Abstract
This study aims to understand the relationship between the roles of doulas and social workers as they relate to childbirth and birth support. Guided by the theory of Birth Territory in midwifery and a client-centered approach in social work, this paper attempts to orient doulas and social workers around the birthing individual and expound upon their place, identity, and territory of practice. 11 semi-structured interviews were completed with four doulas and seven perinatal social workers followed by qualitative content analysis. Two themes emerged in response to each proposed research question, totaling eight themes that explain roles, perceptions, background, values, and service delivery considerations of each birth professional. Doulas and social workers have a complex relationship with both similarities, differences, and overlap of practice. Results concluded that doulas and social workers are differential responses in holistic care with a distinct, but complimentary functions in birth support. A key difference in social work practice is clinical skills along with mental health assessment and treatment planning. Doulas provide physical and informational support continuously from pregnancy to the postpartum period. Doulas and perinatal social workers are driven by personal conviction and hold humanistic views regarding childbirth. Both doulas and social workers have extensive knowledge on pregnancy, parenting, resources, advocacy, and navigating services. Doulas tend to be hands-on and attuned to the birthing persons immediate need, while social workers use the biopsychosocial assessment model to plan for safely discharging the family and having long-term services and supports in place. Doulas and social workers were aligned on extending insurance benefits to include doulas, postpartum care, and increased family leave. It is concluded that doulas and social workers have a strong sense of identity and place in their positions; increased efforts to obtain title protection would benefit both professions. While doulas and social workers display strength in their respective positions, cross-training of doulas and social workers may increase protective factors and enhance holistic support in pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period.