A doula is a trained birth worker who provides physical, emotional, and spiritual support during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Doulas can advocate, educate, and empower, providing resources for birthing people and their families.

A midwife is a healthcare provider who is trained to provide medical care during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. While doulas provide physical support, such as comfort measures during labor, they do not perform physical examinations, cervical checks, or deliver babies.

Because it’s a great idea! Everyone needs and deserves support and advocacy during birth and postpartum. People who receive continuous support from a doula have been shown to be less likely to have negative feelings about childbirth, and to use pain medication. They are more likely to have a shorter labor and babies are less likely to have complications at birth. Partnership with a doula has been shown to decrease the risk of a Cesarean by 39%. (evidencebasedbirth.com)

Based on work by Birthing from Within, birth art is using art to process your birth, either prenatally or postpartum. We use the process of creating art to access a different part of our brains. It can be a great tool to help you visualize your hopes for your birth or to help you process your experience postpartum.