The effect of doula support during labor on mother-infant interaction at 2 months

"Relational spaces in maternal healthcare: a qualitative study of young mothers' experiences with community-based doula care"

“…Continuous labour support significantly decreases length of labour, and rates of intervention and operative birth. The continuous presence of a doula during labour results in fewer cesarean and forceps deliveries, less use of pain medications and shorter labours (Martin, Landry, Stellman, Kennell, & McGrath, 1998). These low-intervention obstetric outcomes are considered by many to be positive because they indicate reduced healthcare costs and a decreased risk of serious complications for both the mother and the baby (Klaus, Kennel and Klaus, 2002).…”

“…Maternal attachment is another postpartum benefit of doula care that may be particularly relevant to work with young mothers. Martin et al (1998) conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of doula care on infant development by studying primigravida mothers with uncomplicated vaginal deliveries (1/3 of whom had been randomly assigned to receive doula care). Infant development was assessed at two months postpartum and women who had been provided with doula support during their labours were found to have a significantly more positive level of interaction with their infants.…”

The Value of Continuous Labor Support

“…Benefits of doula care are also notable up to eight weeks postpartum. Martin et al found that two months after delivery, mothers who had a doula present through labor were observed to have a more positive level of interaction between mother and infant based on the Bayley scale of infant development [5]. Further, a separate study that followed up with mothers six to eight weeks postpartum found that mothers who had a doula had better rates of breastfeeding and initiated breastfeeding sooner after labor [2].…”