O is for Outcomes

Do doulas affect birth outcomes?

Our short answer is NO, but hear us out!

For years, newspapers and blogs have broadcasted that hiring a doula can make you less likely to require pain medication, lower your chance of a cesarean birth and lower your risk of postpartum depression. We don’t want to negate anyone’s experiences, but we want to make it clear that doulas do not have anything to do with outcomes.

While it is our goal to support our clients while helping them to the birth they want, we do recognize that there are road bumps that can derail this from happening, and our main goal is to make sure that our client is aware of the process, supported and as comfortable as possible.

There are so many factors

The truth is, one human being, even with sufficient training, cannot affect a birth outcome. Perhaps the support we provided did help a client hang on a little longer before getting pain medication, and it is highly possible that our presence may have lessened the stress of being a postpartum parent, and prevented a client from feeling depressed. However, a doula is not a guarantee to make sure these things don’t happen, and even if these things do happen, we are trained and have a huge desire to support our clients!

In fact, sometimes our clients want these things to happen. Many of our clients go into their births knowing that they want pain medication or have planned a cesarean. We don’t affect outcomes here, because we support ALL of our clients’ choices without question. Our clients will always have the last word and the final decision, along with their provider when it comes to their birth.

Sometimes special situations, variations of normal and risk factors arise that make certain outcomes not possible. We aren’t trained to change that outcome…no one can! We are however trained to support every family through whatever turns their birthing and postpartum periods may take.

We specialize in ALL outcomes

Much like we can’t control the weather, we can’t control the road bumps that arise in the birth and postpartum period…every experience is different! We are trained to understand that and work with any outcome!

The NY Baby Co. does not keep track of our clients’ birth outcomes. This is because support is our main goal and we believe that every client’s birth outcome is worthy of support. No matter what outcome a client finds themselves in, we will always be ready to hear, attune and validate. We will always stand behind the fact that we give 100% to all of our clients, regardless of outcome.
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