Hey all, Catherine here to talk to you about the difference between a doula and a midwife. So I get this question all the time. What is the difference between a do- what? A doula and a midwife?
So for starters, a doula is the, the word doula in Greek means a “woman who serves”. The word midwife means “with woman”. And the difference between a doula and a midwife is a doula is literally that, the woman that is serving another woman, she’s a labor partner. She’s there as kind of like a best friend, an auntie, a sister; to really be with a woman throughout her entire labor and to offer continuous labor support. She’s not there as a medical professional. She’s not trained as a medical professional. She does not know what to do in the case of an emergency situation. She is there strictly to help the woman navigate. Those, those experiences, whether those experiences progress as normal or whether they progress with complications, a doula is there to help that woman navigate and to be a buffer between that woman and her medical professional. To help her to create a nice, safe, peaceful, relaxing environment; to help her, to make her decisions, to help her to stand in her, in her authority as a birthing woman.
Now midwives, midwives are medical professionals. Midwives hold a license by the medical board. We talked about the three different kinds of midwives. Two of those hold licenses given to them by the medical board, and they are responsible for the care of mother and baby and follow a woman throughout her entire pregnancy, the birth and six weeks postpartum. Doulas usually are only there for about two prenatal visits with a mom. They’re there during the entire labor and maybe they do a couple visits postpartum, but usually that’s- a doula, is with a woman for a far less period of time. Midwives are with a woman for the complete care.
They are the, they’re the complete care provider for that woman. They are the care provider for low risk women. Obstetricians are, are the care provider for high risk women. I hope that helps to clear up any confusion about what’s the difference between a doula and a midwife, and stay tuned for our next video.