By Rita Weinstein, JTNews Correspondent
As one of the most significant passages in the life of a family, childbirth is an experience that mothers and fathers remember all of their lives. Providing a laboring woman and new mother physical and emotional support is a critical part of the process.
Traditionally, that support came from women. In recent decades, as birthing methods and research have evolved, fathers have been integrated into the support team as active participants in delivery rooms.
In the United States over the last 10 to 20 years, another member of the support team has been added, resulting in even greater benefit to the family: the doula (DOO-la). Translated from the Greek, it means “servant to the mother.”
In modern times, doulas are women who have received professional training to provide assistance to the mother during labor and delivery, then at home with the newborn. There are two kinds of doula: birth and postpartum.
Birth doulas meet with the pregnant woman and her partner before the delivery date to discuss their birth plans. The doula then stays with the mother at all times during labor and delivery, if possible, to help see that those plans are carried out.
Though they do not provide any clinical or nursing care, birth doulas help to explain to the parents what is happening during the birth process, and what their options might be.
They also provide the mother with emotional support, companionship, and encouragement at those times when the doctor, midwife or father may not be available or able to.
Among the physical comfort measures doulas are trained to provide are massage, use of a birthing ball – to provide pressure to help the baby engage and descend – or hot or cold packs.
Not to be confused with a nanny or a baby nurse, postpartum doulas are trained to focus on the mother’s needs after she gets home. The postpartum doula helps the new mother learn to breastfeed, teaches routine newborn care, and helps the parents learn their new child’s cues and how to meet the child’s unique needs.
She might also run errands, cook, do the laundry or clean the house so the new mother can rest, spend time with older children or her husband, or to give the new mom time to relax and bond with her newborn.
Postpartum doulas stay for varying lengths of time, depending on the family‘s needs. Some sleep at the home for the first few days or weeks, getting up to help with middle-of-the night feedings Others come during the day for just a few days or a week.
Even when family members are present to help out, having someone around who isn’t a part of the family dynamic can help calm stressful moments.
For Jewish families, the birth of a child comes with a wealth of tradition. For Orthodox families, rules of halachah apply to labor and delivery, creating a unique situation.
Local Orthodox doula and childbirth educator Jodilyn Owen has been practicing for over two years. She explained to JTNews that for a laboring woman, Shabbat restrictions are suspended since she is considered to be someone whose life is in danger. Also, when the uterus opens during labor and delivery, the woman takes on a different status. The regulations against husband/wife contact during her monthly period then apply, so the doula must then become the member of the team that administers massage or any other form of physical contact.
At that point, when physical contact between husband and wife is relinquished, Owen places a chair beside the mother, where the husband has direct eye contact and can speak directly into her ear.
Far from being a time of disconnection, Owen believes that this restriction creates an opportunity for an even more tremendous emotional connection to take place. Instead of being behind his wife, massaging her neck or back, the husband is even more closely available for emotional support.
Postpartum Orthodox doulas must also have additional knowledge of the requirements of kashrut. To provide the kind of care the family needs, the postpartum doula must also get to know the family ahead of time to manage the shopping and cooking for a kosher home.
Seattle doula Sara Eizen received her training at the Seattle Midwifery School. A particularly joyful moment for her was during her first professional experience, when she realized that the new mother and baby were both sleeping peacefully as she was busy preparing meals for the freezer and for the table. That moment of peace and rest would not have been possible had she not been there.
Research into the benefits of having this kind of support has shown that a pleasant birth experience helps to create family bonds for the baby and the parents that have lasting effects on the emotional health of the family.
Some hospitals provide doula care. Prospective patients can also make their own arrangements with a private doula. To locate a postpartum doula in the Seattle area, talk to doctors or other mothers, or request a referral from Doulas of North America at 206-324-5440 or www.dona.org.
Women interested in learning more about doula training may contact the Stroum Jewish Community Center at 206-232-7115, the Seattle Midwifery School at 206-322-8834 or www.seattlemidwifery.org, or the National Association of Postpartum Care Services at 800-453-6852 or www.napcs.org.