CORE LAB Only - The primary aim of the proposed project is to examine the effects of doula support on salivary cortisol levels of laboring women so the underlying physiological mechanism of doula support can be understood. Our hypothesis is that the presence of a supportive doula will cause a laboring woman's cortisol levels to be lower than when the doula is not present. The secondary aim of this project is to observe the effects of the doula's presence on the parents' interactions with their newborn. If the doula encourages the parents to hold their baby, parents may be likely to spend a greater proportion of time holding the infant in the first two hours after birth. The salivary cortisol assays are performed by RIA in the GCRC Core laboratory. Four new CWRU medical students and a nursing student assisted with the study operation this year. Total patients enrolled was 27. Twenty-three support persons also provided specimens for salivary cortisol analysis. In the past year, 110 samples were obtained from 19 laboring women at various points during labor and 158 valid samples from 20 support persons. Due to the difficulty of getting samples from the subjects, no one subject has provided a complete sample set. Results from third-year data analysis, while limited by sample size and non-random nature of enrollment, demonstrate a reduction in obstetric interventions for those utilizing doula support.
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