I work as a community midwife and have worked with a few doulas in the past and they have all been pleasurable working partnerships. This article aims to explain the differences between the two job roles and explore the ways in which we can work together to provide holistic care for the woman and her family.
So, what are the differences between a Midwife and a Doula?
Doulas |
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Can |
Cannot |
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Provide emotional and physical support during pregnancy, birth and postnatally |
Physically deliver the baby |
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Help with coaching, birth planning, hypnobirthing |
Provide any medical advice or suggestions |
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Use massage and complementary therapies |
Physically examine, diagnose, or treat any medical issues or complications |
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Be with the woman and family without needing to document or adhere to policies Stay with the family for the duration of the labour |
Make any decisions regar |
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Help with non labour/pregnancy reated issues such as housework and childcare |
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Midwives |
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Do |
Do Not |
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Physically examine, diagnose, or treat any medical issues or complications |
Help |
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Provide care and support during pregnancy, birth and postnatal care of mother and baby up until baby is 28 days old |
Stay with the family for the duration of the labour unless they choose to do so |
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Perform minor procedures such as suturing (stitching), episiotomies, emergency procedures |
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Provide complementary therapies within hospital guidelines |
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<a href=”http://being.successfultogether.co.uk/click.asp?ref=751528&site=3982&type=b1335&bnb=1335″ target=”_blank”><br /><br />
<img src=”http://become.successfultogether.co.uk/view.asp?ref=751528&site=3982&b=1335″ border=”0″ title=”Debenhams” alt=”Debenhams” width=”728″ height=”90″ /></a> As you can see, they overlap in certain areas, but basically a midwife is more responsible for the woman’s medical care during pregnancy as well as supporting them in their birth choices and signposting them to any social care they may need. A Doula is hired privately by the woman and can tailor their package as it suits them, they may want a birth partner and advocate with background knowledge to support their birth plan or just some extra support around their life changing event!
How can we work together?
There’s no reason why we can’t work together. During pregnancy they help prepare the woman for birth, which makes a midwife’s job easier when they know what to expect. Some midwives may feel ‘pushed out’ (excuse the pun) by the presence of a doula at a birth, but I for one see them as an added bonus. It means I can confidently perform my necessary tasks such as record keeping, checking equipment, noting the history (particularly if I haven’t met the lady before), performing check ups and dealing with any deviations from the norm whilst someone she knows and trust can support her physically and emotionally. I can also be of added support when needed. Having a Doula present at a birth also means there’s an additional pair if hands! Invaluable. If there are any complications or slight changes in the plan, the Doula can help to explain the rationale for this and help the family come to terms with it. Afterwards they can help with any de-briefing, and provide extra support that a midwife just can’t do due to workload.
Tips for working together:
- Respect each other’s roles
- Co-ordinate postnatal visits so that they are separate, the woman gets twice as many visits and therefore more support
- Work together not against each other
- Doulas can improve birth outcomes and breastfeeding rates so a good working partnership is essential.
I personally think Doulas are a great idea, and should be more available to women, not just privately. What do you think?
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