What is a doula?

Updated on 14th May 2025

So you’ve heard about birth doulas and the great work they do, but still not entirely sure what their role is? Here I’ve answered some of the most common questions when it comes to what you want to know about doulas.

What is a doula?

A doula is a woman who provides support, information and advocacy during pregnancy, labour and the post natal period. Think of them kind of like a paid birth partner.

During your pregnancy, you’ll most likely meet with your doula 2 or 3 times to get to know each other and check that you’re a good fit to work together. Many doulas also offer some sort of birth education so you may have a few birth-prep sessions too.

During the labour itself, your doula will be present to give you emotional support (and sometimes physical support too in the way of massage or rebozo). She may be able to provide communication between yourself and your medical team (if you’re choosing to have medical professionals present)

Post-natally, your doula will provide emotional and practical support for the whole family as you adjust to life with a newborn. Some doulas will assist with learning to feed baby, cook for the family and assist with housework as you recover and bond with your baby. They will also give you an opportunity to talk over your birth if you feel you’d like to “de-brief”.

Why should I hire a doula?

Up until relatively recently, women in labour would have been supported by other women in their village (I mean village both literally and metaphorically). These women would usually have been older, and would have been through the birth process multiple times themselves.

These women would have comforted her, protected her birth space, helped with any housework that needed doing, taken care of any older children etc. That all changed when birth started to become more of a medicalised field. Your village of women were no longer “allowed” to accompany you during birth. You were often on your own, surrounded mainly by medical staff. Although things have improved in recent years, with women now usually being accompanied by a birth partner.

Even if your birth partner has done all of the preparation and birth education with you, it’s likely that they’ve never actually been through the birth process themselves, so there may be some areas of support that they simply wouldn’t be able to do as well as somebody who was familiar with birth.

An article published in the American Journal of Public Health in 2024 talks about how women that hire doulas to be present at their births are 47% less likely to have a c-section birth than those without doulas.

Another article published in 2023 demonstrates that women who are supported by a doula during birth are less likely to request epidurals or other pharmacological forms of pain relief.

Can a doula deliver my baby?

No, a doula is not a health care professional and cannot take on the role of a midwife.

If you are planning a homebirth and would like a health care professional present and you are in the UK, you can either request an NHS midwife to be present from your local trust or hire an independent midwife.

If you are in the North-East of England, we have some fantastic options for places to give birth. See this blog post to learn more.

If you are outside of the UK, do some research into what options are available to you if you would like to birth at home.

Can a doula come with me to the hospital?

Yes, you can absolutely hire a doula if you are planning a hospital birth. Or a midwife led unit birth. Or a homebirth. Or a freebirth. In fact, your doula can accompany you wherever you plan to birth.

When you have your sessions with your doula before the actual birth, you will go through what your plans are for birth together, so that she can get a good idea of what you actually want and how she can best support you.

How much does a doula cost?

Doulas are self employed and are paid directly by the clients that hire them. A doula’s fees will vary according to their experience, which area they work in and what services they provide.

Bear in mind that your fee will have to cover the cost of them being on call solely for you for 3-4 weeks, their travel costs, their insurance and a lot of other expenses!

If you are concerned about being able to afford a doula, look into potentially hiring a mentored doula or a “doula in training” who will have lower fees.

The UK based organisation Doula UK also have an access fund where you can apply to have the cost of doula support totally or partially funded.

Alternatively, get in touch with the doula you wish to hire to potentially discuss a payment plan or reduced fee which many doulas do offer. Or, when people ask if they can get you a gift for your new baby, ask for vouchers or money towards the cost of a doula.

How to choose a doula

There are several doula directories in the UK so do a quick google search to find one and search for a doula practising in your area.

Most doulas will be willing to do a phone call or meeting to see if you are compatible. Ultimately, this woman will be supporting you in labour so you want somebody that you “click” with and whose views align with your own.

Have a list of questions that you wish to ask and see how you get on. If you know somebody local to you who had a good experience with a doula, ask for their details.

Some questions you might like to ask:

• What are your training and qualifications?

• How much experience do you have in supporting the type of birth I want?

• What’s your policy if you’re unavailable on the day I give birth?

When should I hire a doula?

Get in contact with a few doulas in your area as early on in your pregnancy as possible so that you are able to make a choice about which one to hire in plenty of time. The good doulas get booked up months (some times years!! I’m not joking!) in advance!

You’ll also want time to read through their contract and get the legal side out of the way so that you can focus on your pregnancy and upcoming birth.