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Doula duty: Doulas provide physical, emotional and informational support to women
The Barrie Examiner
Sat 06 Mar 2004
Page: C1 / Front
Section: Celebrations
Byline: Susan Doolan
Source: The Barrie Examiner
When Clara Nagy-Walline became pregnant with her first child, she went in search of a doula.
The term doula, a Greek word pronounced 'doo-la,' is given to an experienced woman who assists during the childbirth process.
Today, a doula's role is to provide physical, emotional and informational support to women, beginning prior to the birth, through the delivery as well as after the baby is born. They differ from midwives in that a doula provides no clinical support.
In layman's terms, Clara's husband Keven summed it up this way: a doula looks after everything from the waist up, while a midwife handles everything from the waist down.
"For me it was twofold because I didn't really have any family here and the other reason was for confidence in the birthing process," said Nagy-Walline. "I've known since I can remember that this was the way it was going to be."
Today, five months after a difficult birth to a healthy five-month old son named Sebastian, Keven is grateful for their doula's help.
"Adrenalin flowing - someone who's trained to give you support - it was huge," he said.
"Never thought I'd say (it) but after he was born, there was no way we could have done it without her."
Clara began the search for a doula on the Internet (dona.org) and scrolled down to Barrie. After speaking to two or three local doulas, she settled on Yvonne McKenzie of Birth and Beyond, one of two branches. The other is located in Alliston.
Clara and Yvonne met three times prior to the hospital birth to discuss a birth plan and comfort measures. The doula also provided helpful suggestions and acted as a sounding board for any preconceived ideas.
One of Clara's natural concerns was pain management.
"I think it definitely made a difference to ease the contraction pain - also emotionally," she said.
As it turned out Clara had a difficult time when her son's shoulders became stuck - a potentially serious problem which could necessitate a Caesarean if the young mother decides to have another child.
Yvonne was on hand for the full 16.5 hour labour.
Three days later, she returned to help Clara with nursing questions. Six weeks later, Yvonne brought Clara a keepsake - the story of Sebastian's birth, complete with photos and text timelines.
Melissa Cowl founded Birth and Beyond in Alliston eight years ago, along with Wendy Topping, after a personal experience. The last two of her five children were born with the assistance of a doula (she didn't know about doulas for the first three births).
An obstetric nurse at Stevenson Memorial Hospital, Lynne Hart brought the doula program to Alliston. Currently, Hart is retired from nursing and is a doula as well as a doula trainer.
As a result of her experience, Cowl became a doula and doula trainer. Training can take as little as six months, or a long as four years. Doulas are certified and governed by the Doulas of North America. The local association, Doula Care Simcoe County, has 30 active practitioners. It will also provide referrals to local doulas.
Fees appear to be highly individual. The four doulas of Birth and Beyond prefer not to set a fee but rather base it on what the parents feel they can afford. And if the parents can't afford it, these four will do it for free.
"We leave the decision to them," said Cowl, explaining their vision statement is 'a doula for every mother that wants one.'
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