Doula Tools?

Often I am asked what I bring to a birth—what is in my doula bag.  Many new doulas are curious and looking for tips or ideas of what to pack with them that is easily transportable for comfort measures and such when they attend labouring mothers.  Suffice to say, I carry nothing tangible—no essential oils, no massage tools, no lotions, no rice socks, no birth ball—what kind of doula am I?

What I bring to births pretty much is God-given…my voice, my ears, my eyes, my heart, my brain, my hands and a very strong back.  I do carry a camera, my wallet and a change of clothes; but otherwise I have no backpack of supplies, no rolling suitcase of magic tricks—no special items of any kind.  I think that all doulas new to this field eventually give up or limit what is brought to births the longer they actually do this job.  I think I carried a bag of labour support items for the first 5 births I did, then I just found I never really used any of it!

If one reads and understands the literature of what a birth doula actually is and what she is supposed to be in the first place, they’ll realize we were never intended to have all these lotions and potions.  The 21 controlled and randomized studies done on doulas in the last 25 years focus solely on the doula's presence, not what the doula is doing.  Doulas inherently protect a labouring mother’s space; doulas BE not DO.  Many times newer doulas think they need to be helping a mother labour by assisting in ways of massage techniques, using essential oils, understanding herbal remedies, moving her into positions to promote labour progress and such.  (Most of this stuff is outside a doula's scope of practice, but it depends on her certifying organization.) While sometimes a doula will offer guidance in different types of comfort techniques or help promote movement, if it becomes necessary, a doula does not need tools to do so…she needs instinct, love and kindness.  Birth is not a production—it is a bodily function, and it needs time and patience to occur. 

Most items, if indeed necessary, used during a birth can be found either in the home or the hospital—my clientele chuckle that I am the MacGyver of all things related to labour.  Many of my clientele already have things in their homes to use (which solves the whole cross-contamination issue) and most hospitals carry what I can use; if I need something.  Honestly, homes pretty much have anything and everything and hospitals have towels for gripping, ice and water dispensers, heated blankets, hot showers, water bottles, perhaps a birth ball gathering dust in a far corner, a TENS machine hidden away on a shelf and many other items that if you think outside the box, you find you can use it! 

But really, what all my mothers and partners want from me is a calming presence, a hand to hold, sincere praise and encouragement and knowing that I believe in them and the work they are doing to bring forth new life.  They want me to hold their private space, they want me to be the tranquility in the storm, and they want me to slow the pace down if things start to veer off their intended course so they can make informed choices.  They want my instincts as a birth observer—nothing more, nothing less.

So to answer the question I am so often asked—I take myself to a birth—the essence of me and I give that to each and every labouring mother.  No tools, no tricks, no magic…