Midwife vs Doula: Two Roles, One Powerful Birth Experience

When WishGarden Herbs’ founder, Catherine Hunziker, began delivering babies as a midwife in 1979, she was right there at the edge of something powerful. Not just birth, but the reclaiming of women’s health. She saw up close how essential skilled medical care is during pregnancy and delivery. She also saw something else that was just as vital, and often missing.

Clinical care keeps an eye on measurements, timing, and safety. But birth is a unique experience, not a checklist. It is physical, emotional, spiritual, and wildly personal. Catherine witnessed how much women needed steady hands and trained eyes, and also how deeply they needed continuous labor support, calm reassurance, emotional support, community, and someone devoted entirely to their experience.

That is where the distinction between a midwife and a doula becomes so meaningful.

Because when birth is supported from every angle, a woman does not just feel cared for. She feels seen, heard, and held in one of the most transformative moments of her life.

What Is a Doula?

A birth doula is trained to provide steady physical and emotional support throughout pregnancy and labor. She is not a medical provider. A certified doula does not diagnose, prescribe, or perform clinical tasks. Her role is different and deeply needed.

A doula is the advocate for the mother. She helps ensure that a woman’s desires for her birthing experience are respected and honored. She helps her ask questions, understand options, and feel confident in her choices. And she supports the whole woman, body, mind, and soul.

That support can look like breathwork during contractions, hands-on comfort like massage or hip squeezes, reminding her to drink water, suggesting position changes, guiding visualization, or simply locking eyes and saying, “You can do this.” It can include helping her prepare in pregnancy with nourishment, gentle movement, mindfulness practices, and sometimes herbal or supplement support in collaboration with her healthcare provider. It is never about replacing medical care. It is about rounding it out.

Unlike a busy medical team that may be moving between rooms in a hospital setting, a doula stays. She provides continuous support from early labor until your baby is in your arms.

As a trained doula myself, my instructor once described it this way: a doula is to birth what a shaman is to an ayahuasca ceremony. Not there to interfere. Not there to control. But there to hold space. To witness. To keep the container steady while someone moves through a powerful, life-altering experience.

That kind of presence can be transformative.

Birth Doulas, Postpartum Doulas, and Antepartum Doulas

There are several types of doulas who support people during pregnancy and birth.

Birth doulas specialize in labor support during labor and delivery. They stay with you in the delivery room and provide continuous labor support.

Postpartum doulas step in during the early postpartum period. They offer extra support with newborn care, lactation support, emotional grounding, and practical help once the baby arrives. Postpartum care during the postpartum period can feel intense, and postpartum doulas help families adjust.

Antepartum doulas provide support during pregnancy, especially for pregnant women navigating bed rest, medical conditions, or high-stress situations before birth.

Doulas are not medical professionals. They do not replace your medical provider. But they deeply impact the birthing experience.

What Is a Midwife?

If doulas provide emotional and physical support, midwives provide medical care.

Midwives are trained medical professionals who manage prenatal visits, monitor labor progress, assess fetal heart tones, deliver babies, and provide postpartum care. They are responsible for your prenatal care, pregnancy care, and birth care.

Midwifery care views pregnancy and birth as natural physiological processes while still providing skilled medical training and oversight.

Let’s break down the different types of midwives.

Certified Nurse Midwife

A certified nurse midwife, often called a CNM, is a registered nurse who has completed advanced medical training and earned a master's degree in midwifery. Certified nurse midwives are licensed medical providers. Many begin their careers as registered nurses or nurse practitioners before completing graduate-level midwifery education.

Nurse midwives can work in a hospital setting, birth centers, or occasionally in home birth settings. They provide prenatal and birth care, order labs, prescribe medications, and manage medical interventions when necessary.

Most insurance carriers cover care from certified nurse midwife providers in hospitals and birth centers, making nurse midwives a widely accessible option for pregnant people.

Certified Professional Midwives

Certified professional midwives specialize in out-of-hospital birth. These midwives complete formal training and pass a certification exam through the North American Registry of Midwives.

Certified professional midwives often attend home births and birth center deliveries. They focus onlow-riskk pregnancies and physiological birth in out-of-hospital settings. Home birth midwives are typically certified professional midwives with deep experience in home birth.

