Doulas are labor coaches who provide emotional support, encouragement, and knowledge to the family throughout labor and birth. Doulas also:
- Assist a woman in preparing and carrying out her birth plans
- Stay with the woman throughout labor
- Provide emotional support, physical comfort measures, and an objective viewpoint, as well as helping the woman get the information she needs to make informed decisions
- Facilitate communication between the laboring woman, her partner, and her clinical care providers
- Perceive their role as nurturing and protecting the woman’s memory of the birth experience
- Allow the woman’s partner to participate at his/her comfort level
Providence Medford Medical Center works with a group of volunteer doulas whose services are free and available upon request as their schedules allow.
Learn more about doulas at Doula International.