The Doula Book

Written by, Marshall Klaus, M.D., John H. Kennell, M.D., & Phyllis H. Klaus, C.S.W., M.F.T.

This book was required to be read for the certification of DONA, (Doulas of North America). This isn’t a book someone would usually pick up to read when pregnant. However, it has some fantastic studies and statistics in regards to a Doulas presence in the birthing room. I would like to share some of those studies with you and if you become intrigued you can borrow this book from me or this book is may be in the local Library.

So here are some statistics in chapter 5, ‘Obstetric Benefits of Doula Support’

Cleveland Couples Study

555 women and partners                                              No Doula                        Doula

C-Section                                                                        22.5%                                  14.2%
Mothers choosing epidural                                           76.8%                                  67.6%

*significant difference

“Fathers are pleased to share their wives’ labor room with a nurse, midwife or trained doula who can explain what is happening, advise the father on support for his partner, and allow him to experience the birth without having to take on overwhelming responsibilities.”


Natural Vaginal Deliveries

No-doula group                         Only 25 out of 204 women or 12% delivered 
                                                    naturally(Without anesthesia, oxytocin, meds or forceps)
Doula Group                              116 out of 212 or 55% of women 
                                                    delivered naturally

** Highly significant difference

“25% of mothers in a narcotic group went on to receive an epidural, but only 6% of doula mothers did. These data are especially interesting and suggest that the mothers receiving a doula had a significant pain reduction.”




Houston Study
416 women                                                                           No Doula                        Doula

Mothers using oxytocin                                                           44%                              17%
Forceps deliveries                                                                    26%                                8%

** highly significant difference

C-Section                                                                                  18%                                 8%

*significant difference

“CONCLUSION: As mentioned earlier the authors have completed an analysis that draws together ten randomized trials of continuous doula support with a technique known as the meta-analysis. When the results of these studies are calculated together, the presence of a doula reduces the overall cesarean rate by roughly 45%, length of labor by 25%, oxytocin use by 50%, and pain medication by 31%, the need for forceps by 34% and requests for epidurals by 10-60%.”

There are more studies in this chapter that I didn’t include such as ‘Doulas for teenage mothers or maternal fevers’. The above statistics are astonishing to say the least. Dr. Kennell continues to support a doulas role in a hospital setting. Having said, that I’ll end on a quote, "If a doula were a drug, it would be malpractice not to use It.”, Dr. John H. Kennell.