Wednesday, June 23, 1999
Study shows positive impact
Does having a doula present during labor and delivery make a difference? One study indicated it does:
A study of 314 women in California, in which half had doulas and half did not, found that:
• Use of epidurals was lower, 54 percent vs. 66 percent.
• 82 percent of women with doulas rated the childbirth experience as positive, compared with 67 percent among those without.
• 47 percent of women said they coped well with labor, compared with 28 percent without a doula.
• 58 percent said labor had a positive effect on their feelings as women, vs. 44 percent without a doula.
• 58 said labor had a positive effect on their feelings about their body's strength and performance vs. 41 percent without doulas.
• 96 percent said they wanted a doula at the birth of their next child.
The study found no differences between the groups in Cesarean section rates, use of forceps during delivery, use of oxytocin (a drug that induces or speeds up labor) or postpartum depression. Other studies, however, have found doula-assisted births can mean lower C-section rates, shorter labors, less pain medicines and less use of epidurals, as well as increased participation by fathers.
Doulas also encourage breast-feeding, and an April study in Pediatrics found that infants never breast-fed generated an additional 2,033 office visits, 212 days of hospitalization and 609 prescriptions per 1,000 infants, compared with infants who were breast-fed (amounting to an extra $331-$475 in health costs during the first year of a baby's life).
— Sue MacDonald
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