How a Trained Labor Companion Can Help You Have a Shorter, Easier, and Healthier Birth

• The complete and essential guide to birth with a doula. A doula, from the Greek word meaning "woman caregiver," acts as a companion to a woman before, during, and, to a lesser extent, after labor
• Unlike a midwife, she does not provide obstetrical care (i.e., deliver babies) but rather offers continuous and individualized emotional and physical support in order to foster a sense of reassurance, shorten labor, and decrease the need for pain killers and cesarean section
• Marshall H. Klaus, John H. Kennell, Phyllis H. Klaus