What’s the difference between a Doula and a Midwife?
Your Midwife is your Primary Health Provider, and your Doula is your support person.
Maybe you want to have a home birth. Maybe you want to have a hospital birth. Maybe you want to have a birth centre birth (specifically birthing at the Toronto Birth Centre, if you’re residing in or around downtown Toronto). Midwives and Doulas can support you in the delivery space of your choice.
Your doula will be more focused on creating the right energy for the space by dimming lights, playing music, encouraging focus and calmness. Your doula will also be there to provide gentle guidance and answer questions with evidence-based knowledge. Doula support helps guide you towards more peaceful and safe birth.
On the other hand, your doula may also provide some assistance (if requested) to your midwife, who is there to take care of the safe birthing and medical aspects of birth, such as monitoring fetal heart rate, checking blood pressure, administering certain medications (as needed). The midwife will also help coach you through birth, however they greatly appreciate the doula’s presence since they have paperwork and continuous medical checks to do.
Together, your midwife and doula support you and each other! Both are essential roles to happy and healthy birthing. Consider hiring a doula and budgeting at least $1,500-$2500+ for doula support in the beginning. You won’t have to pay for your midwifery care in Ontario if you have an OHIP card, so your primary investment will be doula support, which will be useful to you from pregnancy, to labour & delivery, to up to a few months postpartum (and beyond! in my case). Consider saving money on baby items by waiting until your doula has helped you decide on essentials for your baby’s birth.
Does that answer your question? If you’re looking to register with a midwife in Toronto, Ontario, but aren’t sure where to start, contact your local doula to start your process. Looking to hire a doula in Toronto? Contact me here to book a free consultation.