You’ve heard the term “doula,” but you may be wondering… What exactly does a doula do? And how are they different from a midwife or obstetrician (OB)? Let’s dig into the different roles of your care team, starting with the doula…

A doula is a professional labor support person. They help support the birther from the prenatal period through postpartum by providing emotional, educational, and physical support. They are supportive of any birth that the birthing person wants, and are trained to help support physiological and medically managed birth. They are usually an independent entity hired by the birthing person and work for them, although there are some hospital or birth center employed doulas.

Like doulas, midwives and OBs generally have your best interests at heart. Unlike the doula, the midwife or OB are usually beholden to the place where they practice and are often bound by external factors like hospital policy. The midwife and OB are also medical care providers, doing all physical exams (along with nurses), aiding in emergency situations, and catching the baby. The OB is also a surgeon and would perform a cesarean, if deemed necessary.

While both OBs and midwives can be supportive of physiological birth, midwives tend to be more on that side of the spectrum than OBs. There are also two different types of midwives: certified nurse midwives and certified professional midwives (also known as direct-entry midwives). If you want to learn more about the different types of midwives, check out this link.

It’s great to consider all of these different options for your medical care team, if they are available to you, and to choose the care provider that makes the most sense for your personal situation and preferences. Whatever choice you make, it’s important to feel supported and listened to by your care team.

While your medical care team hopefully cares about making sure you have a positive birth experience, it’s their goal first and foremost to keep you and the baby healthy. At many hospitals, the medical staff is very busy and while they will make sure you are safe, they may not be able to provide the comfort and support that is so important to how you feel in your birth experience. Even in a birth center or home setting, your medical team often has their hands full focusing on the medical needs of your birth. It is not always possible for a medical care provider to also be doing the work of emotionally supporting you.

If you have a partner, they will help with that critical element of emotional support, but this is an emotional and sometimes overwhelming time for them, as well. They know you and will do their best to help you, but this is their birth experience, too, and they probably don’t have a lot of experience with birth. A partner is an expert on you, while a doula is an expert in birth. This is where a doula makes a difference.

Doulas are there as your rock of knowledge, strength, and perspective when you need us most. We know birth and we will help you to feel empowered in yours.

If you want to learn more and live in Greater Boston, Worcester, the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, or Southern New Hampshire, I would love to talk to you! Please get in touch.

If you aren’t in those areas, I highly recommend doulamatch.net for finding an available doula near you.

With love and respect,

Megan