Tips For Helping Midwifes And Doulas Work Together
If you are pregnant and are having a child soon, there is a good chance that you have spent a lot of time and effort deciding what type of birth is best for you. You might have looked into getting a doula, which is a type of birth professional that provides information and emotional support throughout the pregnancy, the birth, and the first week or so following the birth. You might have also considered a midwife, which is a person who will come to your house to help give you clinical care while you are performing a home birth. Some people want both. If you want both, here are some tips for making sure that your doula and your midwife are able to work together well to provide you with the best care possible.
1. Clearly Delegate Tasks
The easiest way to help make your birth more efficient and the connection between your doula and your midwife better is to clearly define roles ahead of time. Sit down with your doula and your midwife long before the birth and talk about who is going to cover what. In many cases, the doula will cover most of the emotional support that the midwife would have originally provided should the doula not have been there. This frees up the midwife to perform any documentation and get rest before the actual birth. This means in many cases that the doula will be helping you through the cramps while the midwife gets everything ready for when it is time to push.
2. Have the Doula Be a Voice for You
The midwife is in charge of making sure that should you need to go to the hospital that you get the care that you need and are transferred at the right time. She has all of the logic that is needed to make sure that the mother and the baby survive the birth. The doula is in charge of making sure that all of your needs are met that aren't necessarily vital to your survival. For example, if you want to go to a certain hospital, you can communicate that to the doula ahead of time and then have the doula communicate it to the midwife. This frees up the amount of work and remembering the midwife has to manage in order to ensure that you are happy during the birth.
For more information and tips, you may want to contact your local midwifery service.
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