Traditionally a doula is known as a woman’s servant, and officially became a profession around the 80’s-90’s. However the term doula comes from the modern Greek word δούλα, doúla (Greek pronunciation: [ˈðula], meaning Slave. It’s shown that the use of doulas (who once were female family members in the family) has been around since ancient times.

Currently doulas are non-medical professionals working with women to share knwodlge, instill confidence, and aid in embracing their power! Essentially a companion to offer social, spiritual, informational, physical, and emotional support. This work includes but is not limited to pre-conception, prenatal, birth, postpartum, and even later in parenting years. To define a doula is not that simple, consider a doula the oil in a well piled machine- you CAN run without them but you WILL thrive with one!

Doulas receive training at accredited foundations and schools where they must undergo training and classes. They are to continue their training to keep updated on all things birth, in order to keep their certification.

Not all doulas are the same, so to define a doula seems like a challenge.. This is why its great to check out lots of doulas and find the BEST doula for YOU! At Maternal Union my goal as a doula is to be a holistic guide in allowing you to bring forth your nature and power to birth while equipping you with the skills needed to concur any fears or concerns! I work with families prior to conception, during pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond! I specialize in natural traditional motherhood. 

During birth doulas can provide emotional, and physical, support to mom during labour. Think: Offering positions to help move baby down, helping navigate hospital terms, being a safe place to speak freely to. Doulas also aid in helping partners with understanding how to be the best support they can be. 

Doulas work in all birth settings, from home to hospital and sometimes in between! Some women even electively choose to birth in forests and lakes. Where ever your birthing they’re job is to make sure YOU are taken care of (and of course your partner, because they are important too!). Where as a midwife has many focuses beyond just our comfort. Doulas are busy doing things like: Bringing you water, massaging your back or showing your partner the right spots to massage, helping you get into positions, offering advice on best positions, the list is honestly endless.

In a home birth (or outdoors birth) a doula can be a irreplaceable wealth of knowledge to help guide you –  everything you need is already inside you BUT some women find it invaluable to have the support and encouragement a doula can provide. Doulas often arrive before the midwife does, but can come anytime you are ready.

In a hospital birth the doula can act as a stronger voice for when you are focused on bringing forth a baby! They can advocate, help navigate, and as well help you stay on your birth track. Doulas have been shown to lower anxiety during birth and in return lowering depression in postpartum. Some women aren’t ready to birth at home, or don’t want to BUT they also don’t want to be at the hospital. Doulas understand this and help to create a comfortable atmosphere.

During birth doulas can be found holding your hand, up at the top of the bed, holding you up, holding a leg, or even taking photos! Yup some doulas (like me, hehe) take photos, some (hey, me again) even happen to be professional birth photographers! This allows you to stay present in the moment with your partner and baby.

For partners having a doula can mean that the partner can spend more time listening to the needs of the mother, or being present VS trying to understand what is going on and if this is the normal process. For many partners birth is a foreign subject, and they cannot be expected to know everything and understand the entire process! The doula is your trained birth professional who will help the partner understand what’s happening in the moment (and of course the mother), and support the partner verbally and emotionally as they too lean into the birth experience. Helping partners support the mother and guide them to experiencing birth together is a huge part of being a doula.
Sometimes partners need a pee break, or a coffee, but they don’t want to leave — the doula can either run to grab the coffee or step in for the quick minute while partner relieves themselves. Doulas can provide the partner with the opportunity to rest when available, which can be very handy since partner will likely be helping the mother with baby for many more hours!

Depending on your area doulas can be easy or hard to find. Specifically for the Williams Lake region, there is only a handful! Kamloops is blessed with a few more doulas than Williams Lake region but still not nearly as many as in the Lower Mainland/Vancouver! For this reason I recommend booking as soon as you think you’d like a doula! For example some doulas may only take on X amount of clients a month/year or only take on X amount of home births/hospital births. Each doula runs their business in a unique way. Over here at Maternal Union I am a Williams Lake AND Kamloops Doula, only booking a few births a year so I can truly give my clients the best experience possible!

Once you’ve booked your doula I suggest letting your care provider know right away. They usually like to know who your working with! A lot of doulas already know most of the care providers in a area so its likely they have already met!

If you haven’t already started your birth plan with your care provider, ask your doula when they recommend starting to plan together so you can give a copy to your provider! 

If I am not the right doula for you, or not in your region here is a helpful link to help you find the doula for YOU! Click here: Find A Doula

Doulas are a private investment and unfortunately not covered under MSP as they work entirely for the client. We’re working on finding a way to be funded by MSP – but for now we are not. Doulas can price themselves based on their costs of doing business, usually from $600 – $2000. You can apply for grants with DSA (click here), or check out the Doulas for Aboriginal Families (click here) if you identify as Indigenous – you may be eligible for funding!