Benefits of having a trained Doula

• 50% reduction in the cesarean rate
• 25% shorter labor
• 60% reduction in epidural requests
• 40% reduction in oxytocin use
• 30% reduction in analgesia use
• 40% reduction in forceps delivery

Information was obtained from Mothering the Mother: How a Doula Can HelpYou Have a Shorter Easier and Healthier Birth, Klaus, Kennell, and Klaus (1993).

Reading List

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth
by Ina May Gaskin

The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth
by Shelia Kitzinger

"Welcome to Holland" (short essay)
by Emily Perl Kingsley

Silent Knife:  Cesarean Prevention and Vaginal Birth After Cesarean
by Nancy Wainer Cohen

Gentle Birth Choices
by Barbara Harper

Our Bodies, Ourselves:  Pregnancy and Birth
by Boston Women's Health Book Collective

Birth As We Know It (film)
http://www.birthasweknowit.com/

The Business of Being Born (film)
http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/