Benefits For Having a Doula (Birth Support)
A reviewed of fourteen trials involving more that 10,000 women, demonstrated the most supportive reasons for the use of having a doula (birth support) in labour care. A systematic review by the Cochrane library found that;
"The continuous presence of a support person reduced the likelihood of medication for pain relief, operative vaginal delivery, caesarean delivery, and a 5-minute Apgar score less than 7. Continuous support was also associated with a slight reduction in the length of labour. Six trials evaluated the effects of support on mothers' views of their childbirth experiences; while the trials used different measures....in each trial the results favoured the group who had received continuous support" (Hodnett, 2003).
"The continuous presence of a support person reduced the likelihood of medication for pain relief, operative vaginal delivery, caesarean delivery, and a 5-minute Apgar score less than 7. Continuous support was also associated with a slight reduction in the length of labour. Six trials evaluated the effects of support on mothers' views of their childbirth experiences; while the trials used different measures....in each trial the results favoured the group who had received continuous support" (Hodnett, 2003).