With mixed signals from Congress’ about the prospect of substantive reform, alternative methods of health care are quietly gaining ground and credibility without congressional assistance.
Among the services are doulas, women who offer “nonmedical physical and emotional support to women during childbearing by complementing the traditional clinical care provided by physicians and midwives,” explains Noreen Roman Drago, director of Birth & Beyond Inc, a Westlake-based doula agency.
The word “doula” is derived from the Greek word for “women helping women.” There are two types of doulas—labor and postpartum—neither of which is covered by health care plans.
Labor, or childbirth, doulas teach pregnant women nonmedical pain management techniques to keep them comfortable during childbirth. Postpartum doulas provide in-home personal assistance to new mothers and free them from household chores.
“The idea of having a doula,” explains Drago, “is to help ease the transition from pregnancy to motherhood. But the most important job of a doula is to help a woman come out of her birth experience feeling that it was wonderful, not traumatic.”
How to reach: Birth & Beyond Inc. (440) 333-4996