Doulas and Your Birth Team

Midwives and doulas have different but complementary roles. Having both allows each member of the birth team to focus on what they do best while providing families with continuous, comprehensive support throughout labor and birth.

Your Midwife and Your Doula

Your midwife is your clinical care provider and is responsible for monitoring the health and well being of mother and baby, assessing labor progress, monitoring fetal well being and maternal vital signs, making clinical decisions, and recognizing when additional evaluation or medical care may be needed.

Your doula's primary focus is continuous physical and emotional labor support.

While the midwife focuses on the clinical aspects of care, the doula can remain focused on comfort, encouragement, relaxation, hydration, movement, positioning, and helping the laboring mother navigate the physical and emotional experience of birth.

Both are there to support the family, but they have very different and equally valuable roles.

The Role of Your Doula

A doula provides continuous physical and emotional support throughout labor and complements the clinical care provided by the midwife.

Doulas are trained in a variety of comfort measures, which may include breathing techniques, massage and touch, relaxation, movement, positioning, aromatherapy, and the use of tools such as birth balls.

A doula will often join the family earlier in labor and remain throughout the birth and early postpartum period, providing continuity of support as labor progresses. Once the midwife arrives, the doula continues providing hands on labor support while the midwife focuses primarily on clinical care.

Depending on the individual doula, support may also include prenatal preparation, early postpartum support, breastfeeding encouragement, and taking photographs during labor and birth when desired.

Support for Your Partner Too

A doula does not replace your partner.

Having a doula can actually help partners become more involved by giving them an experienced person beside them who can offer suggestions, reassurance, and guidance throughout labor.

A doula can suggest ways for a partner to provide comfort and participate in the birth while allowing each family to determine how involved they want their partner to be.

A doula also gives partners an opportunity to eat, rest, use the bathroom, or simply take a moment when needed without leaving the laboring mother without support.

Birth can be a long and emotional experience for everyone involved. Having an experienced birth team means neither the laboring mother nor her partner has to navigate it alone.

If Plans Change

Responsible home birth planning includes preparing for the possibility that hospital evaluation or transfer may become appropriate.

If a hospital transfer occurs, the doula can provide valuable continuity by accompanying the family and continuing to provide emotional and physical support as the birth environment changes.

Many doulas have extensive experience supporting families in both home and hospital settings. Having a familiar support person remain beside the family can make the transition to the hospital feel less overwhelming.

The Benefits of Continuous Labor Support

Research on continuous labor support has found benefits that may include an increased likelihood of spontaneous vaginal birth, decreased use of some pain medications and interventions, and a more positive overall birth experience.

Beyond measurable outcomes, many families value something much simpler: having someone continuously present whose primary focus is supporting them through labor.

A doula is there to remind a laboring mother of everything she is doing well, encourage her when labor becomes challenging, help her find new positions or comfort measures, and simply remain present throughout the experience.

Both the doula and midwife can also provide breastfeeding support during the early postpartum period.

Choosing Your Doula

Circle of Life works with a select group of doulas who understand the practice's approach to home birth and collaborative birth care.

The goal is not simply to add another person to the room. It is to create a cohesive birth team in which everyone understands their role and works together to support mother, baby, and family.

A Supported Birth

Birth requires clinical attention, physical support, emotional support, patience, and teamwork.

Your midwife is there to provide clinical care and monitor the well being of mother and baby.

Your doula is there to remain beside you, support you throughout labor, and help you and your partner navigate the experience.

Together, they provide two different kinds of care with one shared goal: helping you feel safe, supported, informed, and cared for throughout your birth.

What Families Say

"I wanted both my husband and myself to have support during our labor and birth. Who wants to be in labor, look up and see an exhausted husband who hasn't had a break? I didn't know if I would be able to effectively communicate to him how he could help in the moment, but I knew a doula could offer ideas.

My doula and my midwives helped him help me. During a particularly difficult labor, I never had to think about being taken care of or supported. It just seamlessly happened. Having a team makes all the difference!"

Sydney