Midwife vs. Doula?

[OldFashionedGirl]

Just curious: what's the difference? Is one "better" than the other?

[Octobermama]

A midwife does the prenatal care and attends the birth with the role of delivering the baby. A doula is a support person for the mother. She provides massage, relaxation technique and offers suggestions to discuss with the midwife but she usually doesn't do much of the "medical" stuff. A midwife may do a lot of the same supportive stuff as a doula but a doula usually wouldn't do any cervix checks, monitoring babies heartbeat or mom's blood pressure, etc. That's my 2 cents anyway!:wink

[lunasmommy]

A midwife does the prenatal care and attends the birth with the role of delivering the baby. A doula is a support person for the mother. She provides massage, relaxation technique and offers suggestions to discuss with the midwife but she usually doesn't do much of the "medical" stuff. A midwife may do a lot of the same supportive stuff as a doula but a doula usually wouldn't do any cervix checks, monitoring babies heartbeat or mom's blood pressure, etc. That's my 2 cents anyway!:wink

well, said. i would add BOTH are good to have!!1:love