New Life Blessings
  • Home
  • Meet Vanessa
  • Services
  • Love Notes
  • BLOG
  • Connect

Doulas Benefit Providers TOO!

12/9/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
By now, many people know and understand the way birth doulas support mothers in labor and how this support creates healthier births. While the research backs it up, it’s kind of just plain old common sense. Women need support on the biggest day of their life, performing the greatest physical and emotional feat they will ever accomplish – of course!

But what about doctors and midwives? For their patients that employ the service of birth doulas, what benefit is a doula to the care provider? It’s a sad reality that many people – physicians included – think of doulas and care providers as being opposing forces, always trying to “win” on the side of what they feel is best for the patient/client. A professional birth doula will do no such thing.

In fact, a well trained, professional, career doula will make every effort to be of service and support to the client while being a valuable member of the birth team. Professional doulas recognize and respect that they are working within a limited, yet extremely valuable scope of practice. Fully embracing that role, they can be of benefit to care providers in many ways.

A primary priority for birth doulas is making sure that their clients have all the information to make a fully informed decision. The care provider can rest assured that their patient is discussing at length the risks, benefits, and alternatives to their options. Patients are not alone in their rooms consorting with Google, but with someone who is knowledgeable. Furthermore, the birth doula is not emotionally or financially attached to the birth so the information they give is unbiased toward any particular path. Providers are busy in hospitals caring for several patients at a time and they don’t always have the time to have great, lengthy discussions with their patients. A doula’s job is to stay with the client through the whole birth. She is committed to being there anyway and she can take all the time needed for an informed decision to be made that satisfies the family.

Once a birth doula has spent time discussing options, she can help facilitate open communication between the provider and the laboring mother. Since she has a client relationship with the mother, the doula can make sure that the mother is fully understanding what the doctor is saying. Doulas do not speak on behalf of their clients. Rather, the doula’s priority is to facilitate an open conversation where fully informed consent can be made and this limits a provider’s liability if complications arise.

Research shows that women who hire birth doulas are much more likely to rate their birth with a high level of satisfaction, regardless of how the birth played out (http://evidencebasedbirth.com/the-evidence-for-doulas/). Patients are more satisfied with their natural birth, their induction, and their cesarean. Satisfaction with the overall birth experience naturally translates into higher satisfaction with the provider. This increases the likelihood that this patient will return to this provider and that they will recommend them to others.

Doctors and midwives can also rest assured that the patient is being monitored with trained eyes. For instance, if a woman spontaneously begins pushing, a doula can recognize that and notify the staff. A professional doula knows that her scope of practice does not include any clinical skills, including catching the baby. She can sometimes be the first line of defense in ensuring that everything happens as it should ensure a healthy birth.

Evidence also shows that births with doulas have lower intervention rates. This benefits the physician because it means lower complications associated with interventions. Patient satisfaction further increases and makes the birth with a doula more likely (but of course not guaranteed) to be straightforward and uncomplicated. These tend to be simpler births for physicians.
​
Doulas work primarily for women in labor. However, their unique expertise in the labor room is beneficial to all of the birth team, including the primary care provider. A doula is an advocate, a source of information, and a benefit to all involved in the birth.


Message me
Are you in the Tri-State area seeking a doula? I've got you covered! Message me to get started.

FACEBOOK GOOGLE+ TWITTER PINTEREST
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Contact

    Vanessa Lewis
    28 MAPLE STREET SOUTHBRIDGE, MA 01550

    Picture
    NLBlessings@gmail.com

    Archives

    August 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    December 2014
    June 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    September 2013

    Categories

    All
    Adoption
    Alcohol In Pregnancy
    Amniocentesis
    Baby Carrier
    Babywearing
    Birth Interventions
    Birth Story
    Blood Tests
    Breastfeeding
    Breast Health
    Care Providers
    Cascade Of Interventions
    CDC Placenta
    Cesarean
    Comfort Measures
    Conceiving
    Contractions
    Doula
    Doulas And Providers
    Doula Support
    Epidural
    Essential Oils
    Evidence Based Birth
    Fertility
    Funny
    GBS
    GBS Infection
    Gestational Diabetes
    Glucose Testing
    Group Beta Strep
    Holistic Care
    Homebirth
    Hospital Birth
    Hypnobabies
    Hypnobirthing
    Hypnosis
    Induction
    Informed Choice
    Informed Consent
    Ivf
    Kegels
    Labor And Birth
    Marijuana In Labor
    Marijuana In Pregnancy
    Marijuana Pain Relief
    Marijuana Safety
    Midwives
    Natural Care
    Newborn Care
    Newly Pregnant
    Nutrition
    OBGYN
    Orgasmic Birth
    Pap Smear
    Parenting
    Personal
    Pitocin
    Placenta
    Placenta Capsules
    Placenta Encapsulation
    Placenta Pills
    Placenta Science
    Positive Pregnancy Test
    Postpartum
    Postpartum Depression
    PPD
    Pregnancy
    Pregnancy Advice
    Pregnancy Hormones
    Prenatal Care
    Preterm Labor
    Professor Hans Von Puppet
    Relationship After Baby
    Safety
    Sex
    Siblings
    Sleep
    Statistics
    Stress
    Technology
    Teething
    Testing
    Ultrasound
    VBAC

    RSS Feed

Worcester County Doula and Midwife Proudly Serving Families in the Following Areas

Massachusetts

Ashland, Auburn, Barre, Belchertown, Bellingham, Berlin, Boston, Boylston, Brimfield, Brookfield, Cambridge, Charlton, Chicopee, Clinton, Concord, Douglas, Dudley, East Brookfield, East Longmeadow, Easthampton, Framingham, Grafton, Holden, Holland, Holliston, Holyoke, Hopkinton, Hudson, Leicester, Ludlow, Marlborough, Milford, Millbury, Monson, Natick, Newton, North Brookfield, Northbridge, Northborough, Northampton, Oakham, Oxford, Paxton, Palmer, Rochdale, Rutland, Sharon, Sherborn, Shrewsbury, South Hadley, Southbridge, Southborough, Spencer, Springfield, Sterling, Sturbridge, Sutton, Upton, Uxbridge, Wales, Ware, Warren, Webster, Wellesley, West Boylston, West Brookfield, Westborough, Worcester, and more!

Rhode Island

Chepachet, Foster, Glendale, Greenville, Harrisville, Johnston, North Scituate, Pascoag, Providence, Smithfield, Wallum Lake, Woonsocket

Connecticut

Ashford, Brooklyn, Canterbury, Chaplin, Coventry, Eastford, Hampton, Hartford, Killingly, Lisbon, Manchester, Mansfield, Moosup, North Grosvenorsdale, Norwich, Pomfret, Plainfield, Putnam, Somers, South Windsor, Stafford, Stafford Springs, Sterling, Storrs, Thompson, Tolland, Union, Vernon, Wiilimantic, Willington, Woodstock

Let's Connect

Client Access
2018 © Copyright. All Rights Reserved New Life Blessings
​
google-site-verification: googledee5113ba75c8207.html
  • Home
  • Meet Vanessa
  • Services
  • Love Notes
  • BLOG
  • Connect