Doula vs Midwife - Difference and Comparison

Childbirth today has several alternatives to the standard hospital experience with an obstetrician, and doula and midwife are just two of many.

A doula is an assistant who provides physical as well as emotional support during childbirth. Doulas help women in a non-medical capacity.

A midwife is a professional who has institutional qualification to help a pregnant woman in delivering a baby. The World Health Organization defines a midwife as: A person who, having been regularly admitted to a midwifery educational program that is duly recognized in the country in which it is located, has successfully completed the prescribed course of studies in midwifery and has acquired the requisite qualifications to be registered and/or legally licensed to practice midwifery. The educational program may be an apprenticeship, a formal university program, or a combination.

Comparison chart

Doula versus Midwife comparison chart

	Doula	Midwife
Definition	A doula is an assistant who provides physical as well as emotional support during childbirth. She helps women in a non-medical capacity.	A midwife is a qualified professional from an institution of her country, which enables her to help a pregnant woman in delivering a baby.
Duties	Prenatal Doula aids with Educating women about their own choices regarding options for their upcoming birth of their child. Childbirth Doula helps the mother during labor and childbirth. Postpartum Doula offers services after the child is born	Aids with preventive measures, the promotion of normal birth, the detection of complications in mother and child, accessing of medical or other appropriate assistance and the carrying out of emergency measures.
Types	Prenatal, Childbirth and Postpartum Doulas.	Certified nurse midwife (CNM), certified professional midwife (CPM), direct-entry midwife (DEM), registered midwife (RM), licensed midwife (LM), depending on availability of state licensure for non-nurse midwives.
Etymology	Ancient Greek doulē, meaning female who helps	Middle English Mid meaning with & Old English wif meaning woman.
Certification	Childbirth International, D.O.N.A (Doulas of North America), and C.A.P.P.A. In Canada: C.A.R.E. (Canadian Association Registry and education)	North American Registry of Midwives & American College of Nurse Midwives. In Canada: Registered by the College of Alberta Midvives (AAM) and Canadian Association of MIdwives (CAM)
Salary	$300 to $1000 per pregnancy they assisted mother in, depending on factors like cost of living, employer, credentials, experience.	$40, 000 - $90, 000 as a base salary respect to change according to the employer, education, experience of the midwife etc.

Types & Duties

A doula can characteristically be classified into three types: prenatal doula, childbirth doula and postpartum doula. Based on the qualification, a doula may assist a pregnant woman before child birth by getting her necessary commodities and preparing her to deliver a baby. A childbirth doula, does just that, i.e. helps a pregnant woman deliver a baby. A doula's role may include assisting the mother during childbirth e.g. by supporting her emotionally. However, a postpartum doula can help a mother after child birth with all the essential chores at home, including but not limited to cooking, caring for the child, assisting in breast feeding etc.

Typically, there are two types of midwives: Direct-entry midwives, who usually enter directly into midwifery education programs without a prior professional credential and Certified nurse-midwives who are registered nurses before entering midwifery training. A midwife’s duties include helping child bearing women during labor, childbirth and providing postpartum care until the baby is six weeks old.

Etymology

The word Doula is derived from the Ancient Greek word doulē, meaning female slave.

The term Midwife is derived from Middle English word mid meaning with an Old English word wif meaning woman.

Salary

An experienced doula can earn anywhere from $300 to $1000 a time in the United States of America. These rates are flexible and usually depend on the cost of living of the area where the service is being delivered.

A midwife however, can make up to $40,000 - $90,000 a year in the United States of America. The amount mentioned is the base pay and can differ based on your employer, industry, credentials, experience etc.

Certification

Though it isn’t essential for a doula to be certified by an agency or an institution, many women prefer their doulas to meet some basic requirements. These requirements can be fulfilled from various doula certifying agencies across the country or even by appearing for exams over the internet. Doulas need to attend specific number of births before they can be certified, which varies from agency to agency. A few agencies in the United States are : Childbirth International and Doulas of North America.