What’s the Difference Between a Midwife and a Doula?

When searching who to include on your birth team, you’ve probably come across three terms: OB, Doula, and Midwife. But what’s the actual difference between a midwife and doula?? I get asked this question frequently.

Here are 3 critical differences between midwives and doulas you need to understand:

1. Doulas can support you wherever you choose to give birth!

Doulas aren’t just for homebirth! People continue to be surprised when I tell them that the majority of my clients choose hospital birth! That’s one of the primary differences between midwives and doulas, is that doulas can support you wherever you choose to give birth.

While some hospitals allow certain types of midwives, currently none of the hospitals in Wichita offer midwifery-led care as an option. This is why many moms searching for a “homebirth within a hospital” will choose to hire a doula to be part of their birth team!

2. Doulas are NON-Clinical Support People

The biggest difference between midwifery and doula care is that doulas are non-clinical support people (meaning that doulas can not provide any sort of clinical care like taking vital signs, providing medical recommendations, “catching” your baby, etc.) Instead, doulas provide physical, emotional, informational, and advocacy support to you and your partner.

By not being responsible for your medical care, your doula is able to more fully embody the role of advocate and emotional support person — some of my favorite aspects of my job!

A midwife is a (licensed or non-licensed) healthcare provider responsible for your medical care during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. 

3. Doulas Offer Continuous Labor Support

Can you picture your OB coming to your home at 3am and helping you labor before going to the hospital???

Definitely not, but this is exactly what your doula does!! Doulas provide continuous labor support, leading to better outcomes for mom and baby. Read more on the statistics behind continuous labor support!

While midwives tend to be more present in the labor room than OBs, traditionally neither of them provide continuous labor support.