Doulas ease patient labor For family physician Chip Taylor, M.D., doulas during labor and delivery are a necessity. Doulas are women who support the laboring patient. Doulas serve as labor coaches and advocates for the woman giving birth. Sometimes a husband can get caught up in the moment and not be able to help the patient.
Doulas know their job is to help the woman get through labor and delivery.
A 1997 study from the University of California-San Francisco showed not only a reduction in the duration of labor, but also less use of medications for pain relief and fewer operative vaginal deliveries and Caesarean sections. A 1991 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association said of 412 women studied, the rate of Caesarean sections, epidurals and forceps deliveries among the 212 women with doulas was less than half that of the 200 women in the control group. Taylor, who first started using doulas about two years ago, asks all his pregnant patients if they want one present during delivery. I explain to my patients what a doula does and how research shows their presence can help cut short labor. Most of my patients request one, even if their husbands are going to be there.