Doula
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A trained support person who provides emotional, physical and practical assistance to a pregnant woman or couple before, during or after childbirth.
"The function of the doula varies in different cultures from a little help here and there to complete succoring, including bathing, cooking, carrying, and feeding. Whatever the doula does, however, is less important than the fact that she is there."
- 2 an assistant (often the father of the soon-to-be-born child) who provides support for a woman in labor by encouraging her to use techniques learned in childbirth-preparation classes wordnet
- 3 A trained person who provides similar support to someone who is diagnosed with an incurable condition and is receiving end-of-life care.
Example
More examples"The function of the doula varies in different cultures from a little help here and there to complete succoring, including bathing, cooking, carrying, and feeding. Whatever the doula does, however, is less important than the fact that she is there."
Etymology
Borrowed from Greek δούλα (doúla, “servant-woman”), from Ancient Greek δούλη (doúlē, “female slave”). Popularized by the American anthropologist Dana Raphael in the book The Tender Gift: Breastfeeding (1973), where the word is credited to Eleni Rassias.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.