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The birth experience can be truly empowering for some women, but for others it leaves them feeling helpless and at the mercy of others. Having a good support system during labor and delivery, or even during a C-section, can help to alleviate some of the stress and fear that many women experience.
In recent years, an experienced female relative has been the traditional coach. For many women, this is the perfect solution. Choosing their own mother, sister or other close friend or family member to hold their hand and be their spokesperson during labor is the best choice for them.
The assistance of a birth coach at birth can:
- result in shorter labors with fewer complications
- promote positive feelings about one's childbirth experience
- reduce the need for labor-inducing drugs and cesarean sections
- ease the physical pain associated with natural birth
- reduce requests for pain medications and epidurals
- If the birth coach is a midwife or an ObGyn he or she may examine the mother and listen to the babies heart rates at home till it is time to go the hospital. A doula cannot examine you because she will not have a medical background.
The support of a birth coach in the postpartum period can:
- reduce postpartum depression
- improve the success of breastfeeding
- help families feel more secure and cared for
- help parents adapt to the dynamics of their new family
A 2003 rewiev of studies including nearly thirteen thousand women found that compared to whomen who receive typical hospital care, women who receive continious one-to-one support by a labor coach/doula throughout labor are;
- 26% less likely to have c-sections;
- 41% less likely to give birth with vacuum extractors or forceps;
- 28% less likely to use pain medications;
- 36% less likely to report dissatisfaction with their birth experiences.
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