How to Choose a Midwife or Doula

What You Need to Know

-- By Antigone Arthur, Health & Pregnancy Author

Many mothers desire to feel connected with their babies during childbirth with as few interventions as possible. Nurse midwives and doulas generally make births like this possible. They allow moms to feel more connected at the very start of their babies' lives by utilizing holistic practices within a comfortable environment, such as the home. Many midwives and doulas believe that with a lack of interventions, there is less chance that the baby will have problems and will therefore generally be able to breastfeed immediately. Though this is also often common for medicated moms, sometimes it is not.

First Appointment
Generally upon your first visit to a midwifery or doula practice you may expect the following:

Introductory visit: During this time, the mother has a chance to meet the practitioner and decide whether or not she is comfortable with her skills, abilities and style. The doula or midwife will also assess what exactly you are looking for in the birth process. On your first appointment, traditional assessments will be made of your height, weight, general health, complications, and health and pregnancy history. A midwife may not use an ultrasound during your pregnancy, though you may request one. Most mothers utilizing a midwife generally prefer not to have routine ultrasounds done, on the theory that fewer interventions are better.
Regularly scheduled pre-natal visits: Midwives generally will meet with an expectant mother once a month initially, then every two weeks closer to birth and finally every week the last month, much like any other practice.

If you are visiting a doula practice, you will generally visit with the doula for an introductory visit as well, to get a feel for the doula's personality and delivery style. In addition you will have at least one dry run visit about 2 weeks before the due date.

Member Comments About this Article

	"I'm using a hospital midwife as well. The experience seeing the hospital midwifery practice is not that different from going to an OB, but I like the fact that we're already at the hospital if something goes wrong. The midwives have nice low rates of interventions like C-sections, so they seem to do their job well. Chances are I'll also be able to request the services of a volunteer Doula. (This is at UNC hospital, so if anyone happens to live near there you have that option.) My husband an..." -- ANN_MARIE

	"for my first pregnancy I was clueless and I chose an OBGYN. I was very lucky in the end to avoid a csection. I had an emergency induction at 36 weeks for severe pre-eclampsia. it was four days long but I managed a vaginal birth. I also had 2 epidurals and lasting issues from them. my son was rushed to th NICU immediately after his birth and was there for a week and that traumatized us the most. Our breastfeeding relationship was severely impaired because the hospital was very against prematur..." -- SARAKENOBI

	"The article makes it sound like one must choose a doula or midwife. Doulas assist the mother during the delivery; they do not handle the actual birthing of the baby. I think that should have been better explained. I had my son in a birth center with a midwife. The midwife we had was not one of the regular midwives I had met with, but rather a contingent midwife who filled in when the other 3 were unavailable. She was far more hands-on, pushy, and medical than I was expecting. Our next birth, ..." -- JBUBS8

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About The Author

Antigone Arthur
Antigone is a freelance writer and proud mother. She has been researching and writing about pregnancy, breastfeeding, infertility and alternative health solutions for more than a decade.