What is a Doula?
Giving birth to a baby is so much more than just a physical experience; it engages parents-to-be in a transformational journey, a key life event full of emotion and meaning. As a Doula, I recognize this experience you are about to go through and cherish it as something to be protected, nurtured, and cared for. 

The word "doula" comes from the ancient Greek, meaning "woman's servant" or "trusted servant". 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, Kennell and Klaus, Mothering the Mother) 

A Doula...
*Recognizes birth as a key life experience that the mother will remember all her life
*Understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor
*Assists the woman and her partner in preparing for and carrying out their plans for the birth
*Stays by the side of the laboring woman throughout the entire labor
*Provides emotional support, physical comfort measures, and objective viewpoint and assistance to the woman in getting the information she needs to make good decisions
*Facilitates communication between the laboring woman, her partner and clinical care providers
*Perceives her role as one who nurtures and protects the woman's memory of her birth experience
(childbirth.org)