Is there a difference?

[Antheia]

Is there a difference between a Doula and a Birth Attendent or do people just call them different names?

[MummaBear79]

Hi Tegan,

They are both the same thing. I am a Doula but some people call me a birth attendant too :-)

[BellyBelly]

The people that I know who use 'Birth Attendant' do so for mainly two reasons - Doula is very Americanised these days and they want to be unique. Also Doula translates into 'woman servant' in greek and the women choose to use Birth Attendant as they see their role as more important and useful than a servant. My teacher is very pro- birth attendant as some others I know. I just carry on the name as I did a Birth Attendant course and I also believe that our role is more than a servant