The Power of Midwifery Care
This photo is from summer 2022 when I got to share a homebirth client with my years-long friend and amazing midwife, Molly Wharton. Here, she’s teaching me how to listen for fetal heart tones using a fetoscope.
As a doula, I get a front-row seat to one of life’s most profound transformations—and some of the most compassionate care I’ve ever seen comes from midwives.
I’ve had the honor of supporting clients alongside home birth midwives and Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs) in hospital settings. And let me tell you: I stand in absolute awe. Their calm presence, clinical skill, and deep trust in the birthing process is something to behold. They listen. They wait. They explain. They treat birth like a normal, physiological process—not a problem to manage.
These are my preferred healthcare providers to work with as a doula, hands down. And beyond birth work, midwives are the providers I seek for my own care year after year. From annual wellness visits to navigating perimenopause, their approach is grounded in shared decision-making and informed choice. It’s care that respects your voice and your body.
The difference between the midwifery model of care and obstetric care isn’t just a philosophy, it’s palpable in the room. Midwives tend to spend more time with their patients, offer individualized support, and prioritize low-intervention practices when appropriate. Obstetricians are trained surgeons, and while they’re essential in high-risk or complex pregnancies, the OB model is often focused on pathology and protocol.
This doesn’t mean midwives and OBs can’t work together—when they do, it’s a beautiful balance. But in a system that too often medicalizes birth from the jump, midwifery care is a grounding reminder: Birth is not a crisis. It’s a rite of passage.
If you’re exploring your birth options, I encourage you to consider midwifery care. Ask questions, interview providers, and know that you do have a say in who walks alongside you.
Because who you choose to support you matters.
