Another study regarding doulas and their relationship to mothers avoiding medically unnecessary C-Sections was recently published. The study compared mothers who hired doulas with mothers who either wanted doulas and were unable to hire one, mothers who were not familiar with doula work (and therefore did not know they could hire one), and mothers who did not wish to hire a doula as part of their birth team. The study looked at their birth outcomes and overwhelmingly concluded that, statistically, women who knew what doulas were and were able to hire one greatly reduced their C-Section rate.

Here’s the article:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/29/doula-benefits_n_5730720.html

“The presence of a doula at birth was linked to an almost 60 percent reduction in women’s odds of having a C-section, and 80 percent lower odds of having a nonmedically indicated C-section compared with women who had no doula. (Overall, 10 percent of the women in the survey said they had no clear medical need for a cesarean delivery, yet delivered via C-section anyway.)”

Wonderful news for most of us! My heart is breaking for the 27% of women who wanted a doula, but were unable to hire one. Most were low-income families who did not have the resources to pay for a doula’s services.  This article suggests something that most of us have been shouting from the rooftops for years, WHY AREN’T INSURANCE COMPANIES COVERING DOULA SERVICES!?

Some do. Some cover up to 70% of a doula’s fee. Some HSA accounts will let you use your funds for doula services. Why not ALL? Why not Medicaid? If there was a $1000.00 (average doula rate in the U.S.) pill that decreased a woman’s odds of having a C-Section by 60% with no negative side effects and decades of studies behind it, I would consider it criminal not to administer that medication. You decrease what insurance companies pay on average for a birth by $9000.00 if doulas were covered by insurance companies. Nine THOUSAND dollars, per cesarean birth.

One of the reasons why it has not been DEMANDED that women have access to quality doula services can be found in the comments section of the article.

Robert Jackson, a Physician from Houston, Texas states
“… saying sweet things and rubbing someones back isn’t going to change c section rates. That is, unless the patient has chosen an obstetrician who is willing to do a c-section for the indication that labor hurts. Bring on the doulas but please don’t try to tell patients that this will change the anatomy or physiology of the pregnancy….”

If all a doula did was whisper sweet nothings in their client’s ear and give her a little back rub, then, by all means, this gentleman would be correct. We are skilled members of the birth team. We educate our clients, we motivate our clients, we physically move our clients. We know, operate in, and promote normal birth. We can read our clients, and help them to break through their walls, because we walk the path of labor WITH them.

No one is questioning that most of the medical staff want the best for moms and babies, but we, as doulas want the best for THIS mom and THIS baby, and we are going to work our tails off to make sure that they get their best outcome. My hope is that insurance companies will see the financial benefits, promptly, so that any woman who desires has access to doula services.