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Birth Partners is a volunteer program at UNC Health Care that provides free, trained, volunteer doulas to all mothers laboring at N.C. Women’s Hospital. This year, they have made a special commitment to UNC Horizons.

UNC Horizons is pleased to announce that UNC has a Volunteer Doula Program for pregnant women in treatment at UNC Horizons. This program is run by UNC Birth Partners.

Specially selected doulas will be in the Horizons prenatal clinic to talk to women about our services and what to expect when they go to the hospital to give birth.

UNC Birth Partners doulas are available for Horizons clients delivering at N.C. Women’s Hospital. Doulas provide care for moms during labor and childbirth, and the immediate postpartum period.

What is a Doula?

The word “doula” comes from a Greek word meaning “woman helper.” Today, a doula is a birth companion. A doula is trained to give physical, emotional, and informational support to women and families during labor and birth.

Research shows women who have help from a doula at birth are more likely to:

  • have shorter labors
  • have a natural birth
  • rate their childbirth experience as positive
  • avoid pain medication
  • have babies with healthy ratings 5 minutes after birth
  • be satisfied with their birth experience

About UNC Birth Partners

All of our doulas are professionally trained; many through the international organization DONA International (Doulas of North America International), to Labor (formerly ALACE), or CAPPA (Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association).

Our doulas are committed to helping every laboring woman have a satisfying birth experience. We believe that a doula’s continuous caring support helps a woman have a more positive birth experience, regardless of the type of labor and birth experienced. In addition, it is our goal to foster friend or family participation (when applicable) and to help establish breastfeeding for those women who choose to breastfeed.

If you have any questions or want further information, please contact:

Stacey Klaman
UNC Birth Partners

or

Rhonda Lanning
UNC Birth Partners
Program Manager