The word Doula is a Greek word that means “with mother” or “woman servant”. In modern usage, it refers to a woman who assists another woman during labor and provides support to her, the infant, and the family after childbirth.
In the old days, women with a new infant had the support of their entire community, extended family and church. Everyone around them helped out and many had a general knowledge of babies and breastfeeding. Now, in modern times, we live in a fast-paced society where families generally live far away and everyone is busy with work and obligations.
Women no longer have the community support they used to have and most people do not have the basic infant-care insight. Most women when they have their first baby have never even seen a mother breastfeed. Most fathers have never changed a diaper or held an infant. This is why the need for Birth and Postpartum Doula support arose. A Doula is a professional who provides families with the nurturing support and care that they need during this very magical and intense time of their lives.
Why use a Doula?
From the Doula Organization of North America (DONA):
Facing unprecedented pressures to reduce expenses, many hospitals are targeting the largest single budget item – labor costs…. An unintended consequence of nursing cutbacks may be an increased Cesarean rate.
The inability of a pared down nursing staff to provide continuous coverage to laboring mothers (has been) shown to increase the chance of a Cesarean…. Doulas clearly improve clinical and service quality; they provide an absolutely safe way to reduce Cesareans and other invasive birthing interventions.”
Coming to Term: Innovations in Safely Reducing Caesarean Rates. Medical Leadership Council, Washingtion D.C. 1996.
Right now in the United States, the Caesarean rate is about 30% of all births!
The Responsibilities of the Birth Doula
- Support the family by facilitating a nurturing and gentle birth experience. Carefully considering the mother’s birth wishes and facilitating this vision.
- Create a safe and supportive environment where the mother can labor and birth in peace, free of undue fear and anxiety.
- Ensure that the baby comes into the world with as little birth trauma as possible.
- Initiate infant and parent bonding and provide breastfeeding support.
- Teach the birth partner and family how to best support the mother during the birth.
- Empower the mother’s partner by facilitating the bonding of the couple.
- Care for the emotional needs of mother and family.
- Translate confusing hospital information to decrease anxiety.
- Advocate for families in the hospital.
- Make suggestions concerning labor positioning.
- Offer natural pain management through hydrotherapy, visualization, aromatherapy, sound and breath work.
- Give massage, acupressure, and nurturing comfort measures.
- Provide continuous reassurance, comfort, respect and encouragement based on individualized needs and preferences.
Postpartum Doula Support
- Creates a restful, nurturing, and loving environment.
- Offers breastfeeding support and education; screens for breast feeding complications.
- Prepares healthy well-balanced meals.
- Provides hands-on education on baby and mother care.
- Provides emotional and informational support to family members.
- Encourages parents to trust their abilities, instincts and talents.
- Helps parents gather skills and confidence.
- Cares for baby while parents sleep and shower.
- Offers suggestions on integrating new baby with siblings.
- Shops for groceries, does baby’s laundry and light house-keeping.
- Helps to organize the nursery.
- Screens for postpartum mood disorders.
Click on our Birth Doula’s names to view their Biographies:
Lyndsey Milton, CD(DONA), PCD(DONA), HCHD
Lyndsey first began working alongside pregnant women and new moms in 2002 as a prenatal and postpartum yoga instructor. She soon realized that it was her passion to positively affect women during this profound time of growth and transformation. To further her understanding of birth and the transition to motherhood, she trained as a birth and postpartum doula. Her aim is to prepare families for an easeful birth and a joyful postpartum experience. In pregnancy and during birthing, she uses the tools of hypnosis–such as visualization and affirmations–as well as yoga to help you and your baby experience the benefits of deep, relaxed breathing; a comfortable body and a clear mind. The same techniques will continue to serve in parenting and partnership as your family expands and unfolds. Lyndsey lives with her husband and two daughters in Los Angeles. She is always happy to chat with expectant parents about how a birth and/or postpartum doula can serve families during this sacred time.
Please contact her to inquire about doula services in the greater Los Angeles area including the San Fernando Valley, West Los Angeles and Santa Monica.
