Frequently Asked Questions

If you’ve heard the word “doula” before, you may think that a doula solely helps people in childbirth. However, a doula can provide support in many different kinds of situations. During my training, I loved learning and thinking of what a doula does as “care work” and some doulas refer to themselves as “care workers” rather than doulas, especially if they decide not to obtain a formal doula certification. Doulas support people in a wide variety of life (and even death) experiences - from preconception support to birth, postpartum, or end-of-life care, just to name a few. A full spectrum doula typically provides one or more types of care and advocates equal support for people across the spectrum of identities from race to gender and beyond, and across the spectrum of life experiences including abortion and adoption. Support can take a physical, mental, and/or emotional form.

This blog post from Planned Parenthood does a good job of providing more detail about what a doula is and does.

Depending on the type of service for which you’re seeking a doula’s support, the benefits of that support can vary greatly. Support can be in-person or virtual. Generally, a doula assists with: Education on specific topics such as preparing for conception, childbirth, postpartum, etc. Creating a birth plan Physical and emotional support during labor and birth, including advocating for yourself Physical, mental, and emotional support during postpartum Navigating unexpected or planned pregnancy loss

Doulas and midwives provide different levels and types of care, though they both often work in the world of pregnancy, labor and birth support. While a midwife is a trained medical professional, a doula can use this title with or without formal training or certification and there is no particular independent body or bodies governing or overseeing doulas. Most midwives in the US are CNM’s (Certified Nurse Midwives) who are certified through the American Midwifery Certification Board or CPM’s (Certified Professional Midwives) who are certified by the North American Registry of Midwives. Midwives can do many of the same things as doctors in caring for people during pregnancy, labor and delivery such as deliver a baby vaginally, resuscitate a baby, stitch minor tears, etc. Doulas - unless also trained as midwives - do not perform these types of medical procedures, but rather assist pregnant people in non-medical ways such as in planning for birth and postpartum, providing physical support in the form of comfort measures during labor, body positioning during pregnancy, labor and birth, and emotional support after birth, to name a few examples.

Despite growing research about the significant impact doula care can make on maternal morbidity and mortality rates, especially in certain geographic regions and among Black mothers, most insurance plans unfortunately do not cover doula services, nor CPM services for that matter. However, it is always a good idea to check your specific insurance plan! Some doula care is now covered by Medicaid in several states.