Priscilla Hoge Brickey

A Midwife is a trained professional with special expertise in supporting women to maintain a healthy pregnancy birth, offering expert individualized care, education, counseling, and support to a woman and her newborn throughout the childbearing cycle. A Midwife is a skilled and independent practitioner who has undergone formalized training. Midwives are not required to be nurses and may be trained via multiple routes of education (apprenticeship, workshop, formal classes, or programs, etc., usually a combination). The educational background requirements and licensing requirements vary by state. The Midwife may or may not be certified by a state or national organization.

An individual educated and trained in an applied knowledge discipline used in the performance of work at a level requiring knowledge and skills beyond or apart from that provided by a general education or liberal arts degree.

An individual trained in the manipulation of tissues (as by rubbing, stroking, kneading, or tapping) with the hand or an instrument for remedial or hygienic purposes.

Doulas work in a variety of settings and have been trained to provide physical, emotional, and informational support to a mother before, during, and just after birth and/or provide emotional and practical support to a mother during the postpartum period.