"My husband (partner) is my left hand and my Doula is my right."
- from Doulas Making a Difference
What About Dad?
Photo By Amy Boring
A birth doula DOES NOT replace the role of your partner throughout the birth process, in fact, it enhances their role! Doulas encourage the woman's partner to get involved as much as he is comfortable with. Part of my role as your doula will be to teach your partner comfort measures for labor to help her throughout the process and to encourage intimacy during the birthing time. Having a doula present at your birth allows the father to be able to support the mom emotionally during labor & birth, while the doula provides informational support as well as alerts the couple when decisions made are straying from their birth plan. This way your partner doesn't have to worry about remembering EVERYTHING he learned in childbirth class!
Having a doula present is also helpful when your partner needs a quick break (to grab a snack, use the restroom, update family, etc.)
Check out DONA's position paper on Dads & Doulas here
