Doula Services

Shannon Kaupp BSc, ND provides doula services. In this role she assists women in labour to have a satisfying birth experience.

What is a Doula?

A Doula is a professional labour assistant. She is a woman experienced in the birth process, who is willing to accompany birthing families and provide continuous, uninterrupted physical, educational and emotional support. A birth doula...

* Recognizes childbirth as a key life experience that the mother will remember all her life
* Understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labour
* Assists the woman and her partner in preparing for and carrying out their plans for birth
* Stays by the side of the labouring woman throughout the entire labour
* Provides emotional support, physical comfort measures, and an objective viewpoint, as well as helping the woman get the information she needs to make good decisions

What a doula does not do...

A doula does not deliver babies or give medical advice. She does not tell women how to birth or take over the role of the father. She does not take the place of medical personnel. She does not interfere with the birth process, medical procedures or the advice of the caregiver.

Doula Studies

Research studies conducted reveal women who utilize the services of a doula have:

* 50% fewer caesarean births
* 25-50% fewer epidural requests
* 40% reduction in the use of Pitocin
* 30% reduction in the use of pain medications
* 40% reduction in forceps delivery

If you are interested in setting up an appointment with Dr. Shannon Kaupp for her doula services please call the office. Statistics taken from Mothering the Mother: How a doula can help you have a shorter, easier and healthier birth., by Klaus, Kennell and Klaus {1993}