 1 1/2 hours of pushing

at the hospital ended up having a c-section. was pretty big (a

little over 9 pounds) and I had back labor with no meds at all until I

had the section, but the worst part of the whole labor for me was when

they decided to do the section. I was left alone, exhausted, scared,

freezing cold, and stark naked in a hallway waiting until the room for

the section was ready. I was having contractions but not supposed to

push-- which is horrible. It was probably only about ten minutes, maybe

15, but it seemed like an eternity. If I had had a doula, I'm pretty

sure that bit wouldn't have happened. In a highly medical and technical

setting the mother can sometimes be seen as little more than a container

holding the baby. Even DH and other family members or friends can get

all wrapped up in watching the monitors. The doula has training and

experience and knows her job is YOU.

Hmmm... That seems like quite a soapbox for someone who didn't use one,

doesn't it?

-- in Fla.