Doulas launch a manifesto to PUSH for midwives

A month ago, on May 22nd, the PUSH Campaign joined forces with the European Doula Network (EDN) for a global webinar aimed at engaging doulas from around the world in a shared vision: transforming health systems through woman-centred care and midwifery advocacy.  

Missed it? Watch the recording here: https://youtu.be/KW_medR68WY

Celebrating International Doula Month in May, the event served as an introduction to the PUSH Campaign, a global movement that champions midwives as a key solution to closing the women’s health gap and ensuring respectful, empowering, and rights-based care for all women. By inviting doulas — who already serve on the frontlines of this mission — the campaign sought to build bridges between advocates, expand its community of supporters, and amplify the voices of those who walk alongside women every day.

Doulas: Agents for Woman-Centred Care

Throughout the webinar, doulas from around the world shared their experiences of providing woman-centred care whether through continuous emotional support, advocating for informed choice, and offering deep respect for a woman’