Professionally reviewed by Or Bar Natan – Certified Birth Doula and Childbirth Educator
It happens that the first Doula I met in my life became a friend of mine, and until I got to know her, I thought Doulas and Midwives were the same. As it turns out they are not at all…
As my friend explained to me, Doulas give mental support to a woman who is about to give birth, whereas midwives physically deliver the baby and have a whole other education, qualification, and certification. The support a doula can give is both physical, through certain massage techniques for example, and mental through preparation, explanation, and talking.
What kind of doulas are there?
Birth Doula
A birth doula attends life birth and helps the woman cope with labor pain and active progress. Studies showed that births attended by a doula had less intervention through pain medication and c-sections and in general had a more positive experience for the woman. Your doula will accompany you during your whole pregnancy, starting as soon as you hire her.
Postpartum doula
A postpartum doula is someone who looks after a woman who just gave birth. During this fragile time, it can be such a comfort for a young mom to have some support of any kind. If it is a simple talk, a good laugh, someone to share your thoughts, or just holding the baby for a moment, a postpartum doula is there to give a hand on whatever you need.
What kind of qualifications does a doula have?
There are several organizations that certify doulas worldwide, like DONA International, for example. They provide training and workshops, where doulas learn CPR, how to support a woman during birth, through different positioning, and recognize possible complications.
Postpartum doulas learn how to care for newborns and new mothers, as well as recognize signs of postpartum depression.
Doulas have to give support to a certain number of families before they get their certification.
Doulas don`t provide any medical advice or medical care.
What kind of qualifications does a midwife have?
A midwife has to have a university degree. Before birth, a midwife may see you a couple of times to explain about pregnancy and giving birth and to get to know you. She can check on you and the baby, she can monitor your baby and the progress of labor. A midwife can provide pain medication and she will deliver your baby. She will recognize complications -which part of them she can solve- or call for a doctor. After birth, she can give you and your husband advice and check on you and the baby during postpartum.
So do I need both?
The simple answer to that would be: That is totally up to you and your needs. But here are a few explanations to make the tasks of both a little clearer.
Hospital Birth
Typically, if you chose to give birth at a hospital there will be a midwife to deliver your baby. But in most cases, she will not be able to give you the mental support a doula could give you. And many times midwives are not that sensitive about your specific needs and how you want the whole thing to be, For them, the most important thing is to deliver a healthy baby.
Women often take doulas as some sort of speaker, to make sure that there is someone to speak up for their wants if they can`t do it themselves during labor and contraction pain.
Having a doula going through all the ups and downs with you from the beginning of your pregnancy, she will be a person of trust by the time you give birth. A person you can rely on, and feel safe and comfortable with while all the other hospital staff are total strangers.
Studies showed that doula-attended births had less need for medical intervention and an overall more positive experience described by mothers.
So at a hospital, it can be a great advantage to have a doula with you, who is with you the whole time and supports you during the whole process of delivering your child.
Home birth
While at the hospital a midwife circulates between you and other women who are about to give birth, at home your midwife is just for you. So naturally, you might ask yourself why you would have a doula in addition. First, to say, a doula and a midwife concentrate on different things, and they are:
What a midwife concentrates on:
- Possible complications to be detected early during labor
- Monitoring your baby
- Checking on your baby`s position
- Checking on your progress in dilation
- Delivering your baby
- Solving minor issues and complications that don`t make a transfer to the hospital necessary
- Checking the baby after it is born
- Cord clamping and all the after-care
What your doula concentrates on:
- Help you progress with labor through positioning
- Help relieve labor pain through breathing, positioning, and special massages
- Calm you down
- Give a hand to other kids around the house
- Bring you things you need like water, towels, a snack…
- Help your midwife if she needs a hand
- Help calm down your husband if he needs it 🙂
- Take pictures so you and your husband can enjoy without distraction
As you see, both have their own tasks and yet, many of them overlap. Doulas and midwives like to work as a team and many midwives prefer to have a doula around as another professional to help handle certain situations or complications.
If you already have too many people around, maybe your mum, maybe your mother-in-law, maybe a sister or aunt, that may be enough for mental support, and you may not want or need someone else.
In the end, it is up to you, and you might as well be okay with only your midwife, but if you feel you need extra mental support and some of the other experts of a doula mentioned above you should consider hiring one.
Where does my husband fit in?
A midwife, a doula… Where does my husband fit in? you might ask yourself that. Well, a doula does not attend your birth to take your husband`s place or role in the scenario! In fact, the opposite is true! Your doula works with you the entire pregnancy to get to know you and your husband and learn about your both needs and wishes. She will teach your husband how to support you and she will help him help you the way you need. And no matter what kind of a guy he is, with the support of your doula he may be even more able to be his best self for you!
Final thoughts…
In our time women don`t support each other as they did once… Before, when a woman had a child, half the neighborhood would be there to help. This way there was no need to really “hire” support. And not only during the actual birth, even more in the postpartum phase, but every woman in the village would also give hand with something… One would cook and bring over food, and the other help bathes the baby or take care of the older children… not surprising that it was possible to raise about six children while today three are considered more than average.
Not every woman has a mom close by, or some other woman who is close enough to be that sort of mental support. And not every husband is enough of a rock to be the right person for that kind of job.
I would have been grateful, could my doula had attended the birth of my last child. (I did not know her when I had the first two..) Unfortunately, the little princess decided it was a time exactly during the doula`s summer vacation. As she wanted to be there for me as a friend, we had no “backup doula” who could be there for me, and I definitely regret not having hired one!
If not for anything, at least I would have some pictures!
Related and further reading
Sources
.