Doulas | Protea Midwifery Birth Unit & Services

Doula Support

We encourage our expectant parents to hire a Doula as we consider Doulas a valuable part of the birth team. It is important to connect with your Doula and feel like you can trust her. She will be with you during one of the most intimate and vulnerable times in your life, so your comfort with her is vital. She does not replace the role of the father. The word Doula means “a woman who serves” in ancient Greek. Doulas are trained professionals who give continuous physical (non-medical), emotional, and informational support to expectant, labouring, and postpartum mothers and families.

Many studies have shown that the addition of a Doula to a woman’s birth team can benefit the mother in numerous ways.

Women who had continuous support, especially from a doula, were more likely to have spontaneous vaginal births and less likely to have any pain medication, epidurals, vacuum or assisted births, Caesarean sections, or negative feelings about childbirth.