Using A Midwife AND Doula For Natural Birth


Bini
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After reading some of the threads here on natural birth, I'm surprised no one mentioned using a doula alongside their midwife. From my understanding, the midwife and doula play very different roles, with only one common ground of being present at your birthing. The role of "midwife" primarily focuses on delivering the baby. While there are exceptions, traditionally, this is the main duty of midwifery. The role of "doula" is to be a confidante, emotional and physical support before and after birthing. They are an ideal addition to any natural birth experience for several reasons: they may spend additional time with the new mother without time constraints after delivery to assist with anxieties, calming techniques and breastfeeding when the midwife may be scheduled elsewhere.

I've also read that having a doula may be a cultural thing, and some women may not deem it necessary to have one during their labour and delivery. But after joining a natural birth site, it seems that the majority of women on there recommend having BOTH a midwife accompanied by a doula. I'm thinking (and I know it's very early at this point) that if I do in fact go the natural route and use a midwife, I will want a doula as well. I've heard reputable and experienced doulas cost near to $1000 for a birth. So it's definitely a little something extra on the side. Have any of you mommas on here used a doula?

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my sister knows a doula and intends to use her when she gets pregnant. the good thing about doulas is you can still use them in states where it's illegal to use a midwife. from what i've learned i would consider using one if i have another. if you are considering a non medicated birth i would consider the cost for one. if i had to choose a midwife or a doula i would choose the doula. my medical insurance will cover a dr for the delivery so giving me the support to make decisions with the dr would be fine by me (that and midwifery is against the law here lol).

if you want to talk to some doulas let me know and i can give you some facebook names to search.

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After reading some of the threads here on natural birth, I'm surprised no one mentioned using a doula alongside their midwife. From my understanding, the midwife and doula play very different roles, with only one common ground of being present at your birthing. The role of "midwife" primarily focuses on delivering the baby. While there are exceptions, traditionally, this is the main duty of midwifery. The role of "doula" is to be a confidante, emotional and physical support before and after birthing. They are an ideal addition to any natural birth experience for several reasons: they may spend additional time with the new mother without time constraints after delivery to assist with anxieties, calming techniques and breastfeeding when the midwife may be scheduled elsewhere.

I've also read that having a doula may be a cultural thing, and some women may not deem it necessary to have one during their labour and delivery. But after joining a natural birth site, it seems that the majority of women on there recommend having BOTH a midwife accompanied by a doula. I'm thinking (and I know it's very early at this point) that if I do in fact go the natural route and use a midwife, I will want a doula as well. I've heard reputable and experienced doulas cost near to $1000 for a birth. So it's definitely a little something extra on the side. Have any of you mommas on here used a doula?

Hi Bini, the bolded statement above is not quite correct. The midwife focuses on the entire pregnancy - that includes the development of the fetus and the well-being of the mother from the first month all the way to delivery.

Therefore, depending on your midwife, a doula may be redundant. (My midwife was my mother - so I didn't need a doula).

But, if I would have gone with the midwife in my OB group, I would probably have looked for a doula as well. I didn't quite click with her on an emotional level. I actually clicked with the OB more than I did the midwife. For example, I wasn't feeling too good, I couldn't explain it but I just felt "off". I explained this to the midwife and she asked me some questions and then just said flippanty, it's just your hormones throwing you out of whack. I wasn't quite satisfied with that answer. I just felt that she wasn't really looking at me as a "person" but just as a "patient". Does that make sense? Yeah, I told my mother this and she told me I just didn't like the girl. She could be right. I also had lots of family support with me too. So, they all acted as my doula.

But, this is what I mean - it really depends on how you click with the midwife and if you have family/bff's around you. If you have tons of support from family and friends and/or you and your midwife are "clicking" on more than the midwife-patient level, then you might not need a doula. Otherwise, $1,000 for a doula can be money well-spent.

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If there is anything I'll do differently with any future births, it will be to have a doula. I had a midwife but went 3 weeks overdue and ended up being induced. The midwife had said that in the event of a hospital transfer, she'd be there and play the role of doula.... WRONG. She slept the whole time. Not that that's what all midwives would do by any means, but I hadn't put enough stock in the role of a doula. I've had several friends that I've met through the natural childbirth community that have had amazing experiences with doulas. My best friend had two for her home birth VBAC. They made a world of difference. Getting involved with La Leche League (which is a breast feeding support group) before you have your baby can be a great resource to help you get in touch with lots of different people in the natural birthing community - great networking tool.

La Leche League of Utah

(you don't have to JOIN La Leche League to attend the meetings)

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If there is anything I'll do differently with any future births, it will be to have a doula. I had a midwife but went 3 weeks overdue and ended up being induced. The midwife had said that in the event of a hospital transfer, she'd be there and play the role of doula.... WRONG. She slept the whole time. Not that that's what all midwives would do by any means, but I hadn't put enough stock in the role of a doula. I've had several friends that I've met through the natural childbirth community that have had amazing experiences with doulas. My best friend had two for her home birth VBAC. They made a world of difference. Getting involved with La Leche League (which is a breast feeding support group) before you have your baby can be a great resource to help you get in touch with lots of different people in the natural birthing community - great networking tool.