The Bottom Line

Midwives are medical providers with formal medical training. They are responsible for medical care, prenatal care, and labor and delivery management.

Doulas provide emotional support, continuous support, and advocacy.

Both roles matter, and they can find harmony and symbiosis together.

Midwife vs Doula: The Key Differences

When comparing midwife vs doula, think in terms of responsibilities.

Medical Care vs Emotional Support

A midwife is your medical provider. They conduct prenatal visits, manage medical conditions, monitor the birthing process, and deliver babies.

A doula does not offer medical advice or perform medical interventions. Instead, doula care provides emotional support, physical comfort, and continuous labor support. A certified doula helps you understand what your medical team is suggesting so you can make informed decisions aligned with your birth plan.

Availability in the Delivery Room

In a hospital setting, nurse midwives may care for multiple patients during a shift. They provide excellent medical care, but cannot remain continuously at your bedside.

Your doula stays with you throughout the birthing process.

One manages medical care.
The other protects your experience.

Together, a midwife and a doula create a powerful birthing team.

Research and Health Outcomes

Public health research continues to highlight the value of doula services and midwifery care.

Continuous labor support is associated with lower cesarean rates and fewer medical interventions in low-risk pregnancies. Studies also link doula care to improved maternal health outcomes, including reduced rates of postpartum blues and anxiousness.

Research shows higher newborn Apgar scores and greater satisfaction among birthing parents who receive continuous support.

Some insurance carriers now cover doula care because of these improved health outcomes.

When both a doula and skilled medical provider are present, pregnant people often report more positive pregnancy and birth experiences.

Building Your Birth Support Team with Natural Allies

Midwifery care has always walked alongside herbal tradition. Long before births took place in hospitals, midwives used plant allies to support pregnant women through pregnancy and birth.

Catherine began formulating herbal blends in 1979 while practicing midwifery because she saw firsthand what birthing parents needed in the moment.

Liquid herbal tinctures absorb quickly, which can matter during active labor.

WishGarden Formulas Often Included in a Pregnancy and Postpartum Go Bag

Many midwives, doulas, and birthing parents choose to include the following WishGarden formulas in their birth centers or home birth bags:

• AfterEase to ease after birth cramping and provide comfort at the start of postpartum
• Afterbirth Sitz Bath to soothe and support tender perineal tissue as the body recovers after delivery
• Milk Rich for lactation support and healthy milk flow
• Postpartum Emotional to support a positive mood and calm the nervous system
• Sleepy Nights for Pregnancy to support rejuvenating sleep that supports mom and baby
• Stress Release for Pregnancy to calm nerves and racing thoughts
• Immune Boost for Pregnancy for supporting a healthy immune response

AfterEase was created directly from Catherine’s experience supporting postpartum mothers.

These herbal supplements are designed to support normal physiological processes. They are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult your healthcare provider or healthcare practitioner before using herbal supplements during pregnancy and birth.

Herbs work best when integrated thoughtfully with your medical team.

Creating a Birth Plan That Reflects You

Your birth plan should reflect your values, not someone else’s expectations.

Do you want an unmedicated birth?
Are you planning a home birth with certified professional midwives?
Do you prefer birth centers?
Are you choosing nurse midwives in a hospital setting?

Some pregnant people want out of a hospital birth. Others feel safest in a hospital setting. There is no single right path to give birth.

First-time birthing parents often benefit from having both a doula and a midwife. The combination provides medical expertise, educational support, emotional grounding, and continuous labor support.

Start interviewing early. Ask about formal training, certification exam pathways, experience with multiple births, and philosophy around medical interventions.

Birth is not just a clinical event. It can be one of the most transformative days of your life.

Catherine built WishGarden from real birth rooms and real mothers. Our pregnancy and birth formulas were created by a midwife who understood the needs of pregnant women, birthing parents, and families navigating the postpartum period.

When you understand midwife vs doula roles clearly, you can build a birthing team that truly supports you, and that makes all the difference.

Rebecca Younger is passionate about herbs and women's health. She aspires to plant seeds of inspiration within her community about plant medicine and healthier ways of life. She studied Herbal Medicine at Herbalism Roots in Denver and is a certified Doula through the Matrona Foundation. She is the Brand Communications Specialist at WishGarden Herbs.

For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, or to sell any product.