Birth Assistants of Boulder Inc.

All about doulas

The word "doula" comes from the ancient Greek and means 'one who serves' or 'servant woman'. Up until the 20th century, when birth moved from home to hospital, history and birth art portrays that a laboring woman was surrounded by women who were attending to her needs. Not her medical needs, which would have been the midwife, but her coping needs. Perhaps rubbing her shoulders, helping her squat or stand, chanting or singing with her, encouraging her, feeding her, caring for her other children and preparing her home were the things these helper women did by nature. These women had learned at their own births what helped and what was needed, and had been exposed to birth and breastfeeding and its normalcy from the time they were little girls. Usually mothers, aunts, cousins and sisters were there to mother the mother during birth.

And it worked very well!

Now people are transient. We rarely have extended family living nearby, or if we do, they may fear birth and breastfeeding and are removed from the process of helping with birth. Most women in our country today give birth in the hospital with a doctor and a nurse, who may have several other patients to care for simultaneously. The medical staff are most concerned about the medical status of mother and baby, as their job dictates. Though your parnters and families love you and know you best, they may not have the stamina, experience, or skill to offer hands, drinks, breathing, reassurance, positions, etc. that an experienced doula might. This leaves a vacancy where there was once naturally lots of support and love. This is the role modern doulas attempt to fill.

Doulas come in two main varieties today: those that mainly support women at birth are birth doulas, and those that come to your home after the birth and help care for you and your family are postpartum doulas. Of course, some women do both! Birth Assistants of Boulder doulas are primarily birth doulas, however we also provide referrals for postpartum doulas.

To read more about doulas and their role at birth, visit: Doulas of North America Website