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Why Hire a Doula?
An Interview with Penny Simkin, Founder of Doulas of North America
By Jillian Hanson
Why hire a doula? Simkin has devoted a good deal of her professional life to working as a doula and training others to be doulas. She has attended approximately 300 births, "which," she contends, "is not a lot." She explained the advantages of having a doula present, even when the laboring woman is surrounded by friends, family, her partner, and midwives or nurses.
"In comparing a doula to a best friend or the woman's mother or sister, the difference is the experience and the perspective of the doula, and her hands-on knowledge. Doulas have had training in a variety of situations, such as when labor slows down, or if the mother becomes discouraged, or if she's having back pain. And someone who truly cares for the woman may offer love and stay with her, but may not have ideas of things to try. Having that well-rounded knowledge and experience with many laboring women means the doula offers benefits that a friend couldn't have. Comparing a doula with a partner, I think the partner brings things that no one else can bring. He or she loves the woman more than anybody else, he or she knows her better than anybody else, which are wonderful things.
"But one of the disadvantages is that it's awfully hard sometimes to watch the person you love in pain, or frustrated or discouraged with a lack of progress. And there's a tendency to want to rescue her from that. Partners do not have the objective, calm perspective and experience that a woman needs and a doula has. Sometimes the woman doesn't need to be pitied, or rescued. What she needs is someone to say, 'you're OK, this is all right, you're going to get through this, let me help you.' But she also needs someone with a perspective on when to throw in the towel, and to recognize that this is not going normally, or that we need some interventions here. Furthermore, sometimes the doula can speak with the [hospital] staff, in a liaison capacity, with a little more confidence than the partner can.
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