DOULAMALA
What is a doula?
The word doula comes from ancient Greek and means "servant". Until a few centuries ago, childbirth was in female hands. In some other cultures, this is still the case today. Experienced women have always stood by and supported a woman giving birth, provided she did not bring her child into the world alone. The roots of the doula's work probably go back a long way in human history. With the advance of male-dominated medicine, birth was also appropriated, incorporated into the realm of "illness", and the knowledge and trust in the birth process that had existed up to that point was largely suppressed. Over the last few centuries, clinical birth has developed into a kind of industrialized machine in which female intuition usually has little room. A doula accompanies births to remind women that they can give birth and can follow their own intuition.
What does a doula do?
The doula gets to know the pregnant woman before the birth and thus has the opportunity to learn about her views and concerns. The time spent getting to know each other leads to a trusting relationship between the woman and the doula. This is a prerequisite for birth support so that the woman feels comfortable with her doula. The doula can simply be present during the birth, massage the woman or look after her with whatever the woman needs. The most important thing is that she radiates calm and confidence and thus acts as a calming influence during the birth. The doula supports the woman giving birth in every situation, but does not make any decisions for her and does not influence the medical process of a birth. Through constant loving attention, the doula supports a birth from the beginning until the point at which she is no longer needed.
BROWSE
Information and registration for the GfG-Doula® training 2024/25
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