Benefits of using a doula, midwife during birth

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) - New birth center regulations could be underway in Alabama that could possibly effect women that choose to give birth outside of the hospital. These women commonly look to both a doula and midwife for assistance.

News Leader 9 spoke with a doula in Georgia and she shares the benefits of having both a midwife and a doula for home births.

Ife Adebowale started Cherish Life Beginnings Doula Services in 2015 and began training women to become certified doulas in 2020. She now is currently finishing up to become a midwife.

In case you don’t know, a doula is a woman that is trained to assist another woman during child birth and supports the mother after child birth as all. According to Ife, a doula can also be an advocate for the mother if she chooses to give birth in a hospital.

They ensure the mother is informed during the pregnancy and coaches them on to expect while expecting. Our Nicole Harper spoke with an expecting mother on why she uses a doula and prefers an at-home birth.

“I’m not from here - I don’t have a lot of family and I experienced a loss with my firstborn,” said Chrystine Beckford, an expecting mother. “He was stillborn last year on October 17, 2021 and that was just a rough time for me and labor for unseen reasons that’s not natural and I just want more of a natural birth. "

According the the CDC, black women have the highest maternal mortality rate than other ethnicities. Ife says its imperative to advocate and have the ability to have home births which is important to some cultures.

Hiring a doula can alleviate these statistics drastically on top of that her and doula can assist you with ensuring that you have the birth that you want unless there’s some type of medical reason that you can’t a doula can ensure that you do not get a C-section or be induced based on non-medical reasons by your doctor.

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