What's the Difference Between a Doula and Midwife?

While doulas and midwives both assist parents during childbirth, both fulfill different roles.

Midwives are healthcare professionals who offer comprehensive prenatal care, oversee the birth, and provide postpartum care for both parent and baby. They possess the necessary expertise to manage the medical aspects of childbirth, such as conducting vaginal examinations, monitoring vitals, and addressing complications if necessary. While doulas focus primarily on emotional support, midwives provide vital medical care, ensuring a positive and safe birth experience for parents.

Benefits of Hiring a Midwife:

1. Personalized and Holistic Care: One of the key advantages of hiring a midwife is the personalized and holistic care they provide. Midwives prioritize building a strong relationship with the expectant parents and offer individualized care based on their specific needs and desires. They focus not only on the physical aspects of childbirth but also the emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being of the mother.
2. Continuity of Care: When you hire a midwife, you can expect to receive continuous care throughout your pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum period. Midwives are present during the entirety of the childbirth journey, providing ongoing support and guidance to ensure a seamless, integrated experience. This continuity can foster a deeper sense of trust, comfort, and security for the expectant parents.
3. A Natural Approach to Birth: For those who desire a natural childbirth experience, midwives specialize in supporting and promoting natural, unmedicated births. They use various techniques like water birth, massage, breathing techniques, and position changes to manage pain and facilitate a positive birthing experience. Midwives also tend to have lower intervention rates, including lower cesarean section rates, compared to traditional medical settings.
4. Focus on Informed Decision Making: Midwives prioritize informed decision making and strive to empower expectant parents to make choices based on their preferences and values. They provide information and education about different options and interventions, allowing the parents to actively participate in their birth plan. Midwives believe in the importance of the birthing person's autonomy and work collaboratively with them as partners in the decision-making process.
5. Postpartum Support: Hiring a midwife means not only having support during labor and birth but also receiving care and guidance during the postpartum period. Midwives typically visit the postpartum family at home during the first week, providing assistance with breastfeeding, newborn care, emotional support, and overall recovery. Ongoing support continues through at least the first six weeks after birth. Their focus extends beyond just the physical aspects of the postpartum period and includes emotional well-being and adjustment to parenthood.
6. Cost-effective: In many situations, hiring a midwife is less expensive compared to hospital-based care, making it an attractive option for those seeking more affordable childbirth services.

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Doulas play a crucial role by offering emotional, physical, and informational support throughout the entire journey, from pregnancy to postpartum. They provide reassurance, advocate for the parents' preferences, and help them navigate the challenges of childbirth.

Benefits of Hiring a Doula:

1. Emotional Support: A doula offers continuous emotional support to both the birthing person and their partner. They provide reassurance, encouragement, and a calming presence during the labor process. This support can alleviate anxiety and help create a positive birthing experience.
2. Continuous Presence: Doulas are available to support you throughout your entire labor, regardless of its duration. They offer uninterrupted care, ensuring that you never feel alone or neglected during this transformative moment.
3. Advocate and Mediator: Doulas help navigate the intricacies of the healthcare system, ensuring that your voice is heard and your desires are respected. They can help facilitate communication between you and medical staff, empowering you to make informed decisions.
4. Comfort Measures: Doulas are well-versed in various comfort measures such as breathing techniques, massage, and positioning, effectively easing discomfort during labor. They can suggest alternative pain management techniques before resorting to medical interventions.
5. Postpartum Support: Doulas often provide postpartum care, offering guidance on breastfeeding, newborn care, and emotional well-being. Their presence can help ease the transition into parenthood, reducing feelings of overwhelm.
6. Reduced Medical Interventions and Better Birth Outcomes: Studies show that having a doula as a part of the birthing team can lower the need for medical intervention and improve birth outcomes.

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So can you hire both a midwife and doula? Absolutely! Midwives and doulas often work well together, forming a strong team to cocoon you in support during your transition into parenthood. Each has their own role throughout your journey, and both would be happy to guide and support you.

