What Is a Doula?
A doula is a trained, non‑medical professional who provides continuous emotional, informational, and practical support during pregnancy, labour and birth, and the postnatal period.
Doulas work alongside your midwife, GP, or obstetric team, offering personalised care that centres you as a whole person. Their role is to help you feel informed, confident, supported, and respected throughout your maternity journey.
Unlike medical professionals, doulas do not provide clinical care. Instead, they focus on comfort, reassurance, evidence‑based information, and advocacy, offering a calm, steady presence so you never feel alone as you move through pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood.
Birth Doula Support
A birth doula offers calm, continuous support through pregnancy and birth, honouring this time as a deeply meaningful life experience that stays with you forever.
Birth doulas have a strong understanding of the physiology of birth, alongside a deep awareness of the emotional, psychological, and personal needs of the labouring person.
A doula supports the woman or birthing person, and their partner, if present, in preparing for birth and feeling confident in expressing their hopes and preferences.
During labour, a birth doula stays with the labouring person continuously, offering steady reassurance, comfort and presence.
Support may include emotional care, practical comfort measures, gentle guidance, and help accessing clear, unbiased information so informed choices can be made with confidence.
Birth doulas also help facilitate clear, respectful communication between the labouring person, their partner, and maternity care providers.
Above all, a birth doula nurtures and protects the memory of the birth experience, recognising how profoundly it can shape the parents’ story.
Postnatal Doula Support
A postnatal doula recognises that becoming a parent is a powerful and life‑changing transition.
They honour the understanding that every parent’s journey is unique, and that each family finds their own way in the early weeks and months of parenting.
Postnatal support offers gentle, non‑judgemental emotional and practical care during the first three months, and beyond, if needed, after the arrival of your baby.
This may include help with new born care, settling into family life, simple meal preparation and light household tidying, creating space for rest and recovery.
A postnatal doula shares evidence‑based information on infant feeding, emotional and physical recovery after birth, baby soothing techniques and confidence‑building coping tools for new parents.
When additional support is helpful, a postnatal doula can signpost and make appropriate referrals to trusted professionals and services.
The Evidence for Continuous Birth Support
Decades of research demonstrate the benefits of having continuous, one‑to‑one support during labour and birth.
A large Cochrane review published in 2017 by Bohren et al, analysed the findings from 26 studies involving more than 15,000 birthing people. These studies compared those who received continuous support throughout labour with those who received standard maternity care.
The results consistently showed that continuous support during birth is associated with positive outcomes for both parent and baby. People who had ongoing support were more likely to experience:
Fewer caesarean births, with reductions of up to 39% when supported by a doula.
Higher rates of spontaneous vaginal birth, increasing by up to 15% when supported by a doula.
Reduced use of pain relief medications, with a 10% decrease across studies.
Shorter labours, averaging around 41 minutes less.
Improved outcomes for babies, including a 38% lower risk of a low five‑minute Apgar score.
Greater satisfaction with the birth experience, with a 31% reduction in dissatisfaction.
