Notes from the Nest: Doula Musings for the Curious
Doulas and the Lost Village
You’ve likely heard the phrase “it takes a village to raise a child.” Maybe you’ve heard it so often that it’s lost its potency. We look around, wondering where this village actually is. In times past, transitions like birth and death were honoured and marked as sacred rites of passage, and would have been deeply woven into the fabric of our community lives.
We would gain embodied knowledge from witnessing and participating in them, guided by those with lived experience. To be accompanied through the stages of life was natural and expected. Having a birth companion is part of our collective humanity, shared across cultures and time (Evidence Based Birth 2025).
In our modern world, especially when entering motherhood, we are often bereft of the scaffolding we once had. The kind that helped us navigate this wild new landscape. Is it any wonder it’s a time we are often all at sea? In the absence of a ready-made village, many of us are doing our best to construct our own. This is where a doula can help—not just in the support they directly offer, but in helping you be intentional about calling in the wider support you need.
What Are the Benefits of Having a Doula?
Maternity services today are stretched, and birth trauma rates are high. Many women don’t receive the continuity of care or depth of holding that they need, to emerge powerful from their birth experiences. A doula complements your care team by focusing on your emotional, practical, and informational needs—non-medical, but deeply vital.
Research shows that doula support is linked with greater satisfaction with our birth, and lower rates of intervention. These include reduced epidural use, fewer assisted or caesarean births, shorter more straightforward labour, and increased breastfeeding rates (Doula UK 2025).
In What Ways Might a Doula Support Me?
Here’s a flavour of what doula support might include across pregnancy, birth, and postpartum:
During Pregnancy:
- Building connection and understanding your story
- Exploring your hopes, fears, and expectations
- Discussing birth physiology and optimal support for it
- Creating a birth plan and exploring your rights and choices
- Signposting to evidence-based information
During Labour and Birth:
- Providing continuous presence
- Offering hands-on support like massage or counterpressure
- Verbal guidance, such as with breathwork and positioning
- Creating a calming, supportive environment
- Offering encouragement and holding space through intense moments
- Advocating for your preferences where needed
Postnatally:
- Debriefing the birth experience
- Supporting emotional adjustment and recovery
- Helping with infant care to build your confidence or offer rest
- Light domestic help
- Supporting feeding goals
- Linking you in with local community resources
In conclusion, while doulas are becoming more visible, the role is still emerging into the mainstream. This gentle overview has hopefully given you a clearer sense of who doulas are, and what we do in the perinatal realm. Doulas are as diverse as the people we support. It’s important to take your time, do your research, and find someone who feels like the right fit for you. If in doubt, slow down. Get really quiet. Tune into what your heart and gut are saying.
And no matter how your birthing journey unfolds, may it be informed, autonomous, and beautiful.
Bridie Solman is a doula accompanying the soulful thresholds of pregnancy, birth and beyond. A qualified Occupational Therapist, she has a background in mental health. Her support is rooted in deep presence, and emotional safety. She is passionate about our need to feel seen and held at this time, and of nurturing the tender and expansive transformations that become possible when we are. anambirth.doula@gmail.com.
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