A Doula differs from a Midwife in that we do not perform clinical or medical tasks.  A Midwife has been medically trained to attend a birthing woman, and catch her baby.  A Doula is present to continuously provide physical and emotional support for the birthing woman and her partner.

The word "doula" comes from the Greek word for the most important female slave or servant in an ancient Greek household, the woman who probably helped the lady of the house through her childbearing.  The word has come to refer to "a woman experienced in childbirth who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the mother before, during, and just after childbirth."

(Klaus, Kennell and Klaus, Mothering the Mother)