Hello Darling,
I am Belle.
I help expecting mothers tap into their innate resources, embrace their power, and cultivate parental attachment with a natural, wholistic approach to pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care.
"Whenever and however you give birth, your experience will impact your emotions, your mind, your body, and your spirit for the rest of your life.”
- Ina May Gaskin, Traditional Midwife
"If a Doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use it.”
- Dr. John H. Kennell, M.D.
If you are here right now, you most likely already have an idea of what a doula is. If not, let me tell you a thing or two about having a doula by your side the day your little bundle of joy makes its appearance Earth-side. I will try to keep it short as there are so many awesome benefits about having a Doula, we could be here for a while especially if I let my passion carry us away. So what is a Doula ? You wonder...
Evidence-based, let's look at some numbers to illustrate the obvious benefits of having a Doula at your birth:
25% decrease in the risk of Cesarean; the largest effect was seen with a doula (39% decrease)*
8% increase in the likelihood of a spontaneous vaginal birth; the largest effect was seen with a doula (15% increase)*
10% decrease in the use of any medications for pain relief; the type of person providing continuous support did not make a difference.
Shorter labor by 41 minutes on average; there is no data on if the type of person providing continuous support makes a difference.
38% decrease in the baby’s risk of a low five-minute Apgar score; there is no data on if the type of person providing continuous support makes a difference.
31% decrease in the risk of being dissatisfied with the birth experience; mothers’ risk of being dissatisfied with the birth experience was reduced with continuous support provided by a doula or someone in their social network (family or friend), but not hospital staff.
*: the best results occurred when a birthing person had continuous labor support from a doula– someone who was NOT a staff member at the hospital and who was NOT part of their social network. You can retrieve this information on the very informative website called EvidenceBasedBirth.com and here is their article "Evidence on Doulas".