Debunking the Myths At Meet The Doula Night
Myth 1: I don’t need a doula because I’m having a hospital birth.
“This week, the National Institutes of Health will hold a conference in
Bethesda, Md., about the country's dismal rates of vaginal birth after
Caesarean, or VBAC (pronounced VEE-back), which have plummeted since 1996.
"I think it's the purpose of this conference to see if we can turn the clock
back," said Dr. Kimberly D. Gregory, vice chairwoman of women's health care
quality and performance improvement at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los
Angeles. “
Currently if you are having a hospital birth you statistically have a 35% chance at having a c-section even if you present with no complications such as gestational diabetes. While we understand that home birth is not something every set of parents are comfortable with you should be aware that the same population in home birth has a 5% chance of having a C-section.
"Labor and birth are whole-being experiences; the autonomic nervous system will shut the whole process down if the woman perceives stress, threat, or danger. In typical hospital settings, with shift changes, strangers walking in and out, bright lights, confinement to bed and monitor, and restricted oral intake, it is no wonder that the process doesn’t go as smoothly as it could. “Failure to progress” – the diagnostic reason given for 50% or more cesareans – is largely an environmental issue."-- Katharine Hikel, MD
Myth 2: I don’t need a Doula I have my husband.
The continued presence of a doula during labor significantly reduces cesarean delivery rates and the need for epidural analgesia in middle- and upper-class US women accompanied by their male partner or another family member, researchers report. They suggest that maybe fathers should not be expected to fulfill the role of primary labor companion. Susan McGrath and John Kennell from Case Western Reserve University,Cleveland, Ohio, USA, investigated the potential benefit during labor of an experienced doula to provide both emotional and instrumental support. A total of 420 women were randomly assigned to either have a doula present throughout labor in addition to their male partner or no such additional support. Women who had the support of a doula had a significantly lower cesarean delivery rate than the control group, at 13.4 percent versus 25.0 percent. They were also less likely to need epidural analgesia, at 64.7 percent versus 76.0 percent, respectively. Among women with induced labor, just 12.5 percent of women with a doula had a cesarean delivery, compared with 58.8 percent of those without a doula. All women and their male partners who received the support of a doula rated their experience as positive. "Continuous labor support by a doula is a risk-free obstetric technique that could benefit all laboring women and should be made available in all maternity units," the researchers conclude.
Myth 3: The cost of a Doula is out of my budget.
The cost of a C-section is on an average of $2,700 more than a vaginal birth. This is not factoring in the longer recovery time which will affect the paycheck you will or will-not earn. And to add to this issue now many insurance companies are denying women insurance after they have a c-section. Some consider this a pre-existing condition. The cost of not having a Doula is far greater than the range of fees that usually start around $500 and go to $1000 to hire a Doula will be.
So why should you hire a Doula to attend my birth?
Although most childbearing women and newborns in the United States are healthy and at low risk for complications, national surveys reveal that essentially all women who give birth in U.S. hospitals experience high rates of interventions with risks of adverse effects. Optimal care avoids when possible interventions with increased risk for harm. This can be accomplished by supporting physiologic childbirth and the innate, hormonally driven processes that developed through human evolution to facilitate the period from the onset of labor through birth of the baby, the establishment of breastfeeding, and the development of attachment. With appropriate support and protection from interference, for example, laboring women can experience high levels of the endogenous pain-relieving opiate beta-endorphin and of endogenous oxytocin, which facilitates labor progress, initiates a pushing reflex, inhibits postpartum hemorrhage, and confers loving feelings. Large national prospective studies report that women receiving this type of care are much less likely to rely on pain medications, labor augmentation, forceps/vacuum extraction, episiotomy, cesarean section, and other interventions than similar women receiving usual care. Such physiologic care is also much less costly and thus provides outstanding value for those who pay for it
But don’t take our word for it read the Cochrane report:
http://www.childbirthconnection.org/pdfs/continuous_support.pdf
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