doula definitions

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: 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 [syn: labor coach, birthing coach, doula, monitrice]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Modern Greek, female helper, maidservant, from Greek doul? female slave Date: 1981 a woman experienced in childbirth who provides advice, information, emotional support, and physical comfort to a mother before, during, and just after childbirth