Ch.3/ Difference between doulas and midwives
Learn the differences between these two people and why you most likely need both at your birth.
As a doula, I get this question a lot! People often confuse what a midwife and a doula does and sometimes they think the terms are interchangeable but that’s not true! These are the differences between a midwife and a doula:
A midwife is a medical professional skilled in pregnancy and gynecological care. Unlike an OBGYN, they are not trained in cesarean’s and instead or focused on the physiological and normal aspect of birth. You would hire either an OBGYN or a midwife as your care provider in pregnancy and birth. Most often, you would need to have a low risk pregnancy to be cared for by a midwife.
There are 3 levels of midwifery credentials:
Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) – certified by the North American Registry of Midwives.
Certified Midwife (CM) – midwives that have completed a post-grad degree in midwifery and are also certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board.
Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) – registered nurses who have a master’s or doctorate degree in nursing and also certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board.
It’s important to understand how your midwife is certified in learning about their background and how their practice can best support you.
Midwives often are hired for homebirths or at birthing centers but some hospitals have midwives working in their Maternity ward so it is possible to have a hospital birth with a midwife.
Now that we know what a midwife is, let’s talk about doulas! A doula is NOT a medical professional and they do not preform any medical procedures. Sometimes when I tell someone a doula, they ask how many babies I’ve delivered and I can very confidently say “None!”
A doula offers educational, physical, and emotional support. There is no official governing body that certifies doulas since they are not medical professionals. Many doulas choose to get certified through a private company but certifications vary widely so if hiring a certified doula is important to you then asking a lot of questions about their certification process is key. One certification is often very different from another!
Doulas are there to fill a missing gap in the medical system by providing the continuity of care and emotional and educational guidance that many OBGYN’s and midwives are just too busy to provide to each client. Birth doulas are there prenatally to help you prepare for the birth, attend your entire labor and delivery, and then check in postpartum to see how you’re doing and if you need additional support.
Long ago and still in different cultures around the world, doulas didn’t officially exist in this same way because communities provided this care organically. Doulas provide a model of care that gets back to that community centered care which is so helpful and nourishing during pregnancy and postpartum.
Does this sound like care that you’d be interested in? Reach out to me! I’d love to talk with you about how a doula can positively impact your birth experience.
