Doula Services
Virtua welcomes birth doulas as important members of your support team during pregnancy, labor, and delivery.
Bringing a baby into the world is one of the most life-changing experiences. Whether it's your first time or you're adding to your growing family, having a birth doula's continuous, compassionate support can help make your baby’s birth a joyous, empowering, and memorable moment.
What is a birth doula?
A birth doula is a trained and certified professional who provides emotional, physical, and informational support to expectant parents before, during, and after childbirth.
Unlike your obstetrician, midwife, or nurse, a doula doesn’t perform clinical tasks. A doula instead focuses on you, your comfort, confidence, and overall birth experience.
At Virtua, doulas collaborate with your providers to ensure you feel supported, empowered, and heard throughout your labor and delivery experience. No matter what type of birth experience you’re planning for, a doula can be a invaluable part of your support system.
What types of care does a birth doula provide?
Every birth experience is unique, and your doula will tailor your care to meet your individual and cultural needs. Some support services doulas provide include:
- Emotional reassurance: Helping you feel calm, confident, in control, and prepared for anything that may occur.
- Physical comfort: Providing massage, guided breathing, hydrotherapy support, and positioning and movement techniques to ease labor.
- Informational support: Providing evidence-based information about labor options, interventions, and newborn care and helping you understand your rights as a patient.
- Cultural advocacy: Ensuring families receive the care, advocacy, and cultural support they deserve. This can include facilitating cultural birthing practices and traditions.
- Partner and family support: Guiding your loved ones to best help and support you during labor.
- Immediate postpartum care: Helping you start breastfeeding and supporting your recovery.
Connect with a Birth Doula
To learn more and connect with certified doulas in South Jersey, fill out our request form.
How does a doula work with you and your pregnancy care providers?
Doulas are professionally trained to provide support alongside Virtua’s OBs, midwives, and nurses, each bringing their own expertise to the birthing experience. They help build trust and ease communication between you and your providers while offering you and your partner continuous, one-on-one support.
Here’s how a doula can assist during your birth at a Virtua hospital:
- Before labor: Offer education and guidance throughout pregnancy, helping you navigate your options and understand things you may not even know to ask about. Doulas act as a guide to your birth wishes—assisting in developing your birth plan, discussing your preferences and goals, and providing evidence-based information to help you feel confident and prepared for labor and delivery.
- During labor: Offer hands-on comfort measures like massage, counterpressure, and breathing techniques, help with positioning, and provide reassurance.
- With your medical team: Encourage open communication between you and your providers, ensuring you understand your options and feel confident in your decisions.
- After birth: Support bonding with your baby, help with breastfeeding, and ensure you feel comfortable and informed about your recovery.
Doulas are welcome at these Virtua hospitals where babies are delivered:
- Virtua Mount Holly Hospital
- Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital
- Virtua Voorhees Hospital
To learn more and connect with certified doulas in South Jersey, call 856-247-7464 or fill out our doula request form.
Doula Care Benefits and Considerations
Benefits
Research shows that having a doula on your care team can lead to positive birth experiences and improved outcomes. Some key benefits include:
- Shorter labor: Continuous support can help labor progress more smoothly.
- Reduced need for interventions: Doulas provide natural comfort measures that may reduce the need for epidurals, medication to stimulate contractions, and cesarean sections (C-sections).
- Increased satisfaction with birth: Many parents report feeling more confident, empowered, and satisfied with their birth experience.
- Better postpartum recovery: Immediate support with breastfeeding and newborn care can ease the transition into parenthood.
Considerations
Choosing the right doula is important, and finding someone whose approach aligns with your preferences is essential.
Here are a few things to consider when interviewing potential doulas:
- Experience and philosophy: Ask about their background, training, certifications, experience, and approach to labor support.
- Compatibility: Your doula should be someone you feel comfortable with and trust.
- Languages spoken: Many doulas speak more than one language, which can improve communications between you and your care team.
- Services provided: Some doulas offer prenatal visits, postpartum follow-ups, and other resources.
- Availability: Make sure your doula can commit to being on call around your due date.
The Virtua Difference for Doula Services
Trained and experienced doulas
Virtua works with doulas who are trained and certified by some of the most respected doula programs, including CAPPA, DONA International, and the National Black Doulas Association.
Trained and experienced doulas
Virtua works with doulas who are trained and certified by some of the most respected doula programs, including CAPPA, DONA International, and the National Black Doulas Association.
Constant communication
Our goal is to make sure you feel heard and well-informed at every stage of your pregnancy. For example, during labor and delivery, your care team continuously discusses how your labor is going with you and with each other. This allows you and your entire team stay on the same page. It also helps you understand what’s happening, while ensuring your care team follows your wishes.
Constant communication
Our goal is to make sure you feel heard and well-informed at every stage of your pregnancy. For example, during labor and delivery, your care team continuously discusses how your labor is going with you and with each other. This allows you and your entire team stay on the same page. It also helps you understand what’s happening, while ensuring your care team follows your wishes.
Committed to equitable care
Virtua Health is committed to advancing health equity for all patients and creating safe and welcoming spaces for parents and babies. Virtua delivers almost 9,000 babies a year at its three hospitals providing maternity care and its freestanding Midwifery Birth & Wellness Center.
Committed to equitable care
Virtua Health is committed to advancing health equity for all patients and creating safe and welcoming spaces for parents and babies. Virtua delivers almost 9,000 babies a year at its three hospitals providing maternity care and its freestanding Midwifery Birth & Wellness Center.
Hospital Doula Guidelines
Doula Guidelines
Virtua welcomes doulas as members of our patient’s support teams, and we value their role as part of the care delivery team. For more information, contact Evana Cooper, Doula Administrative Liaison, at ecooper1@virtua.org.
- Read our doula guidelines here.
- Doula guidelines en español.