For centuries, women have been attended to in birth by other women.

The knowledge, security and comfort that the Doula brings to the laboring woman is priceless.
The word Doula is Greek for "woman servant", but today, the word has come to mean a woman who is trained and experienced in the art of Labor Support. A Doula knows that Birth is a normal and blessed event, and a memory that the family will make and keep for a lifetime. Doulas improve birth outcomes for mothers and babies, and several evidence based studies have been done that show this. Based on 6 randomized studies of over 1500 women, the presence of a doula :

• reduces overall cesarean rate by 50%
• reduces length of labor by 25%

• reduces oxytocin (Pitocin) use by 40%
• reduces use of pain medications by 30%
• reduces the need for forceps by 40%
• reduces requests for epidurals by 60%

These are taken from  "Mothering the Mother ....How a doula can help you have a shorter, easier and healthier birth"
by Marshall H. Klauss, MD;  John H. Kennel, MD; and Phyliss H.
Klauss, M.Ed,  CSW
page 51   Addison- Wesley Publishing Company