La Leche League of Utah

(you don't have to JOIN La Leche League to attend the meetings)

OOOOHHH! I agree with this completely - La Leche League is a lot better than relying on the lactation specialist at the hospital! I took a breastfeeding class sponsored by the league and even if my situation was a lot more complicated than what the class covered, I was still glad to have the information.

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OOOOHHH! I agree with this completely - La Leche League is a lot better than relying on the lactation specialist at the hospital! I took a breastfeeding class sponsored by the league and even if my situation was a lot more complicated than what the class covered, I was still glad to have the information.

It is an amazing resource, but I especially mean that it can be used for much MORE than just breastfeeding advice. It can help put you in touch with others who can recommend or point you in the direction of a wide variety of natural childbirth professionals.

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I love the idea of a doula. I never got one because of the cost. I usually spend a lot of time while pregnant coaching my husband on what I'll want him to do when I'm in labor.

I don't have a fear of hospitals, as so many women seem to have. I love giving birth there, with the adjustable beds, birthing stools, tubs, etc. The hospitals I choose are very empowering to the mother. Once I get into active labor, my nurse would always assign her other patients to the other nurses and then just be there with me. This last labor I needed it, it was a doozy, but it was great having her there, massaging, encouraging, having me change positions to bring relief. It was great. I don't think I could have gotten anything better if I had hired a doula.

No matter which way a woman decides to go with her birth, at home, in the hospital, midwife or Obstetrician, drugs or not, as long as they are informed and understand what things really are their choice and which things are necessary (no, you can't just give up with labor when you're 9 centimeters and it hurts lol) they can feel good about their labor, and a doula is all about being informed and being a voice for the mother when she may be in pain and starts to doubt her previous ideas.

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Thank you ladies for your input.

I'm leaning toward going the natural route but thus far I have only been consulting an OB. I went to my second checkup today and had the trans-vaginal ultrasound. Not nearly as violating as some had perceived it to be. It actually felt no different from the pressure you experience during a pap. But that's my own experience I suppose.

Anyway, I did have a nice talk with my OB about labour and delivery options. She was very unbiased about it and simply said it was my (and hubby's) personal decision. I knew that much already but having a "professional" weigh-in is always informative. So at this point, it's really going to be a matter of doing a little more reading up on the pros/cons of natural birth and medical intervention. We're also gonna find out what insurance covers.

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I just read this and found it very interesting. Study Raises Questions About Childbirth Drug - Staying Healthy News Story - WRTV Indianapolis

It would explain my personal experience with the after bleeding.

Out of curiosity I tried (not very hard mind you) to look up more info on it. I found several forums where women asked how long the bleeding should last because they were concerned. In the responses on a couple different sites by at least 2 different ppl there were posts that said things like "in the USA it's not uncommon for 6-8 weeks, here anything after 2 weeks becomes concerning. not sure why that is". (I didn't see where "here" was)

I know the US tends to use more intervention and views childbirth very differently from other parts of the world. I wonder if this is why there is a difference.

These are all very unscientific conclusions I'm coming to (personal experience and form chatter lol). But in my experience sometimes you really do get the most "real" info from chatter even if it's not been "proved" by science yet.

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I went to my second checkup today and had the trans-vaginal ultrasound. Not nearly as violating as some had perceived it to be. It actually felt no different from the pressure you experience during a pap. But that's my own experience I suppose.

Yeah, except that the ultrasound doesn't prop you open and scrape you out. *shudder*

:)

I didn't find it "violating" at all -- just unexpected. The only kind of ultrasound I knew of was the kind on the belly with the jelly, so I was really caught off-guard with the transvaginal kind.

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I didn't find it "violating" at all -- just unexpected. The only kind of ultrasound I knew of was the kind on the belly with the jelly, so I was really caught off-guard with the transvaginal kind.

this was my experience as well. i had never heard of it. i didn't feel violated because the dr was already up there lol but when he said, "ok let's take a look at this baby" and then stuck something else up there i was caught very off guard. lol though i have to admit seeing my baby made up for the shock.

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Oh Slamjet :] Well it's a good thing (assuming) that you've never accompanied her to a pap! They're just as invasive, seriously. My husband has come to several of mine and does great in the room. So I guess it just kind of depends!

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I just read this and found it very interesting. Study Raises Questions About Childbirth Drug - Staying Healthy News Story - WRTV Indianapolis

It would explain my personal experience with the after bleeding.

Out of curiosity I tried (not very hard mind you) to look up more info on it. I found several forums where women asked how long the bleeding should last because they were concerned. In the responses on a couple different sites by at least 2 different ppl there were posts that said things like "in the USA it's not uncommon for 6-8 weeks, here anything after 2 weeks becomes concerning. not sure why that is". (I didn't see where "here" was)

I know the US tends to use more intervention and views childbirth very differently from other parts of the world. I wonder if this is why there is a difference.

These are all very unscientific conclusions I'm coming to (personal experience and form chatter lol). But in my experience sometimes you really do get the most "real" info from chatter even if it's not been "proved" by science yet.

That's really interesting. I bled for 8 weeks after my first son was born and was only given pitocin with him. It was 2-3 weeks with the rest of my kids.

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Oh Slamjet :] Well it's a good thing (assuming) that you've never accompanied her to a pap! They're just as invasive, seriously. My husband has come to several of mine and does great in the room. So I guess it just kind of depends!

Oh yea, I've been there, but a PAP doesn't look like a replacement, so to speak :huh:

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