🍼 10 Powerful Reasons to Hire a Doula
Discover how doulas can transform the birth experience—for you, your baby, and your whole family.
If you’re exploring the reasons to hire a doula, you’re already on the path toward a more supported and empowering birth. Doulas offer emotional, physical, and informational support to birthing people and families before, during, and after childbirth. Research shows that having a doula can significantly improve birth outcomes and help families feel more confident and cared for throughout the process.
Here are ten evidence-based reasons why hiring a doula is one of the best decisions you can make during your pregnancy journey:
1. Doulas Improve Birth Outcomes
People supported by doulas are less likely to need interventions such as cesarean births, epidurals, or forceps. They’re also more likely to report a positive birth experience.
📚 According to a 2017 Cochrane Review, continuous support during labor (such as from a doula) is linked to:
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39% decrease in the risk of cesarean
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15% increase in the likelihood of a spontaneous vaginal birth
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10% decrease in the use of pain medications
(Source: Bohren et al., Cochrane Database, 2017)
2. Emotional Support You Can Count On
A doula provides calm, consistent emotional reassurance throughout labor—something that medical staff often can’t guarantee due to shift changes and workload. Doulas stay by your side no matter how long labor lasts.
3. Non-Medical Pain Relief
Doulas are trained in effective comfort measures such as massage, movement, positioning, breathing techniques, acupressure, and more. These natural tools can help reduce pain perception and promote progress during labor.
4. Informed Decision-Making
A doula helps you understand your choices and communicate effectively with your care team. Their evidence-based knowledge helps you make decisions confidently—without pressure.
5. Support for Your Partner
Hiring a doula doesn’t replace your partner—it strengthens their role. Doulas help partners feel more involved and confident by guiding them in ways to support you physically and emotionally.
6. Shorter Labors
Research shows that having a doula may reduce the length of labor, especially in first-time parents. Physical and emotional support helps minimize fear and tension, allowing labor to progress more naturally.
📚 (Kozhimannil et al., Journal of Perinatal Education, 2013)
7. Fewer Complications and Interventions
With continuous labor support, there are lower rates of instrumental deliveries (forceps/vacuum), cesarean births, and use of synthetic oxytocin to speed up labor.
8. Greater Satisfaction with the Birth Experience
Families who work with doulas report higher levels of satisfaction and a deeper sense of empowerment and connection—even when births don’t go as planned.
9. Better Postpartum Adjustment
Some doulas offer postpartum support, helping with infant feeding, emotional recovery, and household tasks. This type of care eases the transition into parenthood and reduces the risk of postpartum depression.
📚 (Klaus, Kennell, & Klaus, “The Doula Book,” 2012)
10. Culturally Sensitive, Personalized Care
Doulas provide individualized support, respecting your culture, beliefs, and preferences. Whether you’re planning a hospital birth, home birth, or something in between, doulas meet you where you are.
🌿 How to Get Started
If these reasons to hire a doula resonate with you, now is the perfect time to explore doula training or find a certified doula near you. At Birth Arts International, we’ve been training compassionate, inclusive, and knowledgeable doulas for over 25 years. Our programs are comprehensive, holistic, and designed to help you thrive—whether you’re seeking support or feeling the call to become a doula yourself.
👉 Ready to learn more? Visit www.birtharts.com and discover how doulas are transforming birth, one family at a time.