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A Mack Explains video about the evolution of human birth raises an interesting question: do women really need help to give birth? I explore what the research tells us about the human pelvis, physiology and why we may have evolved to give birth with others nearby. Perhaps support was never about making birth happen, but about protecting the conditions that allow it to happen.

There's a question I'm frequently asked: why is my doula preparation course so short? Can a four-day workshop plus a pre- and post-course module prepare someone who has no other formal training to become a doula? I always answer yes. I don’t say that lightly, by the way. I have nearly two decades experience facilitating doula courses and set up my own training company in 2012. This year alone, I'm running 12 courses up and down the country and I am always reviewing, developin