Factors contributing to not using doulas in public hospitals within the Tshwane District, South Africa

The Tshwane district region from the 3 hospitals where the research was conducted recognizes the importance of doulas and their need to provide high-quality support to pregnant women. Doulas are currently not available in their facilities, and they would gladly like to have them available in their facilities, but they are not sure of their regulatory body and accreditation process. They reported to have known what doulas are and recognize their importance. Midwives communicated that the barriers to not being able to fully support their patients are due to high staff shortages and high patient-nurse ratios currently. They agreed that doulas would be of benefit to the patient support care team. A quantitative data collection method was used with the aid of a questionnaire to collect the data.<br>