Parenting

J sports his “Team Emily” shirt I made him. My husband was a skeptic initially about the whole “doula” idea. In hindsight, he found Emily Rumsey, our doula, to be pivotal in having a secure, positive birthing experience. A doula helps through pregnancy with the preparation of a birth plan, offers home remedy suggestions for nausea and other delightful discomforts, and acts as an additional sounding board to your health care professional. And even for the parents who aren’t strident about an all-natural birth, having a doula there helps both parents, especially the one who is not in labor. Doulas provide experience, comfort, encouragement, and support for the non-laboring parent as well as the one sweating. Our doula even offered to fetch us pizza from a local Italian shop after the baby was born. I was ravenous. It was delicious! AA firmly believes all dads need doulas. Labor is an unpredictable and unnerving experience for the first-time parent. Someone present throughout the entirety of it who has gone through it before is a must. And as your nurse is not there the entire time, nor is the doc/midwife necessarily, the doula provides extra hands, and experienced eyes to direct and ease you through your labor.