Can a doula really help you during pregnancy and childbirth? Yes.
My name is Sylvia Otvos and I offer both labour support and postpartum support to expecting moms and their families in the Montreal area. I also give group and private prenatal classes.
You may have heard that the support of a doula during childbirth can be very beneficial to mom and to baby. How beneficial? Studies have shown that the presence of a birth doula at a birth has resulted in:
- 50% reduction in the cesarean rate;
- 25% shorter labor;
- 60% reduction in epidural requests;
- 40% reduction in oxytocin use;
- 30% reduction in analgesia use;
- 40% reduction in forceps delivery.
If having a doula at your birth interests you, feel free to call me or email me and it will be my pleasure to discuss your needs further. I look forward to hearing from you!
Sylvia
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Hello Sylvia.
I cannot emphasize how important it is for a mother to have her own advocate on birth day.
Like most first time moms I trusted the medical system to take care of me – mind, body and soul. I had a great OB/GYN but I knew my chances were slim that she would be On-Call the day I delivered. So I asked my doc to recommend a Doula just in case. Virginia answered ALL my questions and explained things I had never considered. Virginia bluntly told me that ‘hospitals are not in the business of giving you a warm fuzzy birth story, there in the business of delivering healthy babies nothing more nothing less”.
On my birth day, Virginia was right. Thankfully I had a straight forward delivery but that didn’t stop the nursing and OB on call to constantly “recommend” some kind of intervention. It was like they were annoyed and just wanted it to be over with. If it weren’t for Virginia by my side I most definitely would have caved to their “recommendations”. In the end Virginia helped me to stick to my birth plan and I can’t tell you how much I treasure it.
Thank you for your comments Bianca! I’m so happy that you had a lovely and positive birth experience and that a doula helped you through it all!