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| Rodger Berman (aka Mr. Rachel Zoe). What a goofy picture. A bit of trivia: Rodger had the Bieber coif before Bieber. |
I'll back up. What is a doula? A doula is someone who provides emotional and physical support to a pregnant woman during labor, delivery and sometimes postpartum. The emotional support is anything from encouraging words to visualization guidance to unity screaming. Okay, I made that last one up, but you can imagine a doula and a pregnant lady screaming in unison as the pregnant lady pushes. Ahhhhh! Ahhhhh! The physical support is anything from massage to aromatherapy. A doula also provides educational information. Postpartum support includes breastfeeding and general newborn assistance.
What is not a doula? Someone who provides medial support to a pregnant woman. A doula does not do sonograms or physical examinations. That clinical stuff is left to the licensed and trained professionals. Doulas, on the other hand, don't necessarily have any license or training. Many countries have no regulations or standards for doulas (aka anyone can call herself a doula). Though, nowadays most doulas are in fact trained.
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| George Clooney is neither a doctor nor doula. |
Most importantly, why are doulas so hot right now? From my outsider perspective, I sort of envision doulas to be like pregnancy therapists. People seek guidance from therapists for all sorts of stressful issues and stressful patches of life. Pregnancy and childbirth are not just about the clinical stuff. There is an overwhelming amount of emotional and physical change that has nothing to do with the clinical stuff. That is a doula's wheelhouse. Doulas empower pregnant women to have a positive and awesome experience by helping with the stressful stuff.
Have you ever used a doula? Do you plan to? Are you a doula and feel like dropping some knowledge?
