Meet the Doulas Event, August 10th, 2009

Where: Panera's Bread Market, Sycamore Mall, Iowa City
When: 7:30-9 p.m., Monday, August 10th, 2009
Free and open to the public.
We invite pregnant women, couples considering a future pregnancy, and all other interested parties to come for an informal chat to find out what doulas do and what we can offer you. We will have books and other informational materials available for perusing and a relaxed, friendly atmosphere where questions are welcomed!

So, what is a doula anyway? Doulas are women trained to provide non-medical support to a pregnant woman and her partner prenatally, during labor and birth, and in the immediate postpartum period. A doula works with a couple to define for themselves what constitutes a good birth and helps them prepare for this life-changing event, providing information on normal birth processes, hospital procedures, comfort measures, and relaxation techniques to help a couple make their child's birth the best it can be. Postpartum doulas also work in the home, providing mothers with extra support for breastfeeding and newborn care.

A number of studies by Kennell, Klaus, and Klaus (cited in The Doula Book, Kennell, Klaus and Klaus, Da Capo Press, 2002.) have shown that when doulas attend births, they help reduce:
- the cesarean rate by 45%,
- length of labor by 25%,
- oxytocin use by 50%,
- pain medication use by 31%,
- need for forceps by 34%,
- and requests for epidurals by up to 60%.

With one in three American women facing major abdominal surgery as a mode of childbirth, inductions and oxytocin use in labor hovering at around 70% (and even higher in some hospitals), and considering that all interventions bringing with them a certain amount of risk (both known in the short-term and unknown in the long-term), doulas can help women have safer, healthier births with better psychosocial outcomes for mothers, babies, and society at large (including more secure attachment and mother/baby bonding, lower rates of postpartum depression, and lower costs for hospital births), we would like to invite the public to find out more about the role of doulas and the benefits of their presence for women in the child-bearing year.