The word doula (“doo-luh”) originates from a Greek word meaning “a woman who serves.” In 1969, anthropologist Dana Raphael, Ph.D. published an article in the scholarly journal Perspectives in Biology and Medicine in which she used the word doula to refer to women supporting other women through the journey of childbirth and early motherhood. She later went on to describe a doula as a woman who “mothers the mother.”

Nearly 50 years later, we would rephrase Dr. Raphael’s idea of a doula as a person who “nurtures the family.” The specific definition of what doulas do continues to be debated within the community of birth professionals (you’ll probably get a different definition of a doula from each doula you ask!), but underlying all of those different ideas is a deep desire to support families through birth and early parenthood with compassion and understanding.

As doulas, we love to support not only mothers but their partners, families, children, and communities by providing a caring, encouraging, and knowledgeable presence during the childbearing years.