Science Behind Doulas

I fell in love with this book the moment I picked it up back in 2006. Henci Goer's "The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth." I'm reviewing it again as reference for the upcoming Hynes Childbirth Education Series. It is full of invaluable information.

“Randomized controlled trials produce the strongest kind of research evidence because researchers randomly assign participants to have the treatment or not, which eliminates all kinds of biases. We now have more than a dozen randomized controlled trials.

Various trials have shown that the continuous presence of a caring, experienced woman can reduce:

• the length of labor

• the use of pain medication
• the need for IV oxytocin (Pitocin)
• the likelihood of having an episiotomy
• the percentage of instrumental vaginal deliveries (forceps/vacuum)
• and the Cesarean Section rate

Doulas can reduce the number of babies:

• born in poor condition
• admitted to special-care nurseries
• have prolonged hospital stays
• who have evaluations for infection

These studies also show that women who have a doula

• experience less pain and anxiety in labor
• express greater satisfaction with the labor
• feel that they coped better
• have a heightened appreciation of their bodies’ strength and performance and themselves as women
• breastfeed longer
• experience less difficulty in mothering

They have:

• have more positive feelings toward the baby
• better self esteem
• a better relationship with the father
• and less postpartum depression

The fact that these studies took place in different countries with different populations of women under different circumstances and consistently found benefits further strengthens confidence in the validity of their results.”

This book should be issued with every uterus. :)