1. Myth: A doula shows up for the labor and birth then leaves.
Truth: Doulas strive to provide “continuity of care.” This means the doula forms a relationship with the parents during pregnancy, cares for the couple during labor and birth, then provides follow-up care to ensure that parents and baby have adjusted to their new roles and their new environment.
2. Myth: A doula won’t allow a laboring person to take any pain relief drugs.
Truth: A doula is there to help support parents and help ensure a safe and satisfying childbirth as the couple defines it. A doula will not make medical decisions for the laboring couple. A doula will not judge a couple’s decision to have pain relief. Instead, a doula will help the couple explore and understand both the benefits and drawbacks of using pain-relieving drugs.
3. Myth: If you’ve met one doula, you’ve met them all.
Truth: While every certified doula abides by the certifying body’s ‘scope of practice,’ each doula is unique. Interview several doulas to find someone whose philosophy, personality and areas of specialty most closely meet your needs.
4. Myth: A doula will interfere with medical advice.
Truth: A doula will not interfere with medical advice. They facilitate communication between all involved and encourages the couple to ask relevant questions so they can make informed choices. Doulas do not make decisions for their clients and doulas DO NOT offer medical advice.
5. Myth: A doula will “take over” the role of the partner.
Truth: A doula is there to enhance the relationships between the hospital staff, the laboring couple and others present. Often times the partner will become more involved with a doula present. As Penny Simkin, P.T., states, “While the doula probably knows more than the partner about birth, hospitals and maternity care, the partner knows more about the woman’s personality, likes and dislikes, and needs. Moreover, he or she loves the woman more than anyone else there.” A good doula will reinforce the fact that this is your birth, not theirs. They will strengthen the pair bond by instilling confidence in the partner and facilitating open communication between the couple and others present.
6. Myth: A doula will take away “the best part of a nurse’s job.”
Truth: A laboring person can never have too much support. Nurses and doulas realize this. While a doula is not a nurse, they are still a birth professional who is skilled in the art of labor support. A doula strives to work as a team with the nursing staff and welcomes any suggestions and physical support that the nurse may provide. Nurses are often responsible for several laboring persons at the same time and their shifts may end before you deliver. The doula is there just for you. Their obligation, unlike a nurse, is completely and sovereignly to you.
7. Myth: A doula has a negative opinion about a hospital setting.
Truth: A doula has the utmost respect for the lifesaving technology available for unexpected circumstances in a hospital. While doulas have a strong belief in a person’s ability to birth their baby and always strive to ensure that the birthing process remains normal, doulas appreciate the judicious use of life saving technology when the situation becomes abnormal.
8. Myth: Doulas are not necessary because the nurse (partner, family member, friend, fill in the blank) is there.
Truth: A doula does not perform clinical skills, is not encumbered by hospital procedures, and is not overwhelmed by caring for several people at the same time. They are the only member of the maternity care team who is focused completely on the parent’s well being and will remain with the parent constantly from the beginning of labor to the end. A doula is not emotionally involved with the laboring person, as are other family members and close friends. The doula knows what to expect and remains calm and objective when she sees the laboring person in pain. Often, a doula has seen significantly more unmedicated births than the hospital staff.
9. Myth: A doula will leave if the parent gets an epidural.
Truth: There seems to be an urban legend of sorts about the doula who left as soon as the parent got an epidural. This is not usual. A doula is there to support the laboring person with any decisions they make. They still need continuous support even with an epidural. The doula can give partner a break to go get something to eat or to take a nap if it’s been a particularly long labor. They can take pictures, get ice-chips, do hand massage or just sit quietly while the parent rests.
10. Myth: Doulas secretly want to catch the baby.
Truth: A doula does not have the clinical skills or the knowledge to want to receive the baby on their own. Trying to deliver the baby on their own would be a dangerous decision that would not ensure the safe passage of parent and baby through the birth process.
11. Myth: Doulas only attend home births.
Truth: Doulas attend births at home, at the hospital and at birth centers. They will remain at home with the laboring person until it is time to go to the hospital/birth center (where applicable). The fact is that the vast majority of parents living in the United States birth in a hospital setting and therefore most of the births a doula attends are in the hospital.
12. Myth: All doulas are “patchouli-wearing, tree-hugging, earthy vegetarians.”
Truth: The majority of doulas are professional, well-educated people. The key is to find a doula who suits your individual needs and personality.
13. Myth: A doula has their own ‘birth plan’ and strives to make the couple follow it.
Truth: A good doula will help you formulate your own birth plan and then bend over backwards to follow it.
14. Myth: A doula leaves as soon as the baby is born and that’s the end of the relationship.
Truth: Part of a birth doula’s responsibility is to facilitate uninterrupted bonding time between baby and parents and to ensure that if a parent intends to breastfeed/chestfeed that they are able to do so. Additionally, most doulas offer at least one postpartum visit and most have a comprehensive list of community resources to help you deal with any postpartum problems.