Blog Post #1 : Essay
So, you’ve had those two lines appear on your test and found out your pregnant, but what now? As a first-time mum in particular you are suddenly finding yourself in the world of unknown, googling anything and everything to help find out why your back is hurting in early pregnancy or what it means if you have cramping etc. Don’t worry, we have all been there. It is overwhelming, and exhausting, especially with different websites and articles all saying different things. This is where it is amazing to have a team you can turn to with all of the questions, small or big, to help ease the anxiety that comes with this unknown.
Enter a doula.
What is a doula?
A doula is someone a pregnant woman and her partner can look towards for information, guidance and support during her pregnancy, labour, birth and postpartum. A doula is a nurturer, someone who can work alongside your partner to ensure you feel confident and comfortable within yourself, someone you can have in your corner.
So why chose to have a doula in your pregnancy and birth support team?
Having a doula isn’t just having an additional support person throughout your birth but also throughout your whole pregnancy. A doula is someone you build a relationship with, someone who is always in your corner and someone you can turn to if you are feeling down or have a question. Doulas often have a library of resources on a lot of common pregnancy situations or can find some to help you to be able to develop understandings around certain issues/situations and be able to guide you to make an informed decision. Doulas are also there to help the mother to have a positive and memorable birthing experience. Did you know, woman who received continuous labour support may be less likely to use pain medication and be more likely to have shorter labours, and in turn be more satisfied with their birthing experience? (Cochrane, 2017)
As previously mentioned, entering pregnancy, birth and postpartum as a first-time mum can be extremely overwhelming and can bring on lots of anxiety around what to expect. Being anxious about the unknown is a natural instinct, but this is where having a doula and other support people in your life can help to put your mind at ease, by asking the questions that are eating at you.
“The most important organ in childbirth is the brain, not the uterus.” (Professor Hannah Dahlen, 2017). Your subconscious mind controls your feelings, behaviours, beliefs, actions and your fight or flight response as well as many other things. However, these can be easily adapted when the mind is conditioned to make changes. The use of tools such as positive affirmations, visualisation and guided meditations are techniques that can be used with the assistance of a doula to help rewire the brain. The mind/body connection is where your body responds to the way you think, visualise, feel and/or act. A doula can help to work alongside the pregnant mother to reprogram the brain to think positive thoughts and to believe that they can do this, because they are doing it. Birth is affected by the contribution of the woman’s mind, body, emotions and energy, creating a balance that in unison can help to create a calm birth. Pregnancy, labour and birth are times when a woman needs to feel encouraged and supported, and where reassurance is key. Calming the mind, is calming the body.
Helping to overcome this stress and anxiety in pregnancy can help lead to a calmer labour experience. The relationship created with your doula can be key in helping with this, as the assistance of ongoing emotional support can help to ensure that as a birthing mother you feel 100% supported and safe and in turn ease your anxiety. Strategies such as fear release meditations, journaling and asking questions are all things that may be recommended by a doula to help learn to cope with stress and anything that may trigger anxiety. These can be done multiple times a day, or whenever anxiety may arise. Soft touch massage, as well as guided meditations are also fantastic ways to help calm the mind, and rewire it in a positive way.
Another great tool in combatting the anxiety about what to expect in labour is partaking in birth education classes. “The goal of childbirth education has been to provide women and their families with knowledge about labour and birth, and ways to deal with the challenges of labour. With this woman are able to make informed decisions, and advocate for themselves in the maternity care system” (National Library of Medicine, 2016). Being informed about what lies ahead, and all of the different ways birth can go, may help to ease anxiety leading into birth. A doula can also provide you with information and education about labour and birth, pain management options and coping strategies to help ensure the birthing woman is able to make informed decisions (Rosie Purdue). This level of understanding ensures that you aren’t going into the experience ‘blind’ and if complications occur this isn’t a trigger for your anxiety as you have already learnt about this and made plans for this in your birth plan. Creating a birth plan ensures that your birth preferences are made clear and helps to ensure that your birth team are aware of your goals and can help you to advocate for yourself during this time.
Childbirth is a unique experience and the sensations of labour and birth can be influenced by factors such as fear and anxiety (Rosie Purdue). Fear and anxiety can increase someone’s pain perception. Going into your birth having overcome your fears, and feeling calm and confident about your experience may in turn help you experience less pain. Having a doula by your side throughout your pregnancy, labour, birth and postpartum ensures you are supported not just physically, but also emotionally. A doula supports the birthing mother in many ways, but the continuous presence, reassurance and encouragement in turn helps to ensure that they are able to feel more confident and in control of their birth. “Feeling physically and emotionally safe during childbirth is important to ensure the best outcomes “(Kozhimannil et al. 2016). A key role of a doula is helping to ensure a woman goes into her labour and birth, confident and excited to meet her baby rather than fearful and anxious. “Studies show that doula care is associated with lower epidural use and caesarean delivery rates, shorter labours, higher rates of spontaneous vaginal birth, and higher levels of satisfaction”. (Kozhimannil et al. 2016).
The role of a doula is to nurture, support and offer guidance to pregnant women and their families during pregnancy, labour, birth and postpartum. Doulas provide more than just support in labour, and work to provide physical, emotional and information support throughout. Labour can be a scary experience for women, especially first births. Support throughout labour and birth can help women to feel calmer which can in turn minimise physical pain and emotional distress (WHO, 2013). Choosing to have a doula helps to ensure you are supported both physically and emotionally but also that you have someone to seek information from for all things pregnancy, birth and beyond, and that you can go into your birth confident and informed, to be able to advocate for yourself and your birth.
My name is Alana Hailwood and I am an emerging doula who has completed training at the Doula Training Academy, and I service the Geraldton and Midwest area. If you would like more information about my doula services, please contact me:
Phone: 0439 625 940
Email: nurturingtouchbyalana@outlook.com
Website: http://nurturingtouchbyalana.com.au
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557474622739
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nurturingtouchbyalana/
References:
https://www.cochrane.org/CD003766/PREG_continuous-support-women-during-childbirth
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6265608/
https://www.jabfm.org/content/29/3/308.long
