NCJ Number
223168
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 70 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2008 Pages: 58-60,73
Date Published
June 2008
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes Seattle's King County Jail inmate birth support program that uses "doulas," a word of Greek origin (a woman who cares for another woman) that is currently used to refer to a trained lay birth attendant who advocates for and provides prebirth to postbirth nonmedical support for women.
Abstract
Seattle's experimental jail-based program was a collaborative effort that involved local doulas, jail healthcare providers, correctional staff, and local hospital delivery personnel. Prospective doulas were selected and provided 2 hours of correctional orientation training and 16 hours of doula-specific training by the Pacific Association for Labor Support. The training consisted of instruction on the hospital's delivery routines; an overview of the foster care system; and information on addiction and pregnancy, labor, past sexual abuse, and other related issues. Pregnant women scheduled to deliver while in detention were recruited for the program. Each woman was assigned a primary and back-up doula whom she met prior to delivery. Doulas were notified when the women arrived at the hospital in labor. The doulas offered continuous support to the mother throughout labor, birth, and up to 3 days postbirth. A high level of satisfaction with the mothers' responses, doula services, and the program overall was expressed by 18 mothers, attending nurses and physicians, and correctional officers. For a relatively small investment of $50 for prebirth and postbirth doula visits and a flat fee of $175 for doula support at birth, the program has produced improved birth outcomes. These outcomes could reduce correctional facilities' medical expenses by reducing cesareans, requests for epidurals, pain medication, forceps deliveries, and labor times. 12 notes