Midwife & Lactation Consultant
Need more evidence and reasons to hire a doula? Or want to explain to someone else why you are hiring a doula, or why they might want to consider hiring a doula? Watch this video from Evidence Based Birth for a rundown on what we do and how we can help birthing families.
Watch the video from Evidence Based Birth here.
Happy World Doula Week to all the doulas out there!
For some birth stories, check out these websites below. They feature all kind of birth - at home, in the hospital, in a birthing center, with midwives and doctors, as well as natural births, births with pain medication, birth with interventions, and Cesarean births. Enjoy the beautiful variety!
POSTBIRTH - An Acronym that Can Reduce Maternal Mortality and Morbidity in the Postpartum Period
by Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), CLE
Full text of the article can be found here.
Maternal mortality and morbidity in the United States are as high as they have ever been. More people are dying from complications of pregnancy or childbirth than ever before. 61 percent of deaths related to childbirth occur in the postpartum period and most of those occur in the first 42 days after birth. The current estimated maternal mortality rate in the U.S. is 23.7/100,000 live births (MacDorman, Declercq, Cabral, & Morton, 2016).
There is agreement that we must improve the way we care for people in the postpartum period if we want to be able to reduce the complications and deaths that occur after giving birth. Part of this improvement lies in how warning signs information is provided to families after birth. As it is not possible to identify who will have a postbirth complication, it is imperative that everyone receive information about concerns in the postpartum period that will need to be evaluated by a health care provider. The postpartum nurse or mother-baby nurse is in a unique position to educate families on what to watch for postpartum.
Unfortunately, current research indicates that the information that postpartum nurses teach to new parents about warning signs is inconsistent and often inaccurate. There is also evidence that many postpartum nurses are not aware of the major risks that face people after they give birth that can cause death or serious complications. Families report being flooded with physical and emotional situations in the first days postpartum that make it difficult to take in important information accurately and clearly. For these reasons, the postpartum discharge education RNs provide must be clear, concise, and accurate. When appropriately informed and educated, postpartum nurses are in an ideal position to improve postbirth outcomes, if they are given adequate time to share information with the new family.
A new study, Nursesʼ Knowledge and Teaching of Possible Postpartum Complications, published in MCN: The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing, examines postpartum nurses’ knowledge of maternal morbidity and mortality, and information they shared with women before discharge about identifying potential warning signs of postpartum complications.
Almost half the postpartum nurses in the study were not aware that maternal mortality rates have increased. Almost all (93%) of nurses knew that hemorrhage was one of the top three causes of death, but only 68% knew that hypertension was another, and barely 39% could identify infection as the third leading cause of death.
The following text and photo is excerpted from "Evidence on: Doulas" a recent article August 14, 2017 by Rebecca Dekker, on her incredibly informative website, Evidence Based Birth. You can read the full text of her article here: https://evidencebasedbirth.com/the-evidence-for-doulas/
There are several reasons why we think doulas are so effective. The first reason is the “harsh environment” theory. In most developed countries, ever since birth moved out of the home and into the hospital, laboring people are frequently submitted to institutional routines, high intervention rates, staff who are strangers, lack of privacy, bright lighting, and needles.
Most of us would have a hard time dealing with these conditions when we’re feeling our best. But people in labor have to deal with these harsh conditions when they are in a very vulnerable state. These harsh conditions may slow down a person’s labor and their self-confidence. It is thought that a doula “buffers” this harsh environment by providing continuous support and companionship which promotes the mother’s self-esteem (Hofmeyr, Nikodem et al. 1991).
A second reason that doulas are effective is because doulas are a form of pain relief in themselves (Hofmeyr, 1991). With continuous support, laboring people are less likely to request epidurals or pain medication. It is thought that there is fewer use of medications because birthing people feel less pain when a doula is present. An additional benefit to the avoidance of epidural anesthesia is that women may avoid many medical interventions that often go along with an epidural, including Pitocin augmentation and continuous electronic fetal monitoring (Caton, Corry et al. 2002).
This finding—that people with doulas are less likely to have an epidural—is not due to the fact that clients with doulas in these studies were more likely to want these things up front and were more motivated to achieve them. In fact, randomized trials account for these differences—this is why they are called randomized, controlled trials. The people assigned to have a doula, and those assigned to not have a doula, are randomly assigned, meaning that the same percentage in each group would have a desire for an unmedicated birth.
A third reason why doulas are effective has to do with the attachment between the birthing person and doula which can lead to an increase in oxytocin, the hormone that promotes labor contractions. This theory was proposed by Dr. Amy Gilliland in her 2010a study about effective labor support. In personal correspondence with Dr. Gilliland, she wrote, “I believe the Doula Effect is related to attachment. When the mother feels vulnerable in labor, she directs attachment behaviors to suitable figures around her, who may or may not be her attachment figures (parent, mate). When the mother directs attachment seeking behaviors to the doula, the experienced doula (25 births or more) responds in a unique manner. She is able to respond as a secure base, thereby soothing the mother’s attachment system. The accompanying diminishment in stress hormones allows for a surge in oxytocin in both the mother and the doula… theoretically, oxytocin is the hormone of attachment, and it is released during soothing touch and extended eye contact, which are habitual behaviors of birth doulas.” (Personal communication, Dr. Amy Gilliland, July 2015).
Swedish oxytocin researcher Kristin Uvnas Moberg writes that the doula enhances oxytocin release which decreases stress reactions, fear, and anxiety, and increases contraction strength and effectiveness. In addition, the calming effect of the doula’s presence increases the mother’s own natural pain coping hormones (beta-endorphins), making labor feel less painful (Uvnas Moberg, 2014).
Based on the evidence, I have come up with a conceptual model of how doula support influences outcomes.
A conceptual model is what researchers use to try and understand how a phenomenon works. Here is my conceptual model on the phenomenon of doula support.
These photos are beautiful! Whether it's a home birth, hospital birth, natural birth, cesarean birth, midwife birth, water birth, OB birth, breastfeeding or formula feeding, or it's a first or second or third child... there's no one right way to do it. Take a look here.
This is an excellent article, with very wise advice on baby's weight loss within a the first couple of weeks of life. If you have concerns or questions about your newborn's weight loss and milk intake, you are of course advised to seek support from a Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), a Certified Breastfeeding Counselor (CBC), or a Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC). Any of these lactation professionals should be able to support you or point you in the right direction.
An excerpt is below and the full article can be read here.
"This weight loss has nothing whatsoever to do with breastfeeding and milk intake. In fact, the authors suggest that if clinicians want to use weight loss as a gauge of milk intake, they calculate baby’s weight loss not from birth weight, but from their weight at 24 hours. According to their findings, this could neutralize the effect of the mother’s IV fluids on newborn weight loss.
This is one more reason weight loss alone should not be used to determine when newborns need formula supplements. The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine put this well in one of its protocols: “Weight loss in the range of 8-10% may be within normal limits….If all else is going well and the physical exam is normal, it is an indication for careful assessment and possible breastfeeding assistance.”
I adore this blog post written by my dear doula colleague, Yiska Obadia. You can read an excerpt below, and the full article here.
"Doulas are there to serve their clients. You want to birth naturally? I will support you. You want an epidural? I will support you. You want an epidural and to avoid a c-section? I will do my best to help you achieve that. Doulas serve our clients in helping them to achieve the birth THEY want as well as supporting them wholeheartedly with the birth they get."
Finally, earlier this year, New York City unveiled a new in-hospital birthing center. Until recently, our only in-hospital birthing center was the Birthing Center at Mt. Sinai West (formerly known as St. Luke's Roosevelt). As of this winter, women have another in-hospital birthing center option: The Birthing Center at New York Presbyterian/ Lower Manhattan Hospital. I had the pleasure of attending a birth there as a doula just a few weeks ago, and the facilities are beautiful! (Not to mention the birth, too, of course!!)
Hopefully this trend will continue in NYC. There are so many women looking for low intervention birth settings, with the option to labor in a tub amongst other great options available in the birthing center. NYC residents also have the option to give birth at the Brooklyn Birthing Center, an out-of-hospital freestanding birthing center, and New York City's only independent birthing center.
Read more about the opening of Lower Manhattan's Birthing Center here.
