Birth

The word doula comes from Ancient Greek and meant “female slave.”  However, the word has evolved over time and has come to describe non-medical support in labor and delivery.  According to some reports, only around three percent of American women use a doula and many have never even heard the term, but doulas are becoming more popular among certain segments of the population.

What is a doula?  Is a doula a midwife?  How much does one cost?  What benefits does a doula bring to the labor and delivery experience?  What about postpartum doulas?  I talk with Ruth, a doula based in Northern California, and get answers to all these questions.

Website:

Ruth Lundsten’s Doula Services

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Fewer than ten percent of American women see a midwife during their pregnancy, labor, and delivery.  Why is this?  What exactly is a midwife anyway?

I talk with a nurse-midwife, who happens to be my mother-in-law, about different types of midwives, their role in medicine, and the relationship between midwifery and medical intervention.  My mother-in-law helped deliver my daughter, her only grandchild, and no, that wasn’t weird.

Related video:

The Business of Being Born, produced by Ricki Lake and directed by Abby Epstein, 6 May 2008

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