MummaBear...yes, that's one thing I love about the doula, that we support the woman, not the system. If I get into midwifery, I'll certainly continue doula work (while a student midwife), and when I have gained enough experience, I will become an independent midwife. If I knew I'd just be hanging out in hospitals my whole life, I'd never do it! But I love the idea of being an independent midwife, to have that responsibility, and to help change the way midwives are portrayed and treated within the birthing system as we know it today. It's all got to change, it's just all such a disgrace at the moment....we've gotta tear down the idea of birth as a medical event. I'm hoping that by becoming a midwife, and while having to work within a hospital setting, I can at least try to decrease the intervention rates, at least, among my clients. That's the frustrating thing about doula work...yes, we help drop intervention rates by supporting the woman, helping her go-with-the-flow, and by educating her of her rights.... but when a woman is in a hospital system, she is just so vulnerable, and so likely to still be taken advantage of by the "health care professionals".... as a doula, we can't directly stick up for her. I want a bit of authority...not over the woman (!), over the system.