In India, midwives have been around for ages. A similar trend seems to be catching on in the US.

With labor and delivery rooms being crowded these days, some pregnant mothers in the US are hiring doulas or Greek for ‘woman’s servant’, to help them through delivery.

Julie Trotter endured six hours of hard labor before the birth of her first child.

However, Julie had support in the delivery room from not only her husband, but also from a doula.

Kai Martin short is one of more than 25-hundred certified doulas in the US. They are trained to comfort women during labor using massage and breathing techniques to cope with the pain.

"It takes a special person to be a doula because you have to be able to make people feel comfortable pretty easily and I think moms and dads can sense when you really care and you're nurturing and calming," says Martin.

Doulas are not trained to give medical advice. Some doctors say that can create tension.

Says gynaecologist Dr Sean Lambert, "Occasionally we need to intervene and occasionally there is a little friction over what we might recommend."

"It can be tricky, I've never had a problem with any doctors or or midwives or nurses even, because I think it's about your approach," says another certified doula, Kai Martin Short.

And it is an approach that gives new parents confidence during one of the most special moments of their lives.