Survey Results - Doula UK

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Home / About Doulas / Survey Results

2008 Doula Survey Results

In today’s NHS landscape can women really have fewer caesareans? Can they actually aim to have better births?

With the regular media coverage on increased caesarean sections, midwifery shortages, and birth traumas... is it possible for women to increase their chance of a better birth?

Nurturing Birth, a Doula UK recognised course provider, carried out a large survey of doulas working in the UK in 2008. Here are some of the results. The full results and conclusions were published in MIDIRS Midwifery Digest June 2009.

The survey is not a randomised survey but it reflects the work that our doulas do throughout the country.

Birth doulas are experienced in supporting women through birth in hospital and home settings.

165 surveys were returned and helped us get information from 735 births. All births were in the UK in 2008.

Primiparous women (first time mums) 48%
Natural births (with no induction, medicated pain relief, augmentation and instrumental deliveries). 45%
Caesarean section 15% (versus 24.3% nationally)
Epidurals 20% (versus over 30% nationally)
Inductions 10% (versus 20% nationally)
Vaginal birth after a caesarean section success rate 70%
Labour in a pool 23%
Home births (no transfer) 19%
Breastfed at birth 86% (versus 76% nationally)
Doula was single birth partner 11%

The survey also included data from postnatal doulas:

88% of women who had a postnatal doula were still breastfeeding at 6 weeks and 67% were still breastfeeding at 6 months (This compares with 21% at six weeks and 7% at three months according to the Infant Feeding Survey of 2005 (Bolling et al 2007).)

In the past decades numerous medical studies have highlighted the benefits to women of one to one care in labour, particularly the improved rates in caesareans, epidurals and instrumental deliveries. It is therefore no surprise to see that in the UK, birth doulas are making similar discoveries when supporting a woman through labour.