What is a Birth Doula?

Pregnancy and birth can feel overwhelming, whether you’re expecting your first baby or hoping for a different experience this time around. As your doula, I’m someone you can turn to with questions, talk through your options with, and count on for support. Together, we’ll prepare for labor, explore what matters to you, and create a birth plan that reflects your preferences so you feel more confident about what’s ahead.

During labor, I help you ask questions, communicate your preferences, and advocate for yourself, working alongside your care team and anyone you choose to have with you. Physical support can look like helping you find positions that work with your body as labor progresses, guiding you through breathing exercises, offering massage and counterpressure, or helping you rest, eat, and stay hydrated. Through it all, I offer encouragement and a steady presence so you feel heard, cared for, and supported, even when things feel intense or plans change.

What are the benefits of hiring a doula?

Some of the benefits of having a doula are deeply personal, like feeling understood, cared for, and less alone. Research also shows measurable benefits. A large research review summarized by Evidence Based Birth® found that people who received continuous support during labor experienced:

  • 39% lower risk of cesarean birth with doula support

  • 15% greater likelihood of vaginal birth without forceps or vacuum with doula support

Research on continuous labor support, including support from doulas, also found:

  • 31% lower risk of feeling dissatisfied with the birth experience

  • Labor that was 41 minutes shorter, on average

  • 10% lower likelihood of using medication for pain relief

  • 38% lower risk of a low five-minute Apgar score, a measure of a baby’s condition shortly after birth

These findings compare continuous labor support with usual care. Support providers included doulas, hospital staff, and family or friends; doula-specific findings are identified above. Percentages represent relative changes, not percentage-point differences. Results vary, and having a doula does not guarantee a particular outcome.

Source: Evidence Based Birth®, “Evidence on: Doulas,” summarizing Bohren et al.’s 2017 Cochrane review.