Whether you choose to go with an agency or are finding a surrogate on your own, you may want to consider getting a doula. There are a number of benefits of a doula for any pregnant woman, as they often do more than just help with delivery. From emotional support to additional experienced guidance, a doula can offer you more than you may think.
1. Physical and Emotional Support
Is a doula worth it? She may well be just for the physical and emotional support she can provide. A doula doesn’t always approach things from a medical perspective. While the doctors and nurses may be focused on dilation and breathing rhythm, a doula is entirely focused on the pregnant surrogate. One of the benefits of a doula is that she provides everything your surrogate may need to ensure a calm and positive birth experience.
Some doulas are even familiar with surrogacy and can assist intended parents at the same time as the surrogate. A doula isn’t there to replace the intended parents’ role in the birth, but rather to complement and enhance the experience.
2. More Successful Natural Births
Many maternity lifestyle experts and doctors have noticed that having a doula in the birthing room can decrease labor time and lower the rate of C-sections or epidurals. While there isn’t a firm consensus on why the presence of a doula results in more successful natural births, there are a number of possibilities, including:
The support of the doula makes a pregnant woman feel more empowered
Women may experience less pain when a doula is present and ask for less intervention
Lowering stress levels enhances oxytocin production and allows contractions to occur
A Cochrane study has shown that the presence of a doula may decrease the length of labor by 25%, the requests for an epidural by 60%, the need for a cesarean by 50%, and the production of oxytocin by 40%. These are all important benefits of a doula that you should consider for your surrogate.
3. Experienced Guidance
Before a surrogate even goes into labor, a doula can help both the intended parents and surrogate sort through the variety of pregnancy advice you receive and figure out the best course of action. Doulas simplify the medical advice you receive and explain everything in a personal, non-clinical way that is more specific to your experience.
There are labor doulas, postpartum doulas, and antepartum doulas that all have their own areas of expertise and can assist with the personal issues you may be undergoing as intended parents or as a surrogate. The benefits of a doula that can provide the right support when you need it are incalculable.
4. Additional Team Members for Doctors
Most doctors and nurses are happy to have another expert team member working with them during the labor process. Your delivery room doctors are usually focused on so many other aspects of the labor that they can’t always provide the additional emotional and physical support a surrogate may need. With a doula at a surrogate’s side, the doctors don’t encounter as much anxiety as may occur with a solo delivery.
5. Support for Partners
As intended parents, you want to be as supportive as possible for your surrogate, but you may find yourself succumbing to your own fears and anxieties. A great benefit of a doula is that they’re there to support you too. A doula can provide affirmation and reassurance to you, as well as provide guidance on how to support during labor.
How to Find a Doula
There are thousands of certified doulas around the world. At Family Creations, we can help you find one that suits your needs. Our agency provides all the services you need throughout the surrogacy process — from finding an egg donor to finding a doula. Is a doula worth it? Learn more when you reach out to us today.