Tag Archives: doulas
How Doulas Support and Enhance the Role of the Partner During Birth.
Often when a couple considers hiring a doula they have concerns that the partner’s role will be overshadowed during labour, or they may rule out the need for a doula because the partner plans to take an active role in supporting the mother. It is important to understand that the role of the doula is to support both the mother and the partner. Both doula and partner play an important role in enhancing the birth experience for the mother and the partner.
“While the doula probably knows more than the partner about birth, hospitals and maternity care, the partner knows more about the woman’s personality, likes and dislikes, and needs. Moreover, he or she loves the woman more than anyone else there.” – Penny Simkin (founder of DONA International)
There are many advantages to having a doula at a birth, one of which is the guidance they give the partner in supporting the mother. The presence of a doula at the birth frees the partner from having to remember everything they learned in prenatal class, and allows him to be there emotionally for the labouring woman. The doula can draw on her knowledge and experience of labour to make suggestions, and show the partner techniques to assist the mother.
Labour can be a long and tiring process for everyone involved, the strength of one person is often not enough to physically and emotional support the labouring mother. The doula can take over while the partner; uses the washroom, naps, eats or makes phone calls. It is a lot to ask of one person to tend to the needs of the mother without receiving any support and encouragement themselves. Given the doula’s knowledge of labour, she can reassure the partner that things are going well and he is doing a good job of supporting her. Having this support for the partner allows to mother to relax and the partner to enjoy the process of birth.
It may be a concern of both the mother and partner that a doula’s presence will hinder the intimate experience of having a child. It seems as though the opposite is true. Studies have shown that a mother reports more satisfaction in her partner’s role with a doula present than without. The doula will support your wishes and help the two of you to maintain a physical and emotional connection enabling you to experience the birth together.
Posted in Birth and Postpartum Doula, Uncategorized
Also tagged birth doula, dad, labour support, partner, support for fathers
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Questions to Ask your Prenatal Health Care Provider:
Choosing the right health care provider has the potential to make or break your pregnancy, labour and postpartum experience. It is important to find a provider that is sensitive to you and your family’s needs; you should feel they are considerate, responsible, professional, yet warm. It is also important they maintain a relationship with other health care professionals so you can receive the appropriate care you require.
Most practitioners will provide an initial consultation; use this time to ask important questions to determine if their care is right for you.
What to ask a Midwife:
·What training and experience do you have?
·Can you handle both complications and emergencies?
·Do you have medical back up or a contingency plan for emergency? What will be your role in an emergency? Will you continue to be with me during an emergency?
·What kind of equipment do you carry with you?
·What is your back up arrangement if you become ill or are otherwise unavailable at any point during my pregnancy or the birth?
·Do you have clear protocols and, if so, are these protocols rigid or flexible? For example, what happens if I go into early labour, or if I go past my due date? What if my baby is breech and so on?
·What are your philosophies about birth?
What to ask an Obstetrician (also relevant for midwives):
·What are your credentials?
·What is your cesarean rate?
·What is your episiotomy rate?
·What is the rate of medicated births in your practice?
·How many women in your practice breastfeed their babies?
·Do you usually order medications, IV, enemas, monitors or do you judge each situation individually?
·Are women encouraged to use different positions during labour and pushing?
·What are your feelings on natural birth?
·How much time do you spend with women at prenatal visits?
·Will you be at my birth or will another physician attend (and if so, who will that be)?
·What are your policies for women who go past-due, for permitted length of labour and pushing (or any other concerns or questions you might have)?
Write down the questions that you are most interested in and bring them to your first appointment. Go with your gut. If you feel off about the midwife or Doctor you met with interview another, you have the right to receive the care you want.
Questions taken from: The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth by Shelia Kitzinger (1993) & The Natural Pregnancy Book by Aviva Jill Romm (2003)
Posted in Motherhood, Pregnancy
Also tagged birth, hospital birth, interventions, labour, natural birth, pregnancy, questions to as your OB, questions to ask you midwife
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more than we intended
Well, today was a good day!
This morning I woke up feeling pretty awful, I had terrible menstrual cramps – and I continue to feel that it is unfair for one to have such awful cramps and be menstruating while still breastfeeding so much! -anyway, I really don’t like taking pain killers, so I decided to put the Labour of Love to use. It’s a massage oil we created for contractions, and labour pains, but I figured they are pretty similar….within 5 min my cramps subsided! They returned a couple of hours later, so again I applied the Labour of Love, and hooray! it did the trick. I had been using it for my PMS, and it was working well, and now the worst day of my cycle – it got me through. I’m really happy about this, and am going to have to add that tip to our write up about it on the website. I told Chelsea to give it a shot too, and she had the same results. We hadn’t intended this massage oil for this purpose when we created it – but it only makes sense…
Today I continued my research into what herbs would be best to incorporate in a nipple cream, I think tomorrow I will start the making…I also used a liquid soap I made today, and I’m pretty happy with it! I gave it to 4 other people, and am awaiting feedback. The ingredients are all pure, and good for me, so it feels great to know that it’s good for the little bear too. A little tweaking, and some more people’s feedback and I’ll take it to the site….
Tonight was a Doulas of Victoria meeting – it’s wonderful to get together with a group of women with the same passion! I am pretty excited about being involved with the group…
So many things in life to be excited about right now!
Posted in Uncategorized
Also tagged baby skin care, natural liquid soap, natural menstrual cramp relief
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