what is a doula?
A Doula is a person that supports the person giving birth and their partner during pregnancy, birth and in some cases postpartum as well. A Doula has no medical responsibility and can be a trained person or a non-trained person. My focus here is on the trained Doula. Most of the Doulas are women, though I have heard of men taking the Doula training, I think this is still quite rare. Watch my video on YouTube where I speak more about Doulas in Sweden.
In Sweden Doula training is mainly offered through the organization ODIS in different places in Sweden. The Doula goes through hours of training on pregnancy and birth. They are professional support people and offer different types of support ranging from massage, breathing techniques, labour positions, etc. What the Doula offers may vary from person to person. The price can also vary depending on their experience and what they include in their Doula care.
The Doula is hired by the pregnant person personally and the contact starts during pregnancy to establish a relationship. The Doula arrives at family's home when labour has started and will accompany through the whole birth whether in hospital or at home. A Doula is not a replacement for the partner or the Midwife, a Doula is a part of the support team around the person giving birth.
You meet the Doula during pregnancy, you can choose to meet several Doulas before you choose the one you want to hire. When you have chosen your Doula you decide together with the Doula what kind of support you need and how many times you will see each other before the birth. Most Doulas are on call for two weeks before the estimated due date and until the baby is born. Some Doulas work in teams, others work alone. Many do have a back up Doula as a part of their services. The back up Doula will step in if the primary Doula gets sick or for some other reason cannot attend the birth. Most Doulas offer one meeting post partum to talk about the birth and check in on the family as part of their care.
If you or your partner are feeling nervous och scared of birth a Doula may be the right choice for you. A Doula can be a great support even if you are completely confident in your body and the birth.
Reasons to hire a doula according to research are:
Decreases the risk of a c-section
Decreases length of the labour
Decreases the need for medical pain relief
Decreases the requests of having an epidural
If Swedish is not your first language or your partner's first language a Doula that speaks the same language as you may be extra helpful. You may feel more comfortable communicating in your mother tongue once you are going through labour. In some places so called “culture doula” (kulturdoula, doula och kulturtolk) may be available, they are women who speak Swedish as well as another languages and get trained in giving support during birth to women that don't speak Swedish. As it is impossible to hire a professional interpreter for the duration of a birth these Doulas have become more common in a few places in Sweden.
In Sweden the use of a Doula is still quite rare and many, including people in health care, don't know much about them. In some areas it may be very easy for you to find a Doula, in others there may be none at all.
A huge difference when it comes to having a Doula present at your child's birth is that you get to decide who the Doula is. Whereas if you give birth in the hospital in Sweden most of the time you will not know who will care for you, and when that person's shift is over someone else will take over. The Doula also doesn't have to care for anyone else at the same time as they are supporting you. In most hospitals the Midwife and other staff will have to care for other families at the same time which may make it hard or impossible for them to give you uninterrupted care. So having a Doula present can in turn result in a better birth experience for the family.
If you want to know more about Doulas in Sweden or find a Doula in your area visit the ODIS website.
