Advocate is a big buzz word in the birth world. There is no wonder there is some confusion when it comes to the role a doula has concerning advocacy regarding clients and at a birth.
The definition of advocacy as a noun is “someone who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy”. Merriam Webster defines it further as someone who “pleads the cause of another”, often specifically before a tribunal or judicial court.
A court case isn’t something we would expect or hope a doula would need to be involved in at all. In fact, doulas do not speak for a client because doulas do not have a legal right to make medical decisions for clients. So what do most people mean when they use the word advocate when speaking about the role of a doula?
Most of the time when a client is interested in having a doula present they are interested in having their voice and preferences be heard. This is why hiring a doula well before birth and working with one prenatally is so important. Professional doulas who stay within their scope of practice are well versed and trained in helping their clients learn how to advocate for themselves! Prenatal meetings to go over different options, childbirth preparation, birth option plans, ways to discuss important topics with providers, and navigate twists and turns as they come up during pregnancy is vital to empowering pregnant people to speak up and be heard. Preparing your partner to answer questions and ask for time to make informed decisions is part of the process as well. As a doula I am not going to make a decision concerning the welfare of your baby and yourself. I will give you unbiased information and remind you to ask informed consent questions, just like we have practiced in prenatal sessions. I can reference your written birth plan as well. Most of this work is done prior to labor so it is familiar and second nature.
Doulas are often advocates for evidenced based birth practices as a whole, in society. We form support groups and are members of national organizations. But if it seems like you are gearing up for a fight for evidence based birth practices with your birth provider, we would encourage you to look up ACOG’s recommendations and see if those recommendations are being followed. Honest communication between yourself and your provider is extremely important — expecting anyone — a doula, your partner, a sister to “protect” you from your provider may signal that this is not a good working relationship with this particular provider or perhaps there needs to be an open communication about the disagreement in care and expectation.
So while it can be a little confusing to answer outright if a doula is an “advocate” (in some ways we are and in some ways we are not), the main answer is we teach our clients to advocate for themselves and we are there to remind them how if necessary.
All Rights Reserved, 2019
Kimberly Sebeck, Knoxville Doula
Knoxvilledoula's Blog 