12/13/2025
At OHMI Midwives, we 100% support you hiring a doula. We appreciate the support and team effort brought in helping to create the birth YOU want!!!
Knowledge is the most powerful intervention.
When parents understand what’s happening, why it’s being suggested, and what their alternatives are, they’re far less likely to consent out of fear or pressure. Research consistently shows that education and informed support change birth outcomes.
Studies on comprehensive childbirth education show lower rates of epidural use and cesarean birth, and higher rates of spontaneous vaginal birth, especially when education includes physiology of labor, coping skills, and informed consent.
Continuous education and support (like doulas + classes) is associated with:
~25% fewer cesarean births
~10–15% lower epidural use
~Shorter labors
~Higher satisfaction with the birth experience
Fear and lack of understanding are linked to higher intervention rates. When fear drops, the need for intervention often drops with it.
Education doesn’t mean you’ll never choose an intervention.
It means you choose it intentionally, not because you felt rushed, confused, or backed into a corner.
When my clients ask me, “What do you think?” or “What would you do?” my answer is almost always the same:
👉 Read both sides.
👉 Learn why people say yes and why people say no.
👉 Don’t be closed-minded. Be informed.
Read about the controversial topics. Learn the benefits and the risks. Understand the physiology and the medical perspective. Because at the end of the day, you are the one responsible for your child and the choices you make, not your provider, not social media, not your birth class instructor.
Education protects you from:
~Making decisions rooted in fear
~Second-guessing yourself later
~Feeling regret, shame, or “I wish I had known”
~Being told, “You don’t really have a choice” when you actually do
Informed parents are confident parents.
Confidence lowers fear.
Lower fear leads to better outcomes.
Education doesn’t tell you what to choose, it gives you the clarity to trust yourself when it’s time to choose.
