Lamaze International has Six Healthy Birth Practices that are evidence based and helpful for guiding families in achieving a safe and healthy birth. The third Healthy Birth Practice is “Bring a loved one, friend or doula for continuous support.”  Sharing this information with families is always a good idea so that they can prepare for their birth with the right team assembled for support.  In honor of World Doula Week, which runs annually March 22-28, the March Brilliant Activities for Birth Educators activity is all about introducing or expanding the concept of doulas,.  You can find all the Brilliant Activities for Birth Educators posts here for free.

Introduction

Discussions about the role of birth and postpartum doulas happen early on in my childbirth classes, when we talk about what makes for a satisfying birth experience.  There is often confusion about what a doula does compared to a midwife.  People also worry about the role of the partner or other family member when a doula is present.  Some parents who are planning to have an epidural or even a planned cesarean question the need for professional doula support.

This simple activity helps families understand what a doula does and how their role differs from the other people who have a role in their labor, birth and postpartum period.  This activity can be done either virtually or in-person, regardless of how you are teaching.

When to conduct this activity

This activity can be done in several spots - 1) early on in a childbirth class, 2) when discussing the Healthy Birth Practices or 3) during activities around physiological birth.  I prefer to do this early on, so that I can spiral the curriculum and refer back to the role of the doula as we move through other material

How long should this activity take

In my experience, this activity can be conducted in ten minutes, regardless of virtual or in-person.

Materials

In person - a printed handout of the “Doula Role” document for each family

Virtual - a slide (platform of your choice) or Jamboard frame with the image of the “Doula Role” as a pre-placed background

See below for downloadable templates.

How to conduct this activity

Invite class participants to brainstorm all the responsibilities that people have during a labor/birth or during the postpartum period.  You can choose to discuss birth doulas, postpartum doulas or both.  In-person or virtual, this can be done individually or as a group. In-person, families can fill out the hard-copy and virtually you can share your screen and use the annotation feature of your meeting platform, or share a Google Jamboard.  Both offer opportunities for group collaboration and editing.  For each task, invite people to answer yes or no for each category of support, to identify what responsibilities are unique to the doula.

Use this activity as an opportunity to help set realistic expectations of who does what during labor, birth and postpartum and explore the unique skill sets of the team and discuss what each laboring person’s needs might be.  Be sure to share resources in your community for finding a doula, including programs that support under-resourced families and marginalized communities.

What families say about this activity

Families enjoy learning about the doula and appreciate the clarification on what to realisticly expect from their providers, family, partner and the doula.  There is an opportunity to clear up misconceptions that they might have, such as their doctor being present for their entire labor and birth, or the role of the L&D nurse.  They also leave this activity understanding that a doula does not minimize or subtract from the presence of partners and family support.

Conclusion

Lamaze International’s third Healthy Birth Practice recognizes the role of the doula in improving birth outcomes.  Educators can expand on this HBP with an interactive activity that gets families thinking about inviting a doula to support them during their birth and postpartum period.

What activities do you currently use to share about the role of the doula in your childbirth classes?  Let us know about your ideas in the comments below.

Note:  I have seen this material presented in a similar way in DONA International’s Birth Doula Manual on the research for doulas and in a Passion for Birth CBE Seminar when training educators.

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