Spiby, H, Mcleish, J, Green, J et al. (1 more author) (2016) ‘The greatest feeling you get, knowing you have made a big difference’: survey findings on the motivation and experiences of trained volunteer doulas in England. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 16. 289. ISSN 1471-2393
Abstract
Background: Support from a doula is known to have physical and emotional benefits for mothers, but there is little evidence about the experiences of volunteer doulas. This research aimed to understand the motivation and experiences of volunteer doulas who have been trained to support women during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period. Methods: A postal questionnaire survey was sent to volunteer doulas at five volunteer doula projects working in low-income areas in England. Quantitative and qualitative data were analysed in parallel using summary statistics and content analysis respectively. Results: Eighty-nine volunteer doulas (response rate 34.5 %) from diverse backgrounds responded to the survey. Major motivators for volunteering included a desire to help others and, to a lesser extent, factors related to future employment. Most reported that the training was effective preparation for their role. They continued volunteering because they derived satisfaction from the doula role, and valued its social aspects. Their confidence, skills, employability and social connectedness had all increased, but many found the ending of the doula-mother relationship challenging. For a minority, negative aspects of their experience included time waiting to be allocated women to support and dissatisfaction with the way the doula service was run. Discussion and conclusions: Most respondents found the experience rewarding. To maintain doulas’ motivation as volunteers, services should: ensure doulas can start supporting women as soon as possible after completing the training; consider the merits of more flexible endings to the support relationship; offer opportunities for ongoing mutual support with other doulas, and ensure active support from service staff for volunteers.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 The Author(s). Open Access: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated, |
Keywords: | Trained volunteer doulas; social disadvantage; doulas’ experiences; maternity; peer support |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Healthcare (Leeds) > Midwifery (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 22 Sep 2016 10:55 |
Last Modified: | 05 Oct 2017 16:21 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-016-1086-6 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | BioMed Central |
Identification Number: | 10.1186/s12884-016-1086-6 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:104935 |