Definition of "doula" [doula]

• A woman who assists another woman during labor and provides support to her, the infant, and the family after childbirth. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The original meaning of the word doula comes from the Greek word for the most important female slave or servant in an ancient Greek household, the woman who probably helped the lady of the house through her childbearing."
• "Anthropologist Dana Raphael first used the term doula to refer to experienced mothers who assisted new mothers in breastfeeding and newborn care in the book Tender Gift: Breastfeeding 1973."
• "Although the word doula is Greek in origin, it is commonly used today to describe a professional birth assistant."