While woman-to-woman maternity support has been around ever since women have been having babies (well, technically, Eve was on her own), doulas are relatively new. In fact, the first US professional organization for doulas (DONA, or Doulas of North America; now called DONA International) only started in 1992. This leaves many women wondering, "If I have a labor support partner and a nurse during labor, do I really need doula?" The answer: Maybe.

The point of having a doula is to provide encouragement and support to new moms throughout pregnancy and birth; postpartum doulas even help with breastfeeding, housework, and cooking. Her role is to promote healing and bonding with the new baby — basically, whatever you need! Sounds nice, right?
Research seems to think so, too. Studies indicate that when doulas are involved in the labor process, women have fewer C-sections and report greater satisfaction with their birth experiences.

Doulas understand labor and birth from both the physiologic and emotional angles, and they know how hospitals work. They're gifted at helping women overcome really challenging contractions and labor transitions. They understand medical language and routine procedures, but they also know how to help mothers work around interventions that don't fall into their birth plans. And when those plans need to change quickly, the really great doulas know how to shift gears and continue providing top-notch support.

Sadly, there are also some challenging doulas. A few have strict personal agendas and confrontational approaches. They start arguments with medical staff over minor issues like taking mom's blood pressure. There are even doulas who have told their clients that under no circumstances would they allow them to have an epidural or C-section.

Plus, reimbursement from insurance providers is unusual. What happens to women who can't afford doulas? They receive support from their labor nurses, midwife or doctor, their partners and the people they've chosen to provide labor support. For many women, that's all they need and they report feeling well cared for.

Side note: There are doulas that are getting started in their career and can offer free services in order to get certified or more experience.

Still, more often than not, doulas are a real asset to the birth experience. Here's how to find the perfect one for you:
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1.) Check their credentials.
While DONA International offers certification programs, certifications aren't required to work as a doula. But a certification shows that your doula has passed a test that demonstrates her knowledge and competency. Before deciding on a doula, ask her where she studied, and if she received a certification.
2.) Ask for references.
See whom she has worked with in the past, and actually call them.
3.) Search wisely
Visit doulamatch.net to instantly find doulas, along with their availability, education, certifications, and testimonials. Also check out: BirthTube's Doula Directory and the DONA Doula Directory.
4.) Interview potential doulas — in person!
You're going to be spending a whole lot of time with this person, so you need to make sure your goals are the same, and that your personalities are compatible. If you don't fall in love with the doula you interview, find one that fits your desires and needs.

Have some fun and take the Birth Quiz to get a FREE Labor Cheat Sheet!

I know far too well the feeling of helplessness at the end of pregnancy. You feel like a beached whale, a ticking time bomb, and people are constantly asking you if the baby has arrived...

The following are easy and gentle measures to urge baby to send your body the proper hormones to begin labor. Keep in mind that these are GENTLE METHODS and are not intended to be used without consulting a doctor or midwife.

Self-help Techniques

• Walking: Let gravity do the work!
• Intercourse AND orgasm: Let someone else do the work! His big "O" contains the same hormonal cocktail as what you would typically receive in a medical induction (called Prostaglandin or the medical Cervidil/Cytotec).
• Nipple stimulation: Surprisingly, this is a wonderful way to increase oxytocin, the love hormone that gets labor going!
• Castor oil: Drinking this does not taste good but can help upset the stomach enough to induce contractions. I would recommend other induction measures before this!
• Chiropractic/Acupressure/Acupuncture/Massage: By aligning your meridians, it may be enough to nudge that baby out! Plus self-care induces relaxation, a labor starter!
  • Grab your FREE Foot Massage for Labor HERE!! It's seriously a marriage saver!
• Labor cookies: See my first blog post!

Complementary Medicine Methods

• Herbal tea and tinctures: Red raspberry tea
• Homeopathic remedies: Putting a couple capsules of Evening Primrose oil up your hoohah will soften the cervix and allow it to ripen. Worked for me! Other remedies are: Pulsatilla 200C, Caullophyllum 200C and Cimicifuga 200C.
• Foods: Dates, pineapple, spicy food...many moms swear by these!

