Arvizu: Integrating Doulas Adds Value to Healthcare

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Erin Arvizu, GoLocal Worcester Health Columnist

Providing continuous physical and emotional support to a woman in labor has been proven to increase her chances of a spontaneous vaginal delivery as well as increase her level of satisfaction with her birth experience - and the best part is that there are no harmful side effects. Providing continuous and emotional support is exactly what a doula does – and when doulas are integrated into our healthcare system, they add value.

Anyone can hire a doula to provide these services, but there is one local hospital that offers added emotional and physical support to their patients free of charge. The LaChance Maternity Center at Heywood Hospital in Gardner, MA has a volunteer doula program in which a doula is always on staff to serve laboring patients. Not surprisingly, Heywood Hospital also has the lowest C-section rate in the state of Massachusetts. Karen Beaton, the Director of Child and Maternal Health at Heywood Hospital shares how and why the doula program came to be.

“Close to 20 years ago,” Beaton explains, “we had an individual who was working towards her doula certification and one of the requirements in the program was that she had to attend seven births. She came to the manager at the time and asked if she could volunteer to work as a doula in our maternity setting to get the experience she needed to complete her certification. It went very well. Patients loved her. The staff loved her. We needed to come up with a way to provide additional doula support to offer to our patients. Over time, our volunteer doula program evolved.”

Heywood Hospital trains their doulas in-house through Birth Arts International. Candidates are screened, CORI checked and evaluated to ensure that they possess the right qualities for being a doula. And how do patients feel about this added service? Karen explains that “the feedback is phenomenal. The patients that end up utilizing the program have nothing, but praise to say about the doula service. In fact, several of our doulas got into the program simply because of their experience of having a doula during their own childbirth and they want to pay it back.”

Birth by the Numbers is an organization that analyzes childbirth data and strives to provide up to date information about childbirth practices and trends. In their recent presentation about Cesareans, they conclude that practice changes are the driving force behind the significant increase in Cesareans. In 1996, the C-section rate in Massachusetts was less than 20%. In 2013, it has risen to over 30%. But Heywood Hospital’s rate has remained below 20% and is still the lowest in the state of Massachusetts.

Heywood Hospital is unique in that their practice includes additional doula support as the normal standard of care. In response to their lowest C-section status, Beaton says, “I think the doulas contribute to that as well as our physicians and nursing care. Collectively, they help keep our C-section rate low.” Heywood Hospital is proof that integrating doulas into a healthcare system absolutely adds value to patients and staff alike.

If you’re interested in learning more about doulas or how to become a doula, check out Heywood Hospital’s monthly Meet the Doula Night – every 4th Monday of the month at 6pm.

Erin Arvizu is the owner of Wild Orchid Baby. If you need help exploring your birth options, stop by Wild Orchid Baby located at 490 Shrewsbury Street in Worcester and chat with local birth professionals and childbirth educators.