Benefits of Birth Companions

The presence of a doula significantly improves the well-being of mothers and their infants. Doula support can:

• reduce the need for obstetrical interventions during childbirth.
• reduce cesarean deliveries by 50%
• reduce the use of forceps by 40%
• reduce requests for epidural analgesia by 60%
• reduce overall labor length by 25%

A typical nurse in labor and delivery spends only 10% of her time with any particular patient – about 1 hour of a 10 hour labor. Birth Companions stay with the woman for the entirety of her labor and delivery.

Mothers who are supported by doulas show more affectionate interaction with their infants. This involves significantly more smiling, talking, andstroking.

Six weeks after childbirth, women who use doulas are more likely to breastfeed (51% compared to 29%), are significantly less anxious, have lower scores on a test of depression, and have higher levels of self-esteem.