Are Doulas Allowed In Medicated Births?

While many of our clients have unmedicated labors and births, we love supporting people whose plan all along was to get an epidural. There are so many things doulas do to help these clients prenatally, during birth, and postpartum.

Getting Prepared

Before our clients go into labor, our doulas there to answer any questions they may have. The Flourish Family Doulas help our clients feel prepared about what labor will feel like and walk them through the choices they may encounter.

Many parents feel excited but also a bit fearful and we have come to realize that so much of the fear they experience is fear of the unknown. So, we walk our clients through their fears, and in the end they feel so much more prepared facing anything that may unexpectedly come up.

During Labor

Once they’re in labor and things get more challenging, they eventually want the epidural. There is usually still some time before the anesthesiologist arrives, and during that time, we are there to help them get through each contraction. One might might apply counter-pressure or hold onto them as support during the contractions. We often squeeze their hips to give them just enough relief that they feel they can handle it until their epidural is ready.

Finally, the Epidural is Here!

After the epidural is placed and our clients feel relief, the baby still needs to come out! The most effective way to get baby out is to move.

Generally speaking, people who get epidurals cannot move the lower two-thirds of their body, so it is our job as a doulas to help our clients change positions.

We like to see them moving every 30 minutes on average. We often help rotate their body for them and put them into positions that help to open their pelvis. Continuous movement helps the baby descend into the pelvis and it helps to keep labor from stalling!

However, if labor has stalled we can target acupressure points to stimulate the uterus into contractions again, in hopes of preventing the need for Pitocin.

Feeling comfortable with the people in your birthing space is important and we are there to help ensure that our clients feel comfortable. Yes, they are probably not in pain anymore, but is someone speaking too loud? Are the lights too bright? Do they need to release their fears? We can help with that!

What Your Birth Doula Will Do to Support You

The body is still in labor after an epidural happens. Our clients may not feel it but their body is still contracting, they still get hot and cold off and on. We are there with a cold or hot compress, or maybe a bucket if they need to vomit (a common occurrence during transition.) We are there to remind them to hydrate. We are there to reassure them if they need it and we are there to help be a sounding board for any decisions they may need to make.

When they’re ready to push, we are there telling them they can do it and that they ARE doing it! We may be holding a leg up for them, holding their hand, and/or keeping them cool because pushing a baby out is HARD work!