Certified Birth Doula, CD(DONA) Certified Postpartum Doula, PCD(DONA) Certified Hypnobabies® Hypno-Doula, (HCHD) Certified Prenatal & Postpartum Yoga Instructor, (IYI) Lyndsey@birthwell.com (310) 497-7526
Click on our Postpartum Doula’s names to view their Biographies:
Julie Mcinally C.D. (DONA)
Julie Mcinally was born in Scotland, and came to California in 1982. She is now a mother of three grown children and, as of September 2011, is the proud grandmother of a beautiful baby boy. Julie loves dancing, cooking all natural healthy meals, and nurturing women in their early postpartum days to become confident new mothers while teaching them how to care for their newborns . She says that “Being a mother has been the most soul expanding and powerful experience of a woman’s life.” Having children has transformed her perception of being a woman, and has taught her so much about love, compassion, and what great strength women have. Julie believes that it is a gift to be part of the sacredness of birth and parenthood and she cherishes the opportunity to guide and support mothers and fathers on their own scared journey to parenthood, and share in the joy of a new baby and family.
She brings years of experience to the services that she offers which include PostPartum Doula Support, Breast feeding Consultation, Preconception Counseling, Nutritional Counseling for Pregnancy and Postpartum, Preparation of Healthy Balanced Meals, Prenatal Yoga Instruction, Body Ecology Consultation, and Baby-Friendly Nontoxic Home Environment Consultation. Julie lives in the mountains of Topanga, CA and services the Los Angeles County.
Jennifer Kelly, CPT, KRI Instructor, Postpartum Doula, Nutritionist
She started her journey towards health and alternative healing in 1998 when after becoming pregnant with her son. She chose to have a homebirth not knowing where it would lead. Thankfully, it has lead to a beautiful journey working with amazing people and sharing the information she has learned to facilitate healing and transformation. Jennifer was introduced to yoga during pregnancy by Gurmuk Khalsa at Goldenbridge Yoga. She became a student of prenatal, post natal, mommy and me, women’s yoga and regular Kundalini yoga. Then started informally studying health, nutrition, homeopathy and essential oils. It became obvious to Jennifer that this was her true path in life. This led her to a search for more formal training. Jennifer obtained a Personal Training Certification, it was great information, but it wasn’t enough. She felt like there was much more to this puzzle of health and wellness.
Jennifer went on to study nutrition and therapeutic grade essential oils and received a CARE certification in Raindrop and Vita flex Techniques with therapeutic grade essential oils. She was starting to see amazing results for people, but knew there was more to learn. In 2004 Jennifer completed Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training and in 2006 Completed Postpartum Doula Training. She felt that she was getting closer to the right combination of body, mind, & spirit tools to really make a difference for her clients. It wasn’t until she found and trained in FNRA, Functional Nutrition Reflex Analysis that she knew the journey to truth, health and joy was complete. Jennifer’s spiritual name as given by Yogi Bhajan, Master of Kundalini Yoga, is Lakhmi Chand Kaur which means princess who is blessed with wealth and moon energy. Moon being the feminine energy, She has always had a passion for supporting and healing women and children. Jennifer’s theory is, if you start in utero and teach children how to care for themselves at an early age we can avoid many of today’s health problems. This theory inspired Jennifer to become a postpartum doula, so she could support new families and help them create a non-toxic, spiritual, and bonding start to their new journey as a family.
Men don’t be discouraged, Jennifer loves working with you too. Men are often the missing link in creating a peaceful and harmonious life together as a family. It is important for our dad’s and dad’s-to-be to become knowledgeable about health as well. Jennifer is a Certified Personal Trainer and Kundalini Yoga Instructor trained in the Khalsa Way, a Certified Postpartum Doula and Nutritionist, and has been teaching, training, and working with private clients in the Los Angeles area for the last 8 years. The Khalsa Way emphasizes healthy birthing and child rearing using the ancient principals of Kundalini Yoga and combines well with her Postpartum Doula practice. She has studied FNRA and is extremely knowledgeable in nutrition as well as creating a health non-toxic environment for families. She has one birth child and has fostered 8 children over the past 10 years ages 13 weeks to 18.
