Written by Tim and Amie Vetscher, this is the fourth and final piece in a series of articles about CPO’s recent Waiting Families Workshop. Click here for the first installment, here for the second installment, and here for the third installment.
During the recent Waiting Families Workshop, adoptive couples learned about the important roles doulas serve in the adoption process. If you’re not familiar with doulas, they are people who assist and coach women during their pregnancy, during labor, as well as after the birth.
You may also not know that Crisis Pregnancy Outreach is the only agency in Tulsa that ensures every woman has a doula, whether they’re parenting their own baby or making an adoption plan.
Doulas aren’t just a convenience, their presence has been shown to dramatically help the birth mom and her new baby. For example, doula-assisted labors are, on average, 25% shorter.
Women who hire doulas typically require fewer drugs to assist them through labor. In fact, the presence of a doula drops the odds of a woman requiring an epidural by more than 50 percent. A recent University of Minnesota study found that hiring a doula can also reduce a woman’s risk of having a c-section by nearly 60 percent.
“If you have some kind of fear, it can actually physically hold you back, so we can help moms work through those fears in the moment,” certified doula Erin Stertz-Follett told KSTP-TV in Minneapolis.
The doulas for CPO are Jenni Anthamatten, Marlita Camacho, and Sarah Coffin. Together, they serve all the women of CPO who except out offer of doula services. They all have different personalities and styles, which means that our pregnant women have a true choice in who will be assisting them in the delivery room.
From the standpoint of an adoptive couple, doulas also provide several key benefits. Doulas assist the adoptive couple by letting them know specific ways they can help their birth mom. Doulas also arrange and coordinate the presence of the adoptive couple at the birth of their adoptive son or daughter, making it less stressful on the birth mom.
In other words, everybody at CPO benefits from having a doula present at birth.
A huge thanks to Alaina Butler of Inspired Life Photos for getting our busy and beautiful doulas in one place and taking these gorgeous photos of them!
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