What's a Doula?
I get asked this question so often, and I can answer differently each time I'm asked. I really like this article from babycenter that explains the role of a doula for a mother and a father.

A doula is a private labor coach who will assist you during labor and delivery. One of the anxiety-producing things about anticipating labor and delivery is that it's impossible to predict or control how it will go. Will you connect emotionally with your labor and delivery nurse, and will she have time for you? How will you react to the pain? Will you have a swift delivery or a long, drawn-out labor? How will your husband or partner hold up under the pressure?

Faced with the uncertainty of labor, many women find enormous reassurance in having a doula by their side. In fact, research has found that women who have one-on-one professional labor support tend to have shorter labors, fewer complications, and healthier newborns. The theory is that mothers who have this support in labor produce lower levels of stress hormones than women left alone or attended by inexperienced coaches.

If you're seeing a midwife in a low-volume hospital practice or planning to give birth at a birth center or at home, you're likely to have this continuous one-on-one support from your midwife. But during a traditional hospital birth, most physicians and some midwives don't stay in the room with you continuously during labor, and labor-and-delivery nurses often must split their time between several patients, not to mention coming and going according to their shifts. So hiring a doula may be the only way to assure that an experienced coach will be with you throughout the labor and delivery process.

If you're serious about having your baby without drugs, a doula may be your best ally. And if you think you might want to go the epidural route, a doula can help make the experience less stressful and more satisfying.