The World Health Organization reaffirms that the best outcomes for women and babies appear to occur with cesarean section rates of 5% to 10%. Rates above 15% seem to do more harm than good. In and around Jacksonville, Florida the average is well above 30% for cesarean birth.
Many people wonder, can doulas prevent cesarean deliveries? The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) states that increasing women’s access to nonmedical interventions during labor, such as continuous labor and delivery support also has been shown to help reduce cesarean birth rates.
Yes, this means doulas!
This statement, however, can be a little misleading. Hiring a doula may reduce your need for a cesarean birth, but it doesn't prevent the medical need or personal desire for a cesarean birth. So the answer to the question, can doulas prevent cesarean deliveries is no. Prevent, no. Reduce the chances, maybe. If you end up with a truly amazing doula, all the stars align, and you take control of educating and advocating for yourself! Can help reduce, but there's no guarantee and no one can nor should they make that promise to you!
At The Jacksonville Baby Company, we know that less than 5% of couples hire doulas.
That's a really small number of birthing people. The evidence shows that doulas can help reduce the risk of an unwanted cesarean birth. That’s exciting news for families seeking a vaginal birth! You know what's even more exciting? The power the birthing person has to reduce those risks without hiring a doula!
The power to reduce risks and set someone up for a more satisfying birth experience does not lie with any doula!
The power has always and will always be with you, the person preparing to give birth! There isn't some magical fairly doula who swoops in and fixes all the things, protects you, and wards off interventions. The power lies in you and how the circumstances unfold! All the stars have to align. Your baby has to respond well to labor, your body has to make go into labor and progress over time, and your blood pressure, your pelvis, and you and your baby's heart rate must also cooperate.
A birth doula should support you and believe in you no matter how you give birth!
You may have heard that it's important to choose a doula whose philosophy about birth matches your philosophy. It sounds great in theory, but consider this: selecting someone based on their ideas about birth may set you up to feel less supported and more judged should your plans change. This happens every time that a doula comes with her own philosophy or agenda. We think hiring a doula is great IF that's what you want, but doulas can't "prevent" c-section births.
I've attended over 200 births and even the most well-written birth plans have NEVER been executed exactly as they were designed to.
There is immeasurable beauty in that! There is! I have witnessed it time and time again! One of our clients said it best, "It was nothing like I planned, but everything I hoped it would be!" Plans often change as new information arises or as your desires change when you're in the thick of it....and that is MORE THAN OKAY!
A solid childbirth education course is life!
Knowledge is power! One way you can be proactive in your birth experience is to take a childbirth class, but not just any old class! Be selective! The Confident Birth and Baby Class that we teach here at The Jax Baby Company equip you and your birth partner with a variety of tools to choose from in labor. It's so difficult to make a round peg fit a square hole, so why commit to only one tool for the job of labor and birth before you know what tool you'll need? You will learn about your partner's personal support style and how to leverage that in your favor. You'll learn about natural ways you can help your body make progress, the drugs available should you want or need those, and the breathwork and movements that will be helpful during each stage and phase of labor and birth.
Hospital classes are almost exclusively designed to teach you about their "policies", a little breathing, and some of the "options" they prefer you to utilize while in their hospital. These classes usually leave a lot to be desired and reinforce the idea that you are "allowed" to do certain things like have one or two people in the delivery room and explain what is "against policy" like eating, drinking, and declining an IV until you need one.
Then you have a method-based class. In these classes you will learn a single method for managing labor...and that's about it. I mean, if that method ends up being what you need in labor, great! But if you are like many moms you may not know whicj tools work best for you until you are in labor. Not having a variety of tools to pull from your tool bag could leave you feeling.... like you did poorly or worse, you failed. That's no way to begin motherhood.
Answer the following statement the best you can. If the method I learned doesn't help me advocate for myself and manage pain in labor, I will probably feel ______________.
At The Jax Baby Company, we nail it, every time!
We come to you with a wide range of experience, knowledge, and research-based education, not our opinions (you know what they say about opinions). We tailor what and how we teach to your needs! We teach multiple tools and strategies for variations of labor and we include the immediate postpartum period in the hours after your baby is born.
Even though we have the skill set and expertise, we still know you run the show!
Your parenting style and choices for your family will be supported whether that means babywearing or strolling, formula or breast, epidural or barking like a dog while howling and crying, we got you! We support families that bed share and sleep train, who share cookies with a mouse in a house while baking a cake and wearing a rake! Our support does not include "BUT".
There are no "buts" with The Jax Baby Company.
Doulas can't prevent cesarean deliveries! Our classes can help reduce the chances you'll have one if you are planning for a vaginal birth, and will help you plan and prepare for a cesarean birth should you end up needing one or even just end up electing one.
Happy Birth & Parenting!
Authored by Elizabeth Luke
Elizabeth is the founder and CEO of The Jacksonville Baby Company. Elizabeth and her husband and best friend, Richard are parents to four children. With certifications in Postpartum and Infant Care Support, Childbirth and Newborn Care Education, Lactation Support, and Infant Sleep, Elizabeth is a wealth of knowledge and has a heart for helping parents live their best lives while also ensuring their children are safe, happy, and leading their healthiest lives possible! Contact us today for day, night, and live-in support!
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