Doulas teach mothering and let moms rest

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The trend toward discharging new mothers from the hospital earlier is fueling the need for postpartum care, says Alice Gilgoff, a midwife who runs Mother Nurture in Glen Oaks, the oldest doula service in New York State. Gilgoff, who started her business in 1987, says there is more demand for doulas than ever before. "When I started, people would call up and couldn't even pronounce doula; now we get 25 calls a week."

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Abby Farber-Robinson, a social policy researcher from Douglaston, heard about doulas about a year ago, while she was online talking to other pregnant women. "I knew I was having twins and would need a lot of help," she says. "Someone told me she hired a nurse and she had to make all of her meals while the nurse took over the whole show. I liked that a doula takes care of the needs of the family so you can take care of the baby."

While Robinson rested, her doula cooked, did the laundry and wrote baby announcements. She also taught Robinson and her husband, David, how to trim the babies' nails, bathe them, take their temperatures and diaper them.

While a nurse would have left her and her husband without any new knowledge about child care, she says, "She left us feeling empowered."