Why yes, there are! I'm going to be quoting evidencebasedbirth.com a lot, and I just love their article on the evidence for doulas. Here is one of my favorite statistics from the article, compiled from research from 22 studies with over 15,000 women:
"When continuous labor support was provided by a doula, women experienced a:
- 31% decrease in the use of Pitocin*
- 28% decrease in the risk of C-section*
- 12% increase in the likelihood of a spontaneous vaginal birth*
- 9% decrease in the use of any medications for pain relief
- 14% decrease in the risk of newborns being admitted to a special care nursery
- 34% decrease in the risk of being dissatisfied with the birth experience"
Essentially, when a laboring mother has someone there to support her who is "outside" the situation emotionally and medically, and purely there to support her in whatever way she chooses, the outcomes are statistically better for both mother and baby than when she receives "standard" care.
Labor and delivery nurses are great, but chances are that you won't be their only patient, and they will have to frequently leave the room to care for the other moms in their care. They can't be there just for you. Your partner is definitely irreplaceable in the delivery room, but more than likely they aren't trained to support a laboring woman, and they're too emotionally close to the situation to be an unbiased labor support. Partners tend to be too "in the moment," just wanting to make it all better, focused on you, to think about what you really want and how you'll feel about your birth experience after it's all said and done. There's nothing wrong with that, and having her partner's support is invaluable to a laboring mom, but imagine how nice it would be to have your partner kneeling in front of you, staring into your eyes and helping you breathe and focus, while your doula stands behind you, massages your back, or makes sure you can labor in peace without nurses constantly interrupting you, or whatever it is you need her to do. And if your labor is long and your partner needs to get some food, or go to the bathroom, or get some sleep, your doula is right there to keep on supporting you. What if your partner needs reassurance and support as much as you do? Doulas can do that, too. If you have a doula, you always have someone there, focused entirely on your (and your partner's) needs.
After giving birth twice myself, once in a hospital with an OB, once in a better hospital with a group of midwives, I can tell you that I'm seriously considering getting a doula for my next birth. I have learned what the benefits are of having someone educated on the ins and outs of birth who is there for no reason other than to support me. Several things would have been different in my first birth had I had a doula there to help me. My second birth was much better, but at least one thing would have been different if I'd had a doula. I did better on my own after educating myself, but it still wasn't exactly what I wanted. Being a doula myself (I'm determined I will be by then) might make me more or less inclined to hire one when the time comes, so we'll just have to see!
The most recent research supports having a doula. Mothers and babies benefit physically, and both mom and her partner tend to be more satisfied with the birth experience when they've had that constant support. I would say, to any couple trying to decide whether or not to hire a doula, "Why not? Better safe than sorry, right?" If you hire one and find that she was ultimately unneeded, then don't hire one next time. There's no real downside to that, other than being out some money. But if you don't have one and things get out of control and you're left wondering if the support of a doula would have made a difference, that would kind of suck. Better to know something potentially beneficial is unnecessary after all is said and done than be left wishing you had at least given it a shot. Especially since the evidence supports the benefits of having a doula :-)
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