Do You Know the Difference Between Doulas and Midwives?

Labor and BirthMidwiferyPregnancyNew and Expecting Mothers

Oct 20

Doulas and midwives share common ground in their great passion for the well-being of women and their babies through pregnancy and birth. Both professions champion trusting the power of a woman’s body to birth, and are devoted to supporting the birthing woman in the labor and birth process she desires. However, doulas and midwives have vastly different jobs and levels of responsibility.

Doulas

The word ‘doula’ is said to be from the Greek, meaning ‘with woman.’ Doulas are skilled, sensitive, labor-support professionals; they are privately hired by families to be with them during the labor and birth of their babies in a supportive way. The exact nature of the skills and information doulas might bring to each birth depend on:

The birthing location – Hospital, birth center, or home?
The birthing environment – A relaxed, supportive birth center; a friendly home; a high-risk medical center, or something in-between?
Birthing circumstances – Are the intentions to 'go natural', use pain meds, or a planned C-section?
Birth attendant – An obstetrician, family practice doc, nurse-midwife, or traditional midwife?

**Doulas are capable medical advocates, knowledgeable on the normal process of labor and birth**, and full of ideas to ease and facilitate the mother/baby’s birth process.

They aspire to be uplifting and positive presences for both the mother and her spouse/partner, and provide continuity of support throughout the labor process. Generally, doulas are interviewed, hired, and paid for by parents independent of their maternity care.

In addition to accompanying both mother and father/partner at the birth, the doula relationship will generally include at least a few meetings prenatally, to get to know each other and the family’s priorities, and 1-2 meetings during postpartum to debrief from the birth and answer questions about the baby and recovery. There are doulas who also provide in-home postpartum assistance and support as separate work.

Holistic Doulas

Holistic Doulas bring additional resources from the field of natural approaches to their birth families. In addition to the basic doula information such as positive positions for helping the labor progress, holistic doulas will also have education in a range of naturopathic support that may include nutrition, homeopathy, herbology, flower remedies, therapeutic use of essential oils, and much more.

There is growing interest in natural health, and in the benefits of blending natural approaches to increase safety and satisfaction in the birth process. Thoughtful and educated use of natural remedies will compliment medical approaches when they are needed or desired, it does not have to just be an either/or approach. Holistic doulas have an expanded range of helpful ideas when a client is experiencing severe pain, fear, or even when they are throwing up!

Midwives

Midwives are primary care providers, responsible for the health and well-being of the mother and unborn child throughout pregnancy, labor and birth. One kind of midwife is a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM), who most commonly works in medical settings such as hospitals with or under the OB/GYN physicians who are in overall charge of the labor and delivery unit.

**Another midwife attendant is a homebirth midwife;**

both a “Traditional Lay Midwife“ and a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) independently attend births in families’ homes, where they fully care for both mother and baby during labor, birth, and the immediate postpartum period. Depending on the state, sometimes these midwives also start independent birth centers and attend clients’ births there also.

All of these primary care providers are providing maternity care in the form of monthly prenatal visits in which they check the health, vital signs, and overall well-being of the mother and baby. Midwife prenatal appointments are likely to run 20 (CNM) -to- 60 (CPM) minutes each, with plenty of time to answer questions and offer information as well. This is compared to OB visits, which are generally much shorter, due to the mandates of insurance guidelines and medical scheduling.

Because of their shared, women-centered maternity health perspectives, midwives and doulas often appreciate each other’s work and may be at births together. Doulas assist mothers in positioning, provide emotional support and encouragement and act as an advocate for their individual birth plans, regardless of who is their health care provider.

Midwives may also do these things, but are actually delivering (or "catching") the babies, and are responsible for the health care monitoring and safety of the mother/baby dyad in labor and birth. Both doulas and midwives are uniquely positioned to empower mothers in their journey of becoming a family.