The members of ADOBE (Arizona Doula Organization and Birth Education
would like to invite all of you to two things:
1) Our brand new website (which is complete, minus the pictures we
haven't gotten in yet). Come see it at:
http://www.ssv1site.com/adobe
2) ...and this is the exciting part: We are proud to be hosting a
Celebration of Birth commemorating International Doula Month - anyone
who will be in the area, please join us - Doulas, Childbirth
Educators, Midwives, Nurses, Docs, Parents, future Parents,
Grandparents, future Grandparents (have I left anyone out?) are all
invited!!!!!
The following is the Press Release we sent out (pardon the
formatting, it looked nice when we sent it to the media). Thank you
to DONA for the vast majority of the wording!!!
Join us if you can!!
Francine Eastwood
and the membership of ADOBE
__________________________________________________________________
NEWS RELEASE
ADOBE CELEBRATION OF BIRTH HONORS
INTERNATIONAL DOULA MONTH
Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Doula Organization and Birth Education (ADOBE)
is proud to celebrate International Doula Month with a Celebration of
Birth for families who have used or wish to use their services. The
event will include food, entertainment for the children, and an
opportunity for new parents and doulas to socialize and share
experiences. It will be held on May 23, 1998, from 11:00 AM-2:00 PM
at 3033B N 7th Ave, Phoenix. Members of the media are invited to join
in the festivities.
Doulas of North America (DONA) has chosen the month of May as
International Doula Month, celebrating the benefits of Doula assisted
childbirth. The word "Doula" comes from the ancient Greek and now, in
our culture, refers to a woman trained and experienced in childbirth
who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support
to a woman before, during and immediately following childbirth. She
does not take away the role of the partner - instead, a Doula helps
the partner participate at the level at which he feels comfortable.
She does not take away the role of the nurse - instead, she and the
nurse often work side by side to meet the different needs of the
woman.
Recent research studies have shown that by attending to women's
psycho-social needs during the stressful and painful time of
childbirth, care by a Doula not only contributes to women's
satisfaction and confidence, it is also associated with improved birth
outcomes.
Eight recent studies have shown the following improvements in
obstetrical outcomes: 50% reduction in cesarean birth, 60% reduction
in epidural anesthesia, 25% reduction in the length of labor, 40%
reduction in the use of induction drugs, 40% reduction in the use of
pain medications (narcotics), 30% reduction in the use of forceps.
Also, fewer newborns required prolonged hospitalization, breastfeeding
rates improved and there was a decreased incidence of postpartum
depression. The presence of Doulas at birth would cause a dramatic
reduction in cost of obstetrical care. In fact, many hospitals
already have Doula programs, not only saving them thousands of dollars
but increasing their market share as women look for more personalized
care at this special time in their lives. Where hospitals have no
Doula services, many women are seeking Doulas on a private basis
because they want such expertise and non-clinical care.
DONA is an international organization of Doulas who are trained to
provide the highest quality of labor support to birthing women and
their families. DONA is a non-profit organization incorporated in
1992 with the purposes of certifying Doulas using and international
standard and providing a strong communication link among practicing
Doulas and the childbearing public. Membership in DONA has grown from
85 members in 1993 to 2150 presently.
ADOBE is a non-profit corporation designed to improve the quality of
maternity care and the health of newborn babies by providing education
and support during pregnancy, birth and postpartum.
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