All right, in this video, we're going to talk about the whole labor support team can work together.

By the end of this video, you'll be able to discuss the major barriers that prevent effective teamwork

and describe how doulas and partners and nurses can work together to improve outcomes.

What I often see is that there is a gap between the family's expectations and reality.

The truth is that labor and giving birth involves a lot of work.

People expect that their nurse is going to be there to provide continuous support

and maybe that their midwife or even their doctor will be there the whole time.

But that's not possible or practical.

Also, many people are surprised by how much

labor support takes out of them. And in the end, there's just this need for a solid support team

to get through the process. In a perfect world, the laboring person would be at the center of

their care. The social structure would be collaborative and characterized by trust,

communication, honesty, and respect. Unfortunately, in many hospital birthing settings, the childbearing

family is entering a rigid hierarchical power structure in which administration and doctors are at the

top, midwives have less power, nurses have even less power,

and clients, their partners, and their doulas are towards the bottom of the power hierarchy.

Horizontal violence and internalized oppression can interfere with teamwork, and advocacy

is sometimes considered a dirty word by doulas. Also, bullying behaviors and toxic culture are problems in a lot of labor

and delivery units. In one study published in 2007, the researchers found that the majority

of labor and deliver units reported experiencing disruptive behaviors such as angry outbursts,

rudeness, verbal attacks, intimidation,

and a lack of administrative support to resolve conflict and to create a more supportive workplace.

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