Doulas Are Great Pain Relief; For Fathers, Partners, and Other Loved Ones; Labor, the Hardest Work You'll Ever Love?

Before I get started...
If you are reading this blog, considering a doula, and live in Nebraska, please, visit http://www.doulasource.org/

Okay...
"epidurals lower the blood pressure of one in three mothers, and therefore lower blood flow and oxygen to the baby. This can create changes in the baby's heart rate which may be seen as "fetal distress," a cause of further interventions and cesareans." (p 7)
"mothers with doulas are more likely to give birth without needing epidurals, yet they still report less pain." (p 7)

Want a good way to speed up labor without Pitocin?
"Current estimates of the use of Pitocin are as high as 50 to 60 percent of births in the United States...With a doula, the use of Pitocin has been shown to be reduced by 40 percent...the use of a doula results in labors that are 25 percent shorter." (p 9)

"Without a doula, epidurals are used in the U.S. by approximately 85 percent or more of first-time mothers." (p 13)
"Studies show fathers participate more when a doula is present." (p 28)
"one result of childbirth is that athletes who've gone through it become faster at their sport." (p 40)

REFERENCES
The New Essential Guide to Lesbian Conception, Pregnancy & Birth by Stephanie Brill
Attending Your Grandchild's Birth: A Guide for Grandparents by Carolynn Bauer Zorn