British doulas, the national agency that trains and places birth doulas and post-birth doulas, sends congratulations to Victoria Beckham for her third birth, but points out that many mothers could avoid having a caesarean simply through having a doula with her.

Doulas are women who have had a baby themselves and who are trained to act as supporters and helpers of women during and after birth. A recent report in the United States (Mothering the Mother by Kennel, Klaus and Kennel) showed that caesarean births could be cut by half , labour could be reduced by 25 per cent and the odds of a forceps delivery reduced by 40 per cent if more women have the support of a doula during  labour.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) pointed out in a report last year that 'continuous support from another woman, with or without training, during labour reduces the likelihood of a Caesarean.' Jean Birtles who owns British Doulas says,  “w e have known this for a long time and we have many, many cases of women who have had happy, safe and quick births when they had a doula. It is particularly marked with women who had a traumatic first birth. When they have brought in a doula for the second birth their experience has been transformed.”

A doula typically costs between £200-400 for a birth and around £10 an hour for post-birth work. Doulas are a kind of mother-substitute. They can support mothers during a birth and they can help her with the day-to-day business of being a mother once the baby is born. A doula can do everything from helping with breast-feeding to making tasty meals, cleaning the house and offering a loving shoulder if the baby blues hit. They vary in age from early 20’s to 60’s or even 70’s. There are doulas around the country and new mothers can obtain one from British Doulas by ringing 020 7244 6053. More information about doulas, and about how to become a doula, can be found at www.britishdoulas.co.uk .

For more information, contact Leanne Royeppen at leanne@britishdoulas.co.uk or on 020 7244 6053. Case studies of women who have had improved births because of the presence of a doula are available.