Trained or professional doulas in the support and care of pregnant and birthing women
A critical integrative review
Bibliographic Data
The professionalisation of doula care and research interest in this area of maternity care/support have both grown internationally in recent years highlighting important broader issues around the access, continuity and delivery of maternity care services. However, no work to date has provided a critical appraisal of the international literature on this topic. In response, this paper presents the first critical review of international empirical literature examining professional doula care for pregnant and birthing women. A database search of AMED, CINAHL, Maternity and Infant Care, and MEDLINE using the search term, "doula" was undertaken. A total of 48 papers published between 1980 and March 2013 involving trained or professional doulas were extracted. Four descriptive categories were identified from the review: 'workforce and professional issues in doula care'; 'trained or professional doula's role and skill'; 'physical outcomes of trained or professional doula care'; and 'social outcomes of trained or professional doula care'. Of the studies evaluating outcomes of doula care, there were a number with design and methodology weaknesses. The review highlights a number of gaps in the research literature including a lack of research examining doula workforce issues; focus upon the experience and perspective of significant stakeholders such as expectant fathers with regard to trained or professional doula care; clinical trials measuring both subjective experiences and physical outcomes of trained or professional doula support; synergy between the design of clinical trials research examining trained or professional doula care and the clinical reality of professional doula practice. It is imperative that key aspects of trained doula care be subject to further rigorous, empirical investigation to help establish an evidence base to guide policy and practice relating to this area of support and care for pregnant and birthing women
Alternative medicine · CINAHL · Critical appraisal · Health care · Maternity care · Medical education · MEDLINE · Political science · Professional development · Psychological intervention · Workforce · Maternal and fetal healthcare · Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions · Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology
Continuous support for women during childbirth
The Doulas of the Priscilla Project
“A lot of hoops … to jump through”
Community-based doulas for migrant and refugee women
Supporting in solidarity
Factors affecting the implementation and sustainability of an Australian community-based doula service
Transitions in Black and Latinx Community-Based Doula Work in the US During Covid-19
On the Outside Looking In
Alternative prenatal care interventions to alleviate Black–White maternal/infant health disparities
“I want…to serve those communities…[but] my price tag is…not what they can afford”
This work that we're doing is bigger than ourselves”
Evaluation of trained volunteer doula services for disadvantaged women in five areas in England
(Re)Framing Strength
Examining Veterans', Doulas', and VA Maternity Care Coordinators’ Perceptions and Experiences With a Community-based Doula Pilot Program
Community Perspectives on the Creation of a Hospital-Based Doula Program
Effectiveness of an Enhanced Community Doula Intervention in a Safety Net Setting
Caring for Women of Color
Men's Psychological Transition to Fatherhood
Socioeconomic Disparities in Adverse Birth Outcomes
The Captured Womb
Attitudes towards Doula Support during Pregnancy by Clients, Doulas, and Labor-and-Delivery Nurses
Impact of Neighborhood Social Conditions and Household Socioeconomic Status on Behavioral Problems Among US Children
Factors Associated with Perceived Stress and Stressful Life Events in Pregnant Women
A Hospital-Based Doula Program and Childbirth Outcomes in an Urban, Multicultural Setting
Doulas as childbirth paraprofessionals
Foreign-Born Women's Experiences of Community-Based Doulas in Sweden—A Qualitative Study
Bringing Two Worlds Together
Doula Care, Birth Outcomes, and Costs Among Medicaid Beneficiaries
Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research
Alone, I wouldn't have known what to do
Breast milk and labour support
Intimate space within institutionalized birth
| Unique citing works | 17 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,7 |
| Citation span | 2016 - 2026 (11) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 17 |