‘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
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...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
BioMed Central
2016
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/37562/ |
| _version_ | 1848795484672491520 |
|---|---|
| author | Spiby, Helen Mcleish, Jenny Green, Josephine Darwin, Zoe |
| author_facet | Spiby, Helen Mcleish, Jenny Green, Josephine Darwin, Zoe |
| author_sort | Spiby, Helen |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:32:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-37562 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:32:49Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | BioMed Central |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-375622020-05-04T18:09:18Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/37562/ ‘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 Spiby, Helen Mcleish, Jenny Green, Josephine Darwin, Zoe 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. BioMed Central 2016-09-29 Article PeerReviewed Spiby, Helen, Mcleish, Jenny, Green, Josephine and Darwin, Zoe (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 (1). 289/1-289/11. ISSN 1471-2393 Trained volunteer doulas; Social disadvantage; Doulas’ experiences; Maternity; Peer support http://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-016-1086-6 doi:10.1186/s12884-016-1086-6 doi:10.1186/s12884-016-1086-6 |
| spellingShingle | Trained volunteer doulas; Social disadvantage; Doulas’ experiences; Maternity; Peer support Spiby, Helen Mcleish, Jenny Green, Josephine Darwin, Zoe ‘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 |
| title | ‘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 |
| title_full | ‘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 |
| title_fullStr | ‘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 |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘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 |
| title_short | ‘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 |
| title_sort | ‘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 |
| topic | Trained volunteer doulas; Social disadvantage; Doulas’ experiences; Maternity; Peer support |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/37562/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/37562/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/37562/ |