Do I need to hire a doula if I hire a midwife?

Short answer: It depends on what you want, but probably not.

Now, to answer that FAQ more fully, we need to define some of the terms in that question: "need," "doula" and "midwife." Let's start with the term midwife and work backwards.

Actually, this definition has already been established in the previous FAQ "What is a midwife?" So just as a reminder here, a midwife is an educated professional, trained to provide the Midwives Model of Care to healthy women and newborns throughout the childbearing cycle, primarily in out-of-hospital settings.

Next, let's talk about the doula. The English word doula comes from the Modern Greek feminine singular noun doula. (In ancient Greek the nominative feminine singular form of the noun was doulē, the masculine form, doulos.) This ancient term literally meant a slave, and in Modern Greek means the same thing: one who serves, an owned person, i.e., a slave.

So in essence, that's what a doula is, a woman who serves. So how does a doula serve in the context of a birth situation? Primarily, she is there for the comfort and convenience of the woman through labor and childbirth. In giving this service, a doula might perform a variety of tasks: encouraging breathing skills helpful for laboring; giving a backrub; providing emotional support; helping her to relax; encouraging nutrition and fluids in early labor; housekeeping duties; etc.

It is important to realize that there is a difference between birth doulas and postpartum doulas. A birth doula serves throughout labor and childbirth, in the ways mentioned above. The postpartum doula, as the name implies, serves in the period of time after the birth occurs. How long this period of time is varies greatly, and is agreed upon between the client and the doula. And what does a postpartum doula do? As one doula organization put it, she does "whatever a mother needs to best enjoy and care for her new baby."

It is also important to note that a midwife does everything a birth doula does, and a lot more. So do you need to hire a doula because she does things a midwife doesn't? In a word, No. Now if a midwife attends a birth without a birth team, she may not have time to perform all of these valuable services of comfort and convenience (backrubs, doing laundry, etc.). In that case, or in the case of a midwife with a new apprentice that is just learning the ropes, it might be helpful to hire a doula as well, to provide for these comfort/convenience services.

And let's not forget that word "need." Do you need (is it required or essential) to hire a doula if you have hired a midwife? If you have a midwife with a sufficient birth team, and/or if you have the support of family and/or good friends who are able to be there for you, probably not.

So, hiring a doula is not necessary if you have hired a midwife, but it certainly could be helpful. It comes down to what you want and what you can afford. In the final analysis, the decision is yours to make, based on your own assessment of your needs.