{"title":"Who plans to give birth with a doula? Demographic factors and perceptions of birth","authors":"Yael Benyamini , Selen Tovim , Heidi Preis","doi":"10.1016/j.wombi.2025.101880","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Problem</h3><div>Research has demonstrated the benefits of continuous care during childbirth, particularly with doula support. However, much less is known about the factors underlying pregnant women’s plans to have doula support.</div></div><div><h3>Background</h3><div>Doulas provide one-on-one continuous care, emotional support, and advocacy, in a culturally sensitive way.</div></div><div><h3>Aim and questions</h3><div>We aimed to investigate the characteristics of pregnant women who consider doula support and whether it is related to their birth experiences, beliefs and concerns, including fear of childbirth and of the staff, beliefs about birth as a natural and as a medical process, and expectations of motherhood.</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>A cross-sectional study, in which pregnant women (<em>N</em> = 1593) recruited in prenatal clinics completed questionnaires regarding socio-demographics, obstetric history, beliefs and concerns about birth, maternal expectations, and their plans for mode and place of birth and for having doula care.</div></div><div><h3>Findings</h3><div>Women who planned to have doula care were more likely to be nulliparous and to plan a more natural birth. A doula plan was more prevalent among recent immigrants, religious women, women who viewed birth as natural and not as medical, and were concerned about the staff’s attitude and control during birth.</div></div><div><h3>Discussion</h3><div>In a medicalised maternity care system, women who view birth as natural birth and who have concerns regarding the care they will receive, are more likely to plan doula care.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Understanding the factors related to a doula plan may uncover unmet needs, particularly the need for culturally sensitive care and support for women’s personal choices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48868,"journal":{"name":"Women and Birth","volume":"38 2","pages":"Article 101880"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Women and Birth","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871519225000149","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"NURSING","Score":null,"Total":0}
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Abstract
Problem
Research has demonstrated the benefits of continuous care during childbirth, particularly with doula support. However, much less is known about the factors underlying pregnant women’s plans to have doula support.
Background
Doulas provide one-on-one continuous care, emotional support, and advocacy, in a culturally sensitive way.
Aim and questions
We aimed to investigate the characteristics of pregnant women who consider doula support and whether it is related to their birth experiences, beliefs and concerns, including fear of childbirth and of the staff, beliefs about birth as a natural and as a medical process, and expectations of motherhood.
Method
A cross-sectional study, in which pregnant women (N = 1593) recruited in prenatal clinics completed questionnaires regarding socio-demographics, obstetric history, beliefs and concerns about birth, maternal expectations, and their plans for mode and place of birth and for having doula care.
Findings
Women who planned to have doula care were more likely to be nulliparous and to plan a more natural birth. A doula plan was more prevalent among recent immigrants, religious women, women who viewed birth as natural and not as medical, and were concerned about the staff’s attitude and control during birth.
Discussion
In a medicalised maternity care system, women who view birth as natural birth and who have concerns regarding the care they will receive, are more likely to plan doula care.
Conclusion
Understanding the factors related to a doula plan may uncover unmet needs, particularly the need for culturally sensitive care and support for women’s personal choices.
期刊介绍：
Women and Birth is the official journal of the Australian College of Midwives (ACM). It is a midwifery journal that publishes on all matters that affect women and birth, from pre-conceptual counselling, through pregnancy, birth, and the first six weeks postnatal. All papers accepted will draw from and contribute to the relevant contemporary research, policy and/or theoretical literature. We seek research papers, quality assurances papers (with ethical approval) discussion papers, clinical practice papers, case studies and original literature reviews.
Our women-centred focus is inclusive of the family, fetus and newborn, both well and sick, and covers both healthy and complex pregnancies and births. The journal seeks papers that take a woman-centred focus on maternity services, epidemiology, primary health care, reproductive psycho/physiology, midwifery practice, theory, research, education, management and leadership. We also seek relevant papers on maternal mental health and neonatal well-being, natural and complementary therapies, local, national and international policy, management, politics, economics and societal and cultural issues as they affect childbearing women and their families. Topics may include, where appropriate, neonatal care, child and family health, women’s health, related to pregnancy, birth and the postpartum, including lactation. Interprofessional papers relevant to midwifery are welcome. Articles are double blind peer-reviewed, primarily by experts in the field of the submitted work.
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