Medical Non-drug Methods of Induction

• Balloon dilators: Not highly recommended but can help if you are already in the hospital and labor is not active.
• Stripping (or sweeping) the membranes: This is uncomfortable but can help ease things along before you are in labor.
• Artificial rupture of membranes (AROM): Possibilities of placenta previa with this method but it can definitely get labor moving along.

Do you know of any other methods not mentioned here? Would love to hear from you!

While you're waiting for that new baby bundle,
snag yourself a FREE Labor Cheat Sheet
so you and partner have an easy reference for anything that could arise in labor!

Here's to keeping your LOVE IN MOTION!!

• Initiation of labor, progression and signals of labor

Parents face two common challenges during late pregnancy.
1) Impatience to end the pregnancy due to discomfort, fatigue and eagerness to hold their baby
2) The possibility of a long, discouraging pre-labor phase.

These challenges make parents more accepting of induction or vulnerable to the belief that there is something wrong. Parents need to understand that labor normally begins only when all of the following occur:
• The fetus is ready to thrive outside the uterus (breathing, suckling, maintaining body temperature, and more).
• The placenta has reached the point where it can no longer sustain the pregnancy.
• The uterus is ready to contract, open and expel the baby.
• The mother is ready to nourish and nurture her baby.

If parents understand that fetal maturity is essential in initiating the chain of events leading to labor, they may be more patient with the discomforts of late pregnancy, and less willing or anxious to induce labor without a medical reason.

Natural induction methods are a viable options to assist and allow for the above criteria to be met and for labor to commence. However, they are not meant to coax the baby out but rather to encourage the process along. I will blog about natural induction methods coming up but for now, please see one delicious way by checking out my Labor Cookies Recipe.

The ways to progress to a vaginal birth
Progress before and during labor and birth occurs in many ways, not simply cervical dilation and descent, which is what most people focus on. Labor unfolds gradually, which begin weeks before labor and involve the cervix. The cervix moves forward, ripens, effaces and then dilates. When parents understand that a long pre- or early labor is accomplishing necessary progress – preparing the cervix to dilate – they are less likely to become anxious or discouraged that nothing seems to be happening. The other steps involve the fetus: the fetal head repositions during labor by flexing, rotating, and moulding to fit into the pelvis; and lastly, the fetus descends and is born.

Possible signs of labor

• Nesting urge
• Soft bowel movements
• Abdominal cramping
• Backache that causes restlessness

These may or may not continue to the clearer signs of labor and may be associated with early cervical changes.

Pre-labor signs
The most important of these is the first one:

• Continuing ‘non-progressing’ contractions (that is, over time, the pattern remains the same; they do not become longer, stronger or closer together)
  
• Possible leaking of fluid from the vagina
  
• Possible ‘show’ – bloody mucus discharge from the vagina

With these signs, the cervix is probably not dilating significantly, but is likely to be ripening and effacing.

​Positive signs of labor
The most important of these is the first one:

• Continuing, progressing contractions, i.e. contractions that become longer, stronger, and closer together (or at least two of those signs). These progressing contractions cause cervical dilation, which is the clinical definition of labor.
  
• Spontaneous rupture of the membranes (SRM), especially with a gush of fluid. This happens before or at the onset of labor in about 8% of women at term. It most often happens late in labor. SRM is only a positive sign of labor in conjunction with continuing progressing contractions.

Positive Notes
Staying positive amidst pre- and early labor is important in the process of delivering your baby. Women progress in many different ways and your journey is your own pathway to forge for you and your baby. The hard work put into the process is well worth it. Just knowing the signs above can and will help in understanding when it is a good time to bring in your birth team, call your midwife, go to the hospital (or stay at home), and move forward in a positive and healthy manner.

Stayed tuned for more progression through labor and delivery, as well as some natural induction methods!

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