Use a midwife & a doula?

No one is going to be able to significantly alleviate your pain during natural childbirth. If it were me…I would say the less people the better. I would have issues with more than eight eyeballs staring at me during that time. Whatever makes you feel comfortable though.

I had midwives attending both of my births, and my first midwife also served as a wonderful support person. But with my second baby, I wish I had a doula as well. I didn’t really “click” with the midwives that time, and since it was my second birth they tended to assume I would be fine laboring more independently.

I felt like I would be inconveniencing them to ask them to just sit with me since it seemed they were busy with all the paperwork. In retrospect it would have been nice to have a woman present who had been through this and could verbally support me, encourage me, and remind me of comfortable positions.

Whether a doula would be necessary or just an extra person depends a lot on your midwife and how she practices. Some feel relieved to have a mother’s helper who can provide labor support, as it frees them up to focus their attention on only the medical aspects of birth. Others believe doulas are redundant because they enjoy supporting the mother in all aspects of labor. Ask your midwife how often she works with doulas, and what is her perspective.