Central Coast doulas are changing
childbirth experience
For
most women, pregnancy is the most exciting time of their lives.
When
it comes to the act of childbirth, however, there is a perceptible change in
attitude, usually one of fear, apprehension, doubt, and sometimes flat out
terror, about what has been increasingly billed as the most painful and
difficult experience of a woman’s life.
For
women like Michele Daniels and Heather King, both Santa
Ynez Valley residents, trained and experienced labor and postpartum doulas, and
charter members of Central Coast Doula Association, the approach to birth is
different: one that is viewed as a natural, sacred right
of passage that has the potential to positively transform a woman’s life
forever.
The
word doula comes from Greek, and at one time referred to a woman who assisted
and cared for postpartum mothers.
Woman
attending woman dates back to the beginning of time, but around the turn of the
century the American medical community spurred a new type of birth experience
in the United States: sterile, quick and institutionalized.
In
the following 70 years, professional midwives and birth attendants virtually
went underground, while modern medicine systemically altered the natural way
women have given birth since the beginning of civilization.
With
the United States now following Brazil as the world leaders in cesarean
deliveries, infant and mother fatalities, and a staggering rate of medical
interventions in otherwise healthy pregnancies, birth attendants and midwives
have found resurgence in the last decades among women who want to get back to
the basics of birthing.
Unlike
midwives who are medically trained to take the place of a doctor in a rural or
home birth situation, the modern doula provides emotional, physical and
evidence-based support wherever a woman chooses to labor. According to Daniels
this type of support for the laboring mother and her partner not only promotes
a positive birth environment but has proven time and again, the world over, to
make labor shorter, easier and healthier.
“In
the United States, childbirth is treated as an emergency situation; but when a
woman is supported during birth there is a real sense of ownership over the
process.
It
is her decision, her choice, and her baby.
There
is a much greater sense of calm and control during labor that can minimize pain
and avoid unnecessary interventions,” Daniels said.
Modern
doulas, like Daniels and King, have taken on a more comprehensive roll,
providing non-medical education and support to the mother-to-be pre labor,
during labor and postpartum.
Mother
of five, Daniels first experienced the benefit of a labor coach with her first
and second hospital births, while her sister, a mother herself, attended
her.
“My
sister was there and every time I felt a little panicked or unsure about what
was happening she would tell me I was doing great; she would reassure me. It turned
out to be a great experience,” Daniels said.
Without
knowing she was already pregnant with her third child, Daniels enrolled in a
doula training workshop and became certified, later helping to establish the
Central Coast Doula Association, a group of 20 women who are dedicated to the
support and education of women and families to create an empowering birth and
postpartum experience.
“I
just knew I wanted to be around pregnant women, to hold the sacred space and
bear witness to the amazing process of birth,” Daniels explained.
Mother
of two boys, both birthed at home, King specializes in postpartum care.
“Women
with newborns need a lot of help.
And
if you’re a go-getter type, the sudden change of long feedings and being
house-bound can really take a toll on mental health, especially in the first
few weeks,” King said.
“The
smallest things make a difference: having someone cook a meal, do the dishes,
put in a load of laundry, or just keep you company. Postpartum doulas
understand exactly what is necessary to give a mother a successful postpartum
experience,” she said.
According
to extensive research, reported in “The Doula Book” by M.H. Klaus, J.H. Kennell and P.H. Klaus, women attended by doulas experience
a 25 percent decrease in length of labor, 50 percent decrease in cesarean
delivery, 60 percent decrease in the use of pain-reducing epidurals, and 40
percent decrease in the use of a contraction inducer called Pitocin.
With
statistics this staggering, it’s hard to imagine any woman would go into labor
without a birth attendant.
The
truth is, most don’t, mainly because the concept of birth attendant is still
distinctly absent from our childbirth education in the United States, and often
misunderstood as a dated and ineffective tool for birthing.
And
besides, what’s so wrong with modern medicine? Why suffer if we don’t have to?
The
answer to these questions and countless others is addressed in a new movie by
executive producer Ricki Lake, “The Business of Being
Born.”
Part
exposé, part cathartic research project, Lake delves into the billion-dollar
business of birth in the United States by following several women during their
pregnancy and birth experience, contrasting hospital with home birth, doctor
versus midwife or doula attendant.
For
Daniels and the other members of Central Coast Doulas, the movie encapsulates
much of why they do what they do.
“This
movie really brings to light that in this age birth is not treated as a natural
process. We are subjected to doctors’ preferences and schedules,” Daniels said.
The
Central Coast Doula Association is sponsoring a one-time screening of “The
Business of Being Born” in Santa Barbara on Jan. 13 at 3 p.m. in the Lotus
Theater at Santa Barbara Middle School.
“The intention is not for women to come away
refusing modern birthing techniques, but rather to present options and allow
women to make an educated choice,” Daniels said.
“A
woman’s body knows how to labor,” Daniels explains further, “if we’re less
afraid, more informed and have the support in place to remind us that we know
what we’re doing, it can change everything.”
For more information visit
www.centralcoastdoulas.com.