For Prenatal and delivery, what is the difference between a doula, doctor and midwife?

Question

Trying to make a decision of which route to go.

Answer 1

Hi there.

A doula is not a medical person. They will not perform any medical procedures on you, they are there for physical, emotional, and mental support. They are very helpful for coaching and assisting in unmedicated births especially, but births in general as well. The word doula comes from a term meaning "Woman's servant" as that is what they do: they serve the woman to help meet her needs during labor and postpartum. For birth, they will help with massage, accupressure, counterpressure, positions, acting as advocate for the woman's wishes for birth, providing full and unbiased information regarding all of her rights, choices, and pros and cons of interventions suggested by medical staff.

The main differences between an OB and a midwife is this: their mode of care. Most OBs work under the pretense that pregnancy and birth are risky until proven otherwise. A midwife works under the premise that pregnancy and birth are natural and normal until proven otherwise. OBs are quick to find labels for ailments and prescriptions to make them better. A midwife is more apt to look at your lifestyle, diet, and women's history and suggest changes to diet, lifestyle, and prescribe only as a last resort. They are more holistic/wholistically minded - seeing pregnancy and birth as reflective of a woman's maternal history rather than a textbooks outline of how her pregnancy and birth should go. OBs have more medical training, but tend to have more experience in the 'abnormal' as hospitals and medicated births automatically make the labor and birth unnatural and abnormal. Midwives have less births under their belts (as not as many women choose midwives for their birth team) but tend to have MUCH more experience in natural and normal labor and birth.

For a healthy and low-risk woman, a midwife is statistically safer as she will exhaust all other options before resorting to highly interventive and thus, more risky, procedures.

Hope these help, email me if you want more information on sites to help you make a decision on your birth team.

Answer 2

A doula is some labor professional who helps you and supports you physically and emotionally during the labor process. This is becoming more popular and many women who even have other labor partners (husband) tend to want a doula there for additional support.

A midwife is a trained professional who is trained in the management of normal labor and birth. Many women like the personal attention that you receive from a midwife rather than a doctor. The difference between a midwife and doctor is that one has a medical degree.

Answer 3

A doula is more of a labor coach, they are not trained to actualy deliver a baby. A midwife can deliver a baby and take care of you, but cannot prescribe medications or give pain medicne in delivery. A doctor can deliver a baby, order meds, do a c-section, but does not offer any labor assistance or coaching to the mother. Unless you have a high risk pregnancy I would go for a midwife and deliver in a hospital, so just in case there was a problem a dr would be on call to take over

Answer 4

a doula is some one who likes you to give birth naturally and so does a midwife altough a midwife can go into the hospital and doulas prefer you to give bieth at a birthing center or a home. I doctor is some one who can get you pain meds and do a c section if it is need. I went with a doctor cause I have a high risk pregancy

Answer 5

In regards to level of research severity. I would say doctor would be the safest route but do some research on whom you decide to go with. Midwife can deliver the baby and would, I think, require somewhat more research than a doctor would. A doula is just like a coach for the couple, requires a lot of research. My cousin hired one (she also saw a doctor), mainly for the support of her husband, and they were extremely disappointed with this doula. Their main complaint was she didn't do anything. They just paid her. I would just say that with a doula make sure that you do a lot of research.

Answer 6

i have a doc and a midwife. i do not know what a doula is. but a midwife to me is just as good as a doc. a midwife delivered my daughter and this time i believe the doc is going to deliver but i guess i will find out.

Answer 7

doula is just a coach they cant deliver. doctor is a doctor obgyn if your high risk its your only route. midwife is a nurse practitioner who can deliver babies also. they only do non high risk non medicated deliveries

Answer 8

You should go to google and look up the pros and cons of each one, and try to decide that way. That's what i did, i personally chose a doctor and a very good hospital but everyone's different.