Our Doula, Chris

Dave and I have hired a doula (pronounced doo-lah) for our labor & delivery. Her name is Chris, she has two children of her own, and she will be with us for the full labor & delivery. Doulas provide education, experience, & emotional support for laboring parents, and they also provide post-partum services/ newborn care. Doulas are not midwives, but labor assistants - they know all those little secrets to childbirth, such as helpful labor positions that use gravity rather than sheer pushing force.

Studies have found that doula-assistance decreases the rate of cesarean birth by 50%, decreases the amount of laboring time by 25%, and decreases the need for pain medication by 30%. Doulas also provide support to labor partners - Dave is so emotionally-invested in the birth that we had some worries that Dave might not react logically during the birth, but instead instinctively (you've started contractions? Let's go to the hospital NOW instead of staying home for the next 8 hours, just in case...).

I had first heard of doulas when we lived in California - a high school friend of Ouida's told me that his girlfriend was training to be a doula, and after a brief conversation, I realized that either I wanted to be a doula or else I wanted a doula with me during my labor. Seeing as how I am going to be a lawyer instead, I guess I get option B.

Central New York has an extensive doula network - some of the doulas are trained & certified, and others are in the process of gaining enough experience. Chris has asked if a doula-in-training can attend our birth as well, so actually there will be four of us in the room: me, Dave, Chris, and the Doula-in-Training.