What does the word Doula mean?

The origin of the word "doula" comes from Ancient Greece and means "slave". Women dedicated to a family who, in addition, assisted during the delivery and postpartum of the woman.

Currently, the figure of a doula has nothing to do with the concept of slavery, but rather the woman who emotionally accompanies the pregnant woman throughout the motherhood process.

There are different ways to accompany as a Doula.

With all the qualifications that I am gradually acquiring, I identify myself more as a maternity doula, (pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum) along with all the learning of Lactation Consultant and Educator of ergonomic bearing.

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What is my role?

My role is to accompany emotionally, physically and give all the necessary support and information to women and families in all the processes of motherhood.

The Doula is specially formed and prepared to be able to accompany you throughout the entire pregnancy. The doula associations themselves describe themselves as people who emotionally accompany women, during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum, ensuring that their function is to assist the family and promote a calm and welcoming environment for the birth.

A Doula is not a healthcare staff, but works together with healthcare staff, specifically midwives. Both the WHO (World Health Organization) and the American Association of gynecology and obstetrics point out that the accompaniment in all the processes of motherhood is extremely positive for both the mother and the family.

Different studies carried out over the years support us by showing that the mother or family who is accompanied by a doula, have much more positive experiences both in childbirth and throughout motherhood in general.

There is scientific evidence that tells us:

- Reduction of caesarean sections in half.

- Decrease in an instrumented and medicalized delivery.

- 40% less forceps use.

- 60% less use of epidurals.

-25% reduction in the duration of labor.

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Today almost all hospitals give you information to make your birth plan, but is it really respected?

It is important to be informed of all the procedures to follow during the delivery and to ask that they inform us of everything at all times.

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I would like to tell you about the experience of my births, everything and that they were not bad at all, something that could be corrected, with all informed consent.

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Account of my deliveries

As I have already explained on occasion, I am the mother of three little men, they are the engine of my life, the air that I need every day to breathe and get up every morning wanting to live and accompany each and every one of the processes of life. maternity in general.

My first delivery was all very fast and unexpected, since it was not the moment yet. We lived next to the public hospital, about 100 meters away and one day I decided, everything and that I was fine, that I needed to see my baby, it was like a sixth sense, I knew something was happening. I was 32 weeks. 
I went to the emergency room without having pain or discomfort, and when they had me lying on the stretcher I saw a lot of movement of doctors in the room, I did not know very well what was happening and finally the gynecologist on duty told me that I had to be admitted , her cervix was effaced and it was already 3 cm dilated with the risk of having a premature delivery. I could'nt believe it. I immediately told them to call my husband.
I was hospitalized for a week without moving from the bed, I only got up to pee.
After this time I was discharged from the doctor, and I was injected with the maturation of the lungs in case my baby was born earlier than expected. 
Once at home, everything and that I had enough rest was not enough. At week 34 + 5, at 4 in the afternoon, my water broke, alone, at my parents' and my husband's house, 100 km away.
At all times I was calm, I took a shower, fixed myself and when my husband arrived we went to the hospital, we arrived at 6 in the afternoon, they admitted me directly and in the same room they put me on the straps to control my baby's heart. Around 8 p.m. when they saw that the labor pains did not begin, they injected me with synthetic oxytocic, with little information and not even asking, and in a few minutes I began to notice the pains.

Of my three children I remember the first birth as the most painful, the synthetic oxytocin, being artificial and the body not recognizing it as its own makes the pain much more intense.

When in childbirth we are afraid, cold, we are alert, we are not comfortable, we feel observed, we generate the release of adrenaline, a hormone linked to the sympathetic system (SNS). This acts as an inhibitor of physiological labor.

On the contrary, when we feel safe, in good company, in silence, in low light, in privacy, adrenaline disappears, activating the parasympathetic nervous system (SNP) and initiating the release of much-needed oxytocin (the love hormone). for a physiological and natural delivery.

Continuing with the story of my childbirth, after spending three hours suffering very painful artificial contractions not caused by my body, at 11 p.m. they took me to the operating room, they gave me the epidural and at 11:54 p.m. my little Aleix was born, premature of 34 +5 weeks and with 2450 kg and 47 cm. I don't need an incubator and they didn't let me breastfeed either.

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               As the WHO says: “a good birth experience goes beyond

                           to have a healthy baby ”.

My second pregnancy was to term. Here in Gerona we have a myth that I really don't know whether to call it a myth or a reality, because it seems to really work.
If a pregnant woman wants to go into labor and is on the probable date, she just has to go up the stairs of the Girona Cathedral.
We have a cathedral with almost 100 steps and it is typical to see pregnant women going up and down.
Well I did, one night after a good dinner with my husband we went for a walk around the cathedral and went up the stairs. It was October 2 and her due date was October 4.  That same night I remember waking up at 4 in the morning with a cramp in my big toe. The contractions began, I cleaned myself and the pain from the contractions was getting more intense and around 6 in the morning we arrived at the hospital, I already dilated by 7 cm. They took me to the operating room, there I remember that they inserted a needle like a crochet type (very long and thin) to break the bag of amniotic fluid where my baby was protected from any external infection. The bag cushions the pressure of the birth canal on the baby's head during contractions, this can even be beneficial if the baby has a circular with the umbilical cord around his neck. One of the possible complications of artificial rupture of the bursa is the increased risk of neonatal and maternal infection, the touch performed during the time of delivery can also influence.

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                 WHO advises: “Do not perform vaginal exams before you have

                   four hours have elapsed since the previous one. In the document

                 of care in normal childbirth, they affirm that there must be a reason

                          valid to interfere with the natural process ”.

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  My baby Pol was born at 9:55 in the morning with 3140 kg and 49 cm. It was clear to him that he wanted to breastfeed and that was how it was. Everything and going through a lot of pain when breastfeeding, I was able to breastfeed until about 4 months.

And there is my last treasure and super sought after, but no less desired than the others.

After a different pregnancy from the others and being very clear that she wanted to breastfeed yes or yes. One Friday morning I remember that I was doing my nails and felt that this would be the day. I had already had my neck erased and dilated several centimeters for several days, but I still had two weeks to go before my due date. I called the gynecologist and he told us to go see him for the consultation. Just looking at me, he touched me, it hurt, in no case did he inform me of the Hamilton maneuver, and he told me that I could go to the clinic for admission, which was 6 cm dilated. When we got to the clinic at 3pm or so, they gave us our room. One of the important things for me was that I wanted to try without an epidural, I had mentioned it in the prepartum classes and my midwife knew it.

He eases the ball and lets me play relaxing music in the room. Everything and the pain of the contractions I knew how to handle quite well. I was on the ball for a while, walking and dancing softly around the room, until 6:00 p.m. I hadn't broken water yet, they didn't bother me at any time, no one came. At 7:00 p.m., my water broke and we notified the midwife. Everything and that I consider myself a brave person, I couldn't take it any longer and asked for the epidural, I wanted a small amount, I wanted to feel the delivery and that's how it was, my baby Oriol was born at 7:45 p.m. with a weight of 3,150 kg and 49 cm. Thanks to my birth plan, I could wait to perform all kinds of routine medical tests on the baby and everything and that I could not do spontaneous latching, (I was very asleep, due to the effects of anesthesia and I had to help him reach the nipple). happy because my little one today with 29 months is still hooked on the tit.

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All people have the right and we can choose how to live and feel our labor and the birth of our baby, it is important to ask for information at all times.

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There is the website: http //. Pdn.panges.org (birth rights).

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