Alternative support for child birth

As the life-changing occasion of having a baby draws near, many women turn to alternatives for support during the process.

Women choose doctors, obstetricians, midwives, and doulas as they make their birthing plan.

Most people understand the function of each of these except perhaps one: the doula. There may be a misconception that doulas and midwives are interchangeable.

They are not and each complements the other.

"We overlap in that we support birth and we support women and families," said experienced doula Jocelyn Logan during World Doula week that concludes March 28. "Midwives are primary healthcare providers who are responsible for all healthcare needs like your doctor or ob/gyn. They order all the tests, they take people's blood pressure, they do vaginal exams, fetal well-being - all those things and doulas do none of that - they are not medical in any way. We can't even take someone's temperature."

Doulas are trained, experienced labour companions who provide emotional support, physical comfort and provide current evidence-based information so moms-to-be and their families can make informed choices before, during and after childbirth, said new doula Roxanne Marion. Doulas work well with doctors, midwives, and families, she added.

"We recognize all the signs of labour, we offer physical support during labour like massages and suggest different labour positions and offer (non-pharmacological) pain relief," said Marion.

So everything that isn't medical is what a doula does - physical, emotional and spiritual in the sense of recognizing birth and welcoming the child at a very special time in a family's life, added Logan.

To be a doula it takes a special kind of commitment.

"This is a lifestyle, it's not really a job," said Logan. "You step out at any time, at all hours of the day and night, and you do not know when you are returning. Every time you step into another family's culture - because each family has their own - it's always different so it really is a lifestyle."

A doula is always on call and available to the client.

"If my phone goes off, I have to go," said Logan. It doesn't matter if it interferes with birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, New Year's Eve, the doula has made the commitment and will honour it, she added.

"Once a client is booked you are always available to them even if it's 10 at night for a text message that is asking 'hey, is this normal?'" said Marion. "Once we're there, we're there for them."

Even if the client needs someone to talk to after an appointment with their primary care provider they can turn to their doula, added Logan.

Doulas can provide information about what's going on in their client's pregnancy.

"And if it's something they're not sure about, we can talk them off the ledge a bit and tell them what it's going to look like going forward," said Logan.

Some doulas will expand their services to include things like birth photography, lactation support, and belly casting.

"That's not in the scope of the doula but some people add those specialties onto their duties," said Logan.

There are also doulas that specialize in different areas. Logan and Marion are both birth doulas, while there are post-partum doulas that help support the mother, child and family for up to a year after birth. In Prince George there are about 37 doulas.

"And that's another thing," said Marion. "We won't take on a client if we have a clash with them. If we don't think we have a fit, we can send them off to a different doula that might fit better for whatever reason."

Prince George doulas are a cohesive group who really support each other, said Logan.

"I found these women are making a huge impact in our community and a lot of people don't know about them," said Marion, who's been a doula since September and working towards certification. "This group is sister like and very close and always supporting each other, answering each other's questions and it's nice to see them working together as a community."

Doulas will encourage a potential client to interview a number of doulas to find someone they are really comfortable with, said Logan, who is a certified doula through Doulas of North America now known as DONA International.

"You don't have to have a midwife to have a doula," said Logan. "You don't have to have the birth at home to have a doula and not all doulas are granola-munching bejeweled people - and there's nothing wrong with that - but we're not all like that."

There really is a doula for every family, she added.

"Someone who loves me may not love Roxanne, someone who loves Roxanne may not love me - if after you've talked to me you would like to go shower, I'm not the doula for you," said Logan. "And we're really OK with that because at the end of the day we want to be part of a story where we can really serve and have a good relationship and if you're not connected with the family then you can't really do your job and you have to remember we're at a really intimate place, pretty much the most intimate place - other than making love, and here we are."

Logan has been a doula for 20 years and a lot has changed in the birthing world during that time.

"I see a real shift in women coming to birth able to advocate for themselves and ask questions and I love that," said Logan. "So we encourage women to have a dialogue with their physician, explore birth plans and to be very clear about what their wishes are. Some people want an epidural, some people want nothing, no gas, no epidural and don't even offer it, don't even talk about it - 'I want a water birth, I want to catch my own baby, I want my husband to catch our baby, I want skin to skin, I don't want skin to skin' - it's so diverse depending on what they are bringing into their birth story. And that's a big role for us just to help educate people so they can make an informed decision."

For more information visit http://www.pgdoulas.com, the PG Doula Group on Facebook or attend the next information session held at Books & Co., 1685 Third Ave., on Monday, May 16 at 7 p.m.