Multi-Tasking Community-Based Bilingual Doulas are Bridging Gaps – Despite Standing on Fragile Ground. A Qualitative Study of Doulas’ Experiences in Sweden

Abstract

\n Background: Community-based Bilingual Doulas (CBDs) are women from migrant communities trained to support and comfort migrant women during labour and birth. The aim of the study was to describe CBDs’ experiences of supporting migrant women during labour and birth, working alongside caregivers, and to explore CBDs perceptions of their work situation in a Swedish setting. Methods: As part of an ongoing randomised trial of CBD support in Stockholm, Sweden, semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with nine of the 35 participating CBDs. Results: The overarching theme which emerged was “Multi-tasking bilingual doulas bridging gaps – despite standing on fragile ground”. To reach out a helping hand and receive appreciation from the women when their needs were met, motivated the CBDs to continue despite the constraints related to roles, working conditions and boundaries. The CBDs felt proud of being acknowledged, although they did also feel a need for more supervision and education. Conclusion: The CBDs experienced their doula tasks as meaningful and emotionally rewarding, which mostly outweighed the challenges of their work which they saw as insecure, exhausting and underpaid. If CBDs are implemented on a larger scale, the scope of their role, education, access to supervision and working conditions all need to be better addressed.