Guide
What is a doula for, and what does she do?
A doula offers continuous support — emotional, physical and informational — to the pregnant person and family during pregnancy, birth and postpartum. She listens, helps you prepare and stays by your side, without replacing your health care team.
For information only. A doula doesn't replace prenatal care or your health care team's guidance.
What a doula does in practice
A doula helps you through a time full of decisions with accessible information, listening and presence. Rather than telling the family what to do, she lays out possibilities, supports informed choices and offers comfort measures.
Support can begin during pregnancy, continue through labor and include postpartum. The format varies with the doula, the city, the package and each family's needs.
What a doula does during pregnancy
During pregnancy, a doula listens, answers questions, helps you understand the stages of pregnancy and birth and helps you build a birth plan aligned with your wishes and your care team's guidance.
Many doulas hold sessions to prepare for birth and breastfeeding, and teach breathing, relaxation and positioning techniques to ease discomfort.
And during the birth?
When the hospital or birth center allows a doula to be present, she supports you continuously: she offers massage, helps with breathing and changing positions, supports communication with the team and helps your birth partner.
A doula doesn't make clinical decisions for you or speak for the medical team — she helps you understand your options and express yourself.
Postpartum
After the birth, a doula can visit to support breastfeeding, recovery, adjusting to the baby and organizing your routine, and to hold space for your emotions.
What a doula does not do
A doula doesn't run tests, deliver babies or prescribe medication, and she doesn't replace an OB, midwife or pediatrician. She works alongside your health care team, not in its place.
How to find a doula
Use the directory search to filter by state and city, compare the services on each profile and talk to the doulas who seem right for you. It's worth having a first conversation to see whether you connect.
Institutional sources
These sources support the general information in this guide. Rules and guidance can change; confirm individual situations with your health care provider and official bodies.
Frequently asked questions
What is a doula for?
A doula listens, informs and offers physical and emotional comfort during pregnancy, birth and postpartum. She complements, but does not replace, medical and nursing care.
Can anyone have a doula?
Generally yes. Doulas support both vaginal births and cesareans and different kinds of pregnancies. Check your birth location's rules on doulas and support people.
Do I have to choose between a doula and a birth partner?
Usually not: the doula supports you and your partner. Rules vary by hospital, so it's worth asking ahead of time.
Keep reading
- How to choose a doula: what to ask before hiring
- How much does a doula cost? What affects the price
- Doula, midwife and OB: what's the difference?
- How to find a doula near you
- Types of doula and ways of working
- Doula at birth: how the support works
- Postpartum doula: support for the parent and family
- Online doula: how the support works
- When should you hire a doula?