This is a question I've encountered a few times throughout my career as a doula. While I completely bow down in awe of many midwives and their awesome super powers, unless they are only acting in the capacity as a "doula," they are absolutely not doulas. Nor are we midwives. Midwives are there to watch over the health and safety of you and your baby during pregnancy, and birth, and while they may be a little better at spending more time with you during that process than say an OB, chances are, you won't see them other than the occasional checking in on you, and again at delivery time.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE MIDWIVES! Can I say that again? I LOVE LOVE LOVE MIDWIVES! And here in our area (upstate NY), we have some great ones, even though there are only a few! There are also a few home-birth midwives here. The home-birth midwives are much better at being there for most of labor and delivery, because you are usually their only patient in labor at the time. Even so, they are still responsible for your well-being and that of your baby. Much of their time is comprised of vital signs, and other procedures. They are there to hold space for you and to watch for any complications. As awesome as they are, to expect a midwife to also care for your every whim, and do hip squeezes at the most intense part of labor is a bit of a stretch.
This is why doulas are AWESOME! As doulas, our sole responsibility is to support you in any way we can. We are there to give you sips of water when you are thirsty, to offer knowledge of labor positioning, to lean on when things get hard(quite literally), to hold your hand, to listen when it seems like no one else will. We are a second set of eyes in the room. We remind you of your wishes when it seems like things may be going in a different direction. We are there to support YOU and your wishes! We are not hired by the hospital, we are hired by YOU. We attend many long births, sometimes going hours without food/sleep/showers. We are there through the tough parts and joyous parts. All because we are passionate about what we do, and how important birth is.
If you have a midwife as your provider, awesome! If you have an OB as your provider, awesome! If you have the support of a Doula along with one of the former, you have a powerful asset to your birth! There is something extremely powerful about the support of another woman during labor. Every woman wants to have the birth of her dreams, and while we can't guarantee that everything will go as planned during birth, we can guarantee unwavering support and love during one of the most important events of your life.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE MIDWIVES! Can I say that again? I LOVE LOVE LOVE MIDWIVES! And here in our area (upstate NY), we have some great ones, even though there are only a few! There are also a few home-birth midwives here. The home-birth midwives are much better at being there for most of labor and delivery, because you are usually their only patient in labor at the time. Even so, they are still responsible for your well-being and that of your baby. Much of their time is comprised of vital signs, and other procedures. They are there to hold space for you and to watch for any complications. As awesome as they are, to expect a midwife to also care for your every whim, and do hip squeezes at the most intense part of labor is a bit of a stretch.
This is why doulas are AWESOME! As doulas, our sole responsibility is to support you in any way we can. We are there to give you sips of water when you are thirsty, to offer knowledge of labor positioning, to lean on when things get hard(quite literally), to hold your hand, to listen when it seems like no one else will. We are a second set of eyes in the room. We remind you of your wishes when it seems like things may be going in a different direction. We are there to support YOU and your wishes! We are not hired by the hospital, we are hired by YOU. We attend many long births, sometimes going hours without food/sleep/showers. We are there through the tough parts and joyous parts. All because we are passionate about what we do, and how important birth is.
If you have a midwife as your provider, awesome! If you have an OB as your provider, awesome! If you have the support of a Doula along with one of the former, you have a powerful asset to your birth! There is something extremely powerful about the support of another woman during labor. Every woman wants to have the birth of her dreams, and while we can't guarantee that everything will go as planned during birth, we can guarantee unwavering support and love during one of the most important events of your life.
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