Labor Assistants/Birth Doulas provide continuous, uninterrupted care for the laboring woman and her partner, and help them participate fully in their experience by offering physical and emotional support and information about the birth process, available technology and alternatives.

    * Help pregnant women and their families formulate what is important to them during labor and birth, and work cooperatively within the birth team to help realize these goals.

    * Help women avoid unnecessary interventions and cesareans through education, knowledge of alternatives, and by facilitating a smooth, unimpeded labor.

    * Provide practical suggestions for working with contractions and pain to help mothers relax, including touch and massage, emotional support, variations in position and other labor support techniques.

    * Help to reinforce women's trust in their body's ability to birth normally.

    * Act as an advocate for birthing women within the birth team of care providers; facilitate families in making informed choices about their care, ensuring they understand the benefits, risks and alternatives for all tests and procedures.

    * Support and encourage unmedicated, non-technical, woman-centered childbirth as the safest possible choice for mothers and babies today.

    * When technology and/or medication are truly indicated, support the family it their choices, staying with them when changes or unexpected outcomes occur.

    * Offer valuable follow-through according to the mother's needs in the postpartum period.

Recent studies involving over 1000 women demonstrate that the presence of a Labor Assistant/Birth Doula results in:

    * Shorter labors

    * Reduced need for pain medication

    * Fewer episiotomies

    * Fewer cesarean sections

    * Improved neonatal outcomes

    * Better mother-infant interaction

    * Greater maternal satisfaction

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