3 ways doulas can support access to birth control

Every year we celebrate Thanks, Birth Control Day to highlight how birth control can shape people’s lives and to push for access for everyone. As part of that conversation, let’s talk about how doulas, especially birth and postpartum doulas, can help.  Just as they educate, coach, and advocate around pregnancy and postpartum care, doulas can also be a trusted partner in the birth control information and access space. Doulas are already deeply embedded in their communities, building one-on-one relationships with people and families, and connecting them to trusted resources. 

So here are three ways doulas support clients when it comes to birth control:

1. They can help you figure out what you want and share trusted information.

Did you know that if someone wanted to, they can use a hormonal birth control method even while breast/chestfeeding their baby?

Doulas aren’t expected to know everything, but they’re skilled at finding trusted, reliable resources and talking with clients about personal values and how those values shape their choices. Doulas can help you identify what’s most important to you in picking a birth control method and which methods align with your needs.

• Maybe you’re interested in a method without hormones (like condoms, internal condoms, spermicides and gels, or a non-hormonal IUD).
• Maybe you’re interested in a method that doesn’t impact lactation (like the non-hormonal methods listed above plus progestin-only methods like the mini-pill, the IUDs, the shot, and the implant).
• Maybe you’re interested in something you can stop and start on your own (like condoms and other barrier methods, spermicides and gels, and the mini-pill).

2. They can support you in conversations with your provider.

Have you ever felt rushed during an appointment or thought of a really good question only after you left the provider’s office?

Doulas can help you prepare for those upcoming visits and conversations with your providers. They can work with you to come up with a plan for your next visit to ensure your questions get answered and you feel confident advocating for yourself. They might:

• give you tools to gather information (like BRAIN).

• role play conversations with you to practice how you would like to advocate for yourself.

• support you in taking notes of topics you’d like to cover in your appointment (like side effects or switching birth control methods).

• help you identify which questions to ask, like “What are common side effects?”, “Does this method protect me right away?”, and “What’s the best way to get in contact with you if there’s an issue?”.

They can also help you figure out if or when you want to have a conversation about birth control with your provider, and advocate for the next steps that feel best for you. For example, some postpartum parents are ready to talk about their birth control options, or starting a method, shortly after having their baby, while others would like to talk about options before birth, and others may need more time. Doulas can help you navigate those conversations.

3. They can connect you to supportive resources and care.

Did you know that one of the benefits of working with a doula is their connections to local care and support resources?

If doulas don’t know something, they usually know someone who does. And if they can’t do something, they usually know or can find someone trusted in the community who can! Most doulas have an extensive resource list they can use to provide referrals to clients. They’re also tapped into local care and support community networks—from lactation consultants to social services to nannies to specialized providers. Helping you access care where you feel heard and can receive information in a non-judgmental and unbiased way applies to more than just birth and postpartum care but extends to so many other areas of your life, like birth control decisions.

It’s important that folks feel safe and supported as they make decisions about birth control. With the existing skills that doulas have and how they already show up in communities and with people, they could be a great partner to support you accessing information and care.