What is a Doula?

Doulas, or birthing coaches, provide physical and emotional support to women and their partners before, during and immediately after birth. Their popularity is skyrocketing, but is a doula right for you?

As Nolee Olson and Jack Bogdanski prepared for the birth of their first child, they envisioned the moment after delivery when their seconds-old newborn would be brought to Nolee’s breast. But when baby Ella arrived after an intense late-stage labor and rapid delivery, things didn’t go exactly as the couple anticipated. No sooner had they laid eyes on their healthy eight-pound baby girl than she was whisked aside by hospital staff for a puff of oxygen and suctioning necessitated by her quick trip through the birth canal.

In that brief but unnerving moment, both husband and wife found reassurance in a familiar face, which remained calm with the confidence that comes with trust in birth. That face belonged to their doula, a professional labor assistant, who the couple hired to serve as their “rock” in the uncharted seas of childbirth.

“It’s going to be alright,” said Oceana Seer, who has spent the last five years attending births as a labor doula.

Doula Way

The word is out among new and expectant parents: Doulas make a difference. Currently, only 5 percent of U.S. women have doula-assisted births, but they’re growing in popular as more doulas (pronounced Doo-lahs) become trained and they’re increasingly recommended by childbirth preparation books and groups.