Midwife or Birth Doula?
Written by Shay Gabriel
“If I have a midwife, is there any point in hiring a birth doula?”
The short answer? Yes, absolutely!
Midwives and doulas are not one and the same. There is great benefit to hiring a birth doula whether you're in the care of an obstetrician, family doctor, or midwife, and regardless of where you're giving birth.
While there is some overlap among their goals in serving the birthing person, midwives and doulas each have their own set of qualifications and duties to fulfill. We clear up some of the differences below, in the form of a fun quiz.
(If you wanna cut to the chase, we provide a short-and-sweet definition of these roles at the end of the quiz.)
Midwife or birth doula?
Typically provides care for the birthing person throughout pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum
Answer: Both! Quality midwives and birth doulas both offer services throughout the pre- and post-natal periods, though the services they provide differ.
Provides maternity & wellness exams
Answer: Midwife. Throughout pregnancy and labor, midwives observe progress and assess risk, recommending medical care for high-risk patients as necessary.
Provides education & evidence-based resources throughout pregnancy, promoting self-advocacy & informed consent
Answer: Both! Quality midwives and birth doulas will support your right to informed consent, and to that end, they will educate you with evidence-based research, provide helpful resources, and offer insight into their knowledge of the birth world. Doulas are also expected to emotionally support their birth clients; quality midwives will connect with clients on an emotional level, too.
Who I should update when I think I'm going into labor // Typically the first to join the birthing person in labor
Answer: Update both, so they're on alert and ready to arrive as needed. First to arrive? Usually the doula. While there are certainly exceptions, it's typical to call on physical and emotional support from a doula first, while still laboring at home. If you're giving birth outside of the home, a doula will typically accompany you to the birthing center or hospital, which is where your midwife will join you. If you're planning a homebirth, a midwife will typically arrive once labor has really amped up. Doulas will sometimes coordinate with midwives on your behalf, as they can generally tell when things are picking up! (This is such a perk to having a doula, as it frees you to check out, focus inward, and enter into the meditative state of labor land.)
Fosters an environment conducive to labor
Answer: Doula! Part of a doula's role is to foster an environment conducive to birth. Dark, calm spaces can support the flow of oxytocin, so a doula might set up a warm bath in a dark bathroom with twinkly lights, soothing oils, and relaxing meditations, for example. This support is especially helpful when a birthing person feels jolted out of labor land by transferring to hospital triage or catching the light of the rising sun.
Provides non-medical comfort measures throughout labor
Answer: Doulas are trained to provide non-medical comfort measures throughout labor, such as applying counterpressure on the sacrum during a contraction, or offering a relaxing massage.
Skilled in repositioning exercises
Answer: Both — doula with birthing person’s labor positions, midwife with labor positions and also with medical repositioning methods
Checks vitals throughout labor
Answer: Midwives are medically/clinically trained professionals who are expected to intermittently check the baby's heart rate throughout labor. Midwives assess risk and are tasked with suggesting any further medical intervention as essential.
Provides afterbirth medical care and repair as needed
Answer: Midwives are trained to assist with birth of the placenta and provide any necessary suturing in the case of perineal tearing.
By definition: A healthcare professional who is medically/clinically trained to care for the birthing person and newborn in childbirth
Answer: Midwife! A midwife essentially replaces the role of an obstetrician, unless/until further medical intervention is deemed necessary or is desired by the birthing person. While obstetricians are mainly trained for medicated and surgical birth (the medical birth model), the midwifery model of care focuses on physiologic birth and seeks to minimize intervention unless/until deemed necessary.
By definition: A non-medical support person whose primary role is to support and guide the birthing person
Answer: Doula! You can think of a doula as someone who is right there in it with you -- much like a perceptive birth partner, only with lots of firsthand experience.
Are you interested in hiring a birth doula? Learn more about sprout and blossom doula support here.
Shay Gabriel is a content creator for Sprout and Blossom whose love of parenthood and psychology has merged into a super-obsession of all things birthy and baby. She believes an informed experience lends to an empowered experience, no matter where you are along the journey.