doula

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Doula is used for a non-medical support person who stays close to a mother or family around childbirth. A midwife has clinical training and can monitor labor or deliver the baby, so it is much more medical. Nurse is broader still: a nurse may work in many parts of healthcare and is not defined by childbirth support. Birth coach is a more informal label, often used when the focus is encouragement and breathing techniques during labor. If you want to stress emotional support, information, and practical help before, during, or just after birth, doula is the most exact choice.

Common collocations

Etymology

Doula comes from a modern Greek word meaning 'female servant' or 'woman who serves'. English borrowed it in the late 1900s for a person who supports a mother through pregnancy and childbirth. The modern meaning keeps the older idea of service and care, but it now refers specifically to non-medical birth support.