My mom called yesterday and said “Anya, now it all makes sense! You were born with a Doula!“⁣⁣⁣
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My first reaction – I was surprised  “What do you mean, mom? You never told me that before!” I said smiling wide. ⁣⁣⁣
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And mama told me a story. A story of how I was born 😌 Throughout the whole process, next to my mom was a young woman, who held her hand, who massaged her lower back, put a wet cloth on her forehead, gently tucking the hair behind her ears. She breathed with her, reminded how strong and powerful my mama is; with a soft, yet confident voice explained everything that happening. I was born on a snowy March day, without any medical involvement, my mom, a wonderful midwife and a Doula greeting me. I was put straight on my mama’s chest, to meet her eye to eye for the first time. ⁣⁣⁣
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Now we know that the woman with my mom was a Doula. At the time we did not know the term “Doula”, yet, but all of the benefits of her were already know. ⁣⁣⁣
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⁣- A Doula supports physically : massaging, assisting with movement, keeping the mom’s comfort⁣⁣

– A Doula supports emotionally : listening, reassuring, making sure the family feels confident, hearing and respecting the woman’s wishes⁣⁣⁣

– A Doula supports educationally: taking all of her knowledge about pregnancy and birth to guide the mom through the experience ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣

Scientist have found that with continuous doula support the labors are on average shorter, the Apgar scores of the baby are higher, the likelihood of a C-section is reduced and mother have more positive feelings toward their birth experience.