Marjorie Sumner says she had little idea what a doula was until she went to Oregon to help her sister prepare for the birth of her second child last August. "Lynn [the doula] was great," says the Raleigh, N.C. resident. "[She] helped my sister feel like the birth experience was something she had more control over than she had when her daughter was born two years before. I wish I'd have had one when I had my own daughter."

Doulas are special people. Designed to assist the woman during labor, while she is giving birth and after the delivery, doulas have gained popularity in this country over the last few decades.

"Basically, a doula is a woman who is experienced and has knowledge of childbirth," says doula Kristin McCaffery, who operates Hudson Valley New Birth Doula Services with her business partner, doula Diane Fitzgerald, in upstate New York. "She provides physical, emotional and informational support to Mom. She is also a liaison between Mom and the [hospital or birthing center] staff." This includes making sure the birth plan is adhered to and keeping any unwanted and unnecessary people out of the delivery room while being as unobtrusive as possible.

"A labor doula's job is to be invisible but there," she says.

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