What Is a Birthkeeper and What Do They Do?

So what exactly is a Birthkeeper and what do they do? 

The world of birth work can feel confusing very quickly.

Doula. Midwife. Birthkeeper. Monitrice. Traditional birth worker.

Many of these titles overlap in some ways while also carrying very different meanings depending on the person using them. Over the years, birth work has evolved into a wide range of approaches, philosophies, certifications, and legal limitations depending on where someone lives.

For me personally, I often resonate most with the term birthkeeper even though I still sometimes use the word doula when explaining my work to others.

Not because I believe I “keep” birth for women. Not because I think women need saving. And certainly not because birth belongs to me or any other birth worker.

In fact, the reason I resonate with the term is almost the opposite.

To me, birth keeping is about helping women reconnect with the understanding that birth already belongs to them.

What Is a Birthkeeper?

A birthkeeper is generally someone who supports women and families through pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and education in a more holistic, relationship centered, and often sovereignty focused way.

Unlike licensed medical professionals, birthkeepers are not acting as primary medical providers unless separately credentialed within legal scope. Yes, there are some underground lay midwives who call themselves Birthkeepers. If laws didn't make it so hard for mothers to be to find safe help, it wouldn't be a thing. I will not speak on that any further in this post. The role is typically centered around emotional support, education, advocacy, presence, informed decision making, comfort measures, and helping women feel grounded and supported throughout their journey into motherhood.

Some birthkeepers work similarly to doulas. Some have additional training or experience in physiological birth, traditional practices, postpartum care, breastfeeding support, herbal wellness, or holistic care. Some work closely alongside midwives or medical providers. Others focus more heavily on education and emotional support.

The term itself is broad because birth work itself is deeply personal.

The Difference Between a Doula, Midwife, and Birthkeeper

Doula

A doula is a non-medical support person trained to provide emotional, physical, and informational support during pregnancy, labor, and postpartum.

Doulas often:

• help provide comfort measures during labor

• support partners

• assist with emotional grounding

• provide education and resources

• help advocate for informed choices

• offer postpartum encouragement

Many doulas work within hospitals, birth centers, or home birth settings alongside medical providers.

The word “doula” is widely recognized and respected, which is why many birth workers still use the term publicly.

Midwife

A midwife is a trained medical birth professional whose role and legal scope vary greatly depending on state laws and certifications.

Midwives may:

• monitor maternal and fetal wellbeing

• provide prenatal care

• catch babies

• manage certain medical situations

• order labs or testing depending on credentials

• provide postpartum care

Because laws differ significantly by state, not everyone with traditional birth training can legally practice as a midwife everywhere.

In my state, there are legal limitations surrounding that title and scope of practice, which is important to respect clearly and responsibly.

Birthkeeper

Birthkeeper is less about a formal title and more about a philosophy.

For many people, the term reflects a desire to preserve the emotional, spiritual, relational, and deeply human aspects of birth that can sometimes feel lost within modern systems.

To me, birthkeeping means:

• protecting a woman’s ability to make informed choices

• supporting emotional safety during birth

• honoring the body’s wisdom

• creating grounded support systems

• educating without fear

• helping women feel seen, heard, and supported

• recognizing birth as both physical and transformational

It is not about controlling birth. It is not about replacing medical care. It is not about positioning myself as someone who “knows better” than mothers themselves.

If anything, I believe women deserve more support reconnecting with their own instincts, intuition, education, and informed decision making.

Monitrice

A monitrice is a non-medical birth support professional who bridges aspects of traditional birth support, childbirth education, and doula care. The role focuses on emotional, educational, and physical support throughout pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum recovery.

A monitrice may:

• provide continuous labor support

• offer childbirth education

• support comfort measures during labor

• assist with birth preparation and planning

• provide emotional and informational support

• support physiological birth practices

• offer postpartum guidance and care support

A monitrice does not replace licensed medical care and does not provide medical diagnosis, clinical procedures, or emergency obstetric services.

The role and legal recognition of monitrice work can vary depending on location, training, and state regulations.

Traditional Birth Worker

A traditional birth worker is a non medical support person who draws from traditional, ancestral, community based, and holistic approaches to supporting women through pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and motherhood.

Traditional birth workers may:

• provide emotional and educational support

• offer traditional postpartum care practices

• support family centered birth experiences

• assist with comfort measures during labor

• share herbal wellness and nourishment practices

• encourage informed decision making and advocacy

• support postpartum rest, recovery, and transition into motherhood

Traditional birth workers do not replace licensed medical providers and do not provide medical diagnosis, emergency care, or clinical obstetric services.

Because laws surrounding birth work differ by location, titles, scope of practice, and legal recognition may vary significantly depending on state regulations and individual training backgrounds.

Why I Still Have Mixed Feelings About the Word

I will be honest … the term birthkeeper is not perfect.

At times, I worry it can unintentionally sound as though someone is “gatekeeping” birth or positioning themselves as a savior figure. That has never resonated with me personally.

Women do not need someone to own birth for them.

Birth workers should never place themselves above the mother or imply that birth only becomes empowered through the presence of a certain kind of guide.

What I do believe is that women deserve support. They deserve education without fear. They deserve to feel emotionally safe and informed. They deserve to feel connected to their own bodies rather than disconnected from them.

The term birthkeeper resonates with me not because I believe I hold power over birth, but because I believe birth itself deserves to be approached with reverence, support, protection, and deep respect for the woman experiencing it. Especially sovereignty.

At the end of the day, no title matters more than how someone shows up for families.

Whether someone calls themselves a doula, birthkeeper, educator, traditional birth worker, or simply support person, what matters most is that women feel safe, respected, informed, and genuinely cared for during one of the biggest transitions of their lives. If you are looking for someone to be by your side during your pregnancy, labor, and birth I do offer in person and virtual options.