Doulas are becoming more and more popular in Australia and many women find having a doula attend their birth and support them pre and post natally makes a significant positive difference to their experience, and research supports this view. In Canberra we are lucky to have some wonderful doulas, you can find their details on the website www.yogaforbirthandbeyond.com.au. A great article about doulas, birth helpers, is Doulas . Its from the excellent website promoting natural birth www.bellybelly.com.au
If you choose not to have a doula, you might like to consider having an extra back up person, a sister, close friend, your mother to be on call or go with you. Labour is unpredictable and your birth partner and you may really appreciate having extra support and help.