Doulas, non-medical professionals providing guidance and support, are increasingly popular for various life milestones, including birth, menopause, and divorce. This surge in demand for doula services coincides with concerns about the quality of NHS maternity services.
Women are paying for doula services in increasing numbers. And not just for birth. There are now doulas - non-medical professionals who offer guidance and support - for all manner of milestones, from menopause to divorce. In the birth context, it comes amid anxiety around NHS maternity services , which this year a parliamentary inquiry found to be 'shockingly poor quality', with good care 'the exception not the rule'.
With their rise in popularity, both doulas and their clients have accumulated certain stereotypes. Gill Bell, 36, opted for a doula for the birth of her second child. 'I wanted someone practical, who would give me evidence-based information - and that's what I got,' she tells Sky News. 'There's maybe a stereotype that doulas are a bit hippy-dippy. But I wanted somebody I could trust, I felt had a solid background.' Her decision came after the 'traumatic' caesarean birth of her first daughter amid COVID hospital restrictions, which she says left her with recurring nightmares. 'They went on for two or three years. It really put me off extending our family because I was so afraid to go through that again,' the mother-of-two from Derry, Northern Ireland, says. But after a recommendation from a friend, she chose to pay £800 for a doula for her second birth. From accompanying her to appointments, to being there for the birth itself - Gill believes having her doula 'hold her hand and tell her everything was going to be okay... healed' the trauma from her previous experience. 'I wanted help to overcome it because I knew it was going to affect my next birth,' she says. 'Right throughout my pregnancy she knew inside out what had happened before and how I felt about everything.' With her doula advocating for her, Gill was able to have a water birth at home - which she believes was a first for any woman after a C-section at her local NHS trust. Describing it as her ideal scenario, she says: 'My daughter came into the world in the most beautiful way
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