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DOULAS

ARE THEY FOR YOU?

By Hannah Dahlen

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Giving birth is about a lot more than having a baby - it’s about making mothers and growing families. The right support people can help enormously in making sure that the ingredients are there for a wonderful start to life. Some women are turning to doulas for this support.

WHAT IS A DOULA?

Doulas are women trained in giving other women professional birth support — they essentially mother the mother. These women have reawakened the ancient tradition of having supportive, knowledgeable women present at births. Doulas generally meet a woman and her partner during pregnancy and support her during the birth and sometimes also in the early postnatal period. Some doulas, however, just do birth care or postnatal care. These women usually attend the birth, whether that be at home, in a birth centre or hospital. College, says it means being with women and couples in labour and postnatally. “Our job is to listen to the needs and requirements of women and create a positive labour atmosphere that allows parents to feel empowered and positive so that they move into the postnatal period with a newborn well, happy and empowered,” she said. Are doulas the same as midwives?

Doulas are not midwives and therefore not trained to provide any clinical advice or examinations. Doulas cannot provide antenatal care, deliver babies or provide the clinical aspects of postnatal care. Midwives work closely with doulas but the roles are very different.

WHAT SERVICES CAN A DOULA PROVIDE?

• Access to resources and information about pregnancy, labour and birth. • Information about classes, such as preparation for parenthood, yoga, etc. • Assistance with writing a birth plan. • Care and support during pregnancy, such as massage, making sure you drink, keeping your birth environment peaceful, helping you with birth positions and use of water for pain relief, encouraging you and advocating for you. • Some postnatal support for you and the baby and the ability to contact lactation consultants and other professional support should you need it.

CAN HAVING A DOULA BE HELPFUL?

Having the right support person can help make the birth a better experience. Research indicates women who receive close support and care throughout labour are less likely to need pain relief or have major interventions such as caesarean section, forceps or a vacuum delivery. They are also more likely to be satisfied with their birth experience. Doulas have been shown to have a similar effect on women’s labours and births. Check out what women say about doulas and if you know someone who has used one, chat to them about how they work.

Jenny said the doula she had for the birth of her first child Jack was wonderful.”I knew Mark [partner] was worried about the birth and I thought I needed some other support, for both our sakes really. Our doula just made us feel relaxed. It was like she knew what we needed next and what would work best, but she never took over.”

WHO MIGHT BENEFIT FROM A DOULA?

This service can be of value to women who do not have adequate support and/or can’t access a continuity of care midwifery program, where they get to know one midwife or a couple of midwives.

Women who do not have many friends or family around for support at the birth can also benefit from a doula.

If you have a partner who is very anxious about the labour, then a doula may be calming and reassuring to both of you. Partners who really don’t want to be at the birth can be traumatised and also potentially detract from the whole experience.

WHAT IS THE COST OF HAVING A DOULA?

Doulas will charge anywhere from $400 to $1500 to support women through the birth. The cost will depend on their level of experience, the amount of time they spend with you before and after the birth, as well as any other service they might provide, such as massage, aromatherapy or hypnotherapy.

How can you choose the best support people if you don’t use a doula? Giving birth is one of life’s most emotional, intimate and instinctive experiences. The people you choose to experience this with need to be respectful of this fact and be able to enhance, not detract, from the experience. Women need to feel safe in order to labour. If you become frightened and feel unsupported, you begin to secrete adrenaline. During labour this has a negative effect, as it inhibits the production of the most important hormone in labour, oxytocin. When this is inhibited, labour slows down, often leading to interventions in birth.

Hint: Look for calming people when choosing support for your birth.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A CALMING SUPPORT PERSON

• Calm in a crisis

• Always positive • Loves you • Makes you feel safe and comfortable • Intuitive to your feelings and needs • Nurturing • Good attitude to birth, with no personal baggage

Where a woman cannot find this sort of person or people in her circle of family and friends, a doula can be invaluable. It is important that if you choose to have a doula at your birth, your partner and other support people meet them and interview them about their practices and philosophies. If you have children and they will be at the birth, then make sure they become familiar with your doula as well. You want to make sure when the big day comes you are a team all going in the same direction — your direction!

Should you takeprobiotics in pregnancy?

By now, you have probably seen and heard about probiotics; it’s a supplement which has been shown to have multiple health benefits, but are they important in pregnancy?

WHAT ARE THEY PROBIOTICS?

Probiotics are ‘good’ bacteria and yeasts that can be found in our food and in supplements. They benefit us by helping us fight harmful bacteria. Probiotics live throughout the entire body, such as your skin, digestive system, ears, nose, eyes, unitary tract vagina.

In pregnancy they are also found in the placenta and your breast milk. Together these good bacteria make the microbiome, a collection of all micro-organisms found in a person. A healthy microbiome has the right balance of good and bad bacteria.

WHY ARE PROBIOTICS HELPFULIN PREGNANCY?

Taking Probiotics can support your pregnancy and give your baby a good start to life. There are studies to show reduced risk of common infections in pregnancy such as urine infections and thrush.

Women who use probiotics report less mastitis and breast pain. In postpartum recovery there were fewer reported wound infections after Caesarean section.

BEST START TO LIFE!!!

We start off life by getting our initial seeding of bacteria from our mothers. So, Mothers are the major source of health gut bacteria in the first stages of life. Studies have shown a reduction in eczema, asthma, and allergies in children of mothers who take probiotics. Vaginal delivery of a baby enables the introduction of healthy bacteria from the vaginal microbiome. Studies of babies born by caesarean section show that these babies don’t gain the same diverse healthy flora as vaginal deliveries, however this benefit can be promoted by a mother taking probiotics. Topping up with probiotic supplements transfers the benefits through to breast milk, Which contains high amounts of probiotics. So breastmilk is an important source in helping baby acquire healthy gut flora and thus a stronger immune system. The microbiome is also transferred through skin to skin after birth. Therefore, the early years of life are a critical stage for establishing the microbiome and immune system in babies.

THE GUT – BRAIN AXIS

Taking probiotics boosts the balance of good bacteria which contributes to the extraction of vital nutrients such as vitamins. For example probiotics are responsible for helping us to make our vitamin D. Probiotics have been found to be as effective as mild antidepressants in studies.

They also affect our brain health by their role in the production of brain chemicals such as serotonin, our happy mood hormone. Simply put our gut health contribute to our mood and is essential for brain health.

CAN’T WE SIMPLY EAT FOODS RICH IN PROBIOTICS?

Gut-friendly foods (particularly fermented are well known) such as yoghurt, kefir, pickles, kombucha, sauerkraut and apple cider vinegar. However, It’s not easy to eat all the right foods in the right amounts and science has shown we need higher amounts than what is available in food, so probiotic supplements are often needed.

BENEFITS:

• Aids digestion / irritable bowel syndrome/ reduction of constipation • Promotes immunity • Reduction in mastitis, wound infections, thrush and urinary infections • Reduces inflammation and risk of allergy/ eczema in babies • Helps with constipation and diarrhoea • Reduction in anxiety and depression

THE PURER VITA PROBIOTIC

Created with the strains evidenced to be effective in pregnancy contains seven different live strains and a prebiotic called inulin.

It is suitable for vegans and vegetarians. Buy The Purer Vita probiotics Here: purermama.co.uk

Dr U Nartey Paediatric Consultant. MBchB. BSc. MRCPCH Mrs K Thomas Senior Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist BSc MSc PGDip-Ad BABCP MBPsP Dr K Joash Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist BSc MSc MBBS MRCOG

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