Doulas attend Women and Families with Awareness

The word, "doula," comes from the Greek word for the most important female servant in an ancient Greek household; the woman who most likely supported the lady of the house through her births.
The word has come to refer to "a woman experienced in childbirth who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the mother before, during, and just after childbirth."(Klaus, Kennel and Klaus, Mothering the Mother)

After many years and experience as a doula and birth educator, I have found that the meaning of "doula" for me encompasses honoring birth as a life transition for the entire family as well as the mother. While the mother embodies the physical and emotional depths of birth, her partner and baby's siblings also need support to honor their own experience of bringing a new life into the family.

A doula is someone who:

• Hold's the space of birth; keeping a sense of safety, privacy and security for the mother to birth using her innate birthing wisdom and for the couple to feel safe to be with one another however they choose to bring their baby into the world.
• Provides a constant presence of trust in the natural unfolding of birth.
• Encourages the natural, normal, instinctual rhythms of birth
• Recognizes birth as a major life transition. Birth is an event that effects our thoughts on being mothers and how we identify ourselves within the family unit and the greater community.
• Offers emotional, physical as well as informational support to the family throughout pregnancy, birth and early postpartum.
• Assists mothers and partners in making informed decisions during pregnancy and birth by providing information or pointing to available resources.
• Helps partners understand the normalcy of birth and how to support the birthing mother in whatever way is comfortable.
• Empower's the mother and the couple to know their patient rights and to trust in their individual ability to birth how they choose.