Did you have a doula and/or midwife for your birth? Tell us about it in the comments.

COVID-19 and Maternity Care in Columbia

Coronavirus. COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2.

These words are relatively new for most of us, but they’ve had a huge impact on local businesses and medical care. As the wave of Coronavirus cases grows, the look of maternity and labor care is starting to rapidly change. If you are due within the next few months, you may want to stay up to date as local hospital policies change to prevent further spread of the virus.

What’s Changed?

Some providers have begun rescheduling prenatal visits and may be limiting visitors and children present during visits. As of this post (3/20/20), all local hospitals have imposed limits to the number of visitors a patient may have, and this includes limits during labor. Currently patients at any Prisma Health area hospital (including Prisma Health Richland, Prisma Health Baptist, and Prisma Health Parkridge) are limited to one support person for the duration of their stay. That one designated visitor cannot swap out with anyone else, and the visitor will be screened for illness prior to admission. Lexington Medical Center has now implemented a no visitors policy, other than the primary support person, who must have a bracelet. They are also asking the support person to stay on the floor to minimize the risk of transmission, but that is not absolutely required. All visitors here will also be screened prior to admission. I will attempt to keep this post updated as any policies continue to change.

These limits can clearly change your plans for labor. Extra family and friends are no longer allowed. This limit also eliminates the possibility of of bringing a doula or birth photographer unless there is not a birth partner present. This was no an individual physician decision, and at this time the hospitals report that your physician cannot overrule this limit. If you are due in the next few months and were planning to have a doula and/or birth photographer, now is the time to work with your support to create a backup plan.

COVID-19 Risks in Pregnancy

Thus far, there have been no changes in birth outcomes if the mother has COVID-19, and it is not recommended to change protocols regarding care during birth due to this virus. Research has shown that the virus is not present in the placenta or amniotic fluid, and if baby is found to test positive soon after the birth, then the infection was caused by another person present or contact with a positive mother- the baby was not ill in utero and was not made sick in the birth process.

There is limited research that suggests pregnancy can be in some ways protective against this virus. This does not mean that pregnant people are not getting sick, but they often are showing only fewer symptoms or develop a weaker infection.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that families still do skin to skin care after birth, breastfeed (if desired) , and keep baby in the parents’ room even if there is a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19.

Babies who contract COVID-19 have thus far had no severe illness. A few have mild cold/flu symptoms, but the majority have been asymptomatic. This applies for all children under 10 years old.

COVID-19 and Breastfeeding

The CDC and World Health Organization (WHO) recommend continuing breastfeeding even if the mother and/or baby has COVID-19. Tests have not found the virus present in any tested milk samples from patients who are known to be positive. Continuing breastfeeding can help support baby’s immune system and help baby fight off the virus if it is present.

Changes in Our Services

Here at Little Orchids, we are trying to adapt to still support our clients under these new hospital policies. As part of social distancing, we are encouraging families to schedule a virtual or phone consultation with us instead of coming to meet in our office. This allows us to still chat and answer any questions while reducing any possible virus spread.

We have also begun offering Virtual Doula Support. If your hospital is not allowing doulas during your birth, we’re offering completely remote pregnancy and labor support via phone and video calls. You can find more information about all virtual and remote support options on on our website.

Evidence Based Birth® released a completely online option for their Childbirth Class series. We are happy to help provide this option to families in our service area. We are also waiving the additional fee for booking a private class vs a group class. This online class option covers all the same information as the normal group class; learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class here, and please contact us if you would like to book a class.

Several families have recently reached out to discuss how to possibly deliver at home instead of going to the hospital. We are doulas, and as such we have to maintain support roles only; we are not medical providers. We can attend births at home with you, as long as you also have a licensed provider present. If you need recommendations for local midwives, please send us a message! Some midwives are even accepting late transfers at this time due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Hoping you all stay well!