Midwives and doulas in Poland: mutual perceptions in the context of interprofessional cooperation

Abstract

A doula is an independent professional who provides emotional, physical and informational support to women during pregnancy, labor and the postpartum period. A doula is not medically qualified, but is trained in techniques to provide comfort, relaxation and proper breathing to women in labor during birth. The relationship between doulas and other members of the perinatal care team has an impact on women’s satisfaction and the quality of care provided. The purpose of our study was to analyze the mutual perceptions of the two professional groups and to subjectively assess the actual cooperation between midwives and doulas; Methods: The survey instrument for examining mutual perceptions of midwives and doulas in the context of interprofessional collaboration was a self-administered questionnaire consisting of 13 items containing beliefs about collaboration between doulas and midwives and items describing experiences of collaboration between the groups. A total of 238 women participated in the survey: 165 midwives and 73 doulas. Results: Mutual perceptions of midwives and doulas can be described as positive or neutral. Examination of the experience of collaboration indicates a predominance of positive behavior. In almost all items, the beliefs of doulas and midwives differed significantly from each other showing the different perspectives of the two professional groups. The highest score in both groups was given to the statement Appropriate relationships between midwives and doulas have an impact on the satisfaction of parturients, which means that both doulas and midwives agree with it. Conclusions: There is potential for the dissemination of the doula profession in the Polish health care system. Both professions show more positive or neutral perceptions of each other than negative perceptions, which provides an opportunity to build a satisfying collaboration. The findings underscore the need to reconcile different attitudes in order to foster effective team practice and improve midwifery care outcomes. Training and meetings to learn about roles, competencies and explore each other’s work models provide an opportunity to strengthen this collaboration.