Curriculum Topic: Group Activity, Educator Demonstration, Student Demonstration
Activity Type: Labor & Birth, Healthy Birth Practice 3, Labor Support
Purpose: Articulate research regarding how doulas can support an entire family.
Time Needed: 15 minutes (five minutes for small group work, ten minutes for large group discussion)
Supplies: Laminated color images of a cesarean surgery, a healthy and robust newborn, an IV bag of Pitocin, vacuum and forceps, an epidural, and a radiant and happy person who just gave birth.
Instructions:
Once the families have been divided into six small groups and given one of the laminated sheets, share the evidence we currently have about families who utilize doula services.
- Less likely to have cesareans
- Less likely to request pain medications
- Higher degree of parental satisfaction with the birth experience
- Less use of vacuum and forceps during second (pushing) stage
- Newborns with fewer NICU admissions
- Less need for labor augmentation such as Pitocin administration
Ask each group to discuss amongst themselves the reasons that they think doulas help with the specific topic that they have been given. How does a doula help reduce cesareans? Or increase satisfaction? In their small groups, the families brainstorm the things that a doula might do to impact their specific outcome and jot those actions down. For example, a doula might help with position changes to encourage labor to continue to progress and reduce the need for a cesarean. They elect a representative to speak for the group when we all come back together. This first part of the activity will take about five minutes.
Come back as a large group and each speaker shares their findings from their small groups. Discuss, share and elaborate on the role of the doula and how they help both the birthing person and the partner. Usually some families have already hired doulas, and a brief discussion about the process ensues. Conclude the activity by sharing resources- including a hiring guide and questions to ask, for parents interested in working with doulas, resources for finding doulas with DONA international and DoulaMatch.net.
Set-Up:
Divide the families into six small groups. Each group is given one of the laminated images.
Talking Points:
This short activity is a great way to talk about both Lamaze's Third Healthy Birth Practice and allow families to discover how a doula can have a positive impact on their birth. It gives those who have hired a doula already an opportunity to share and allows those who haven't to consider whether including a doula on their birth team is the right choice for them. Regardless what they decide to do, all families leave this class more knowledgable on the role of a doula, the benefits for their labor and birth and how to go about finding a doula if they want one.
Many professional organizations like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine have recognized the positive contribution that professional labor support offers to maternal-infant health outcomes in recent committee opinions they have published.
LINK: https://www.lamaze.org/Connecting-the-Dots/Post/series-brilliant-activities-for-birth-educators-benefits-of-a-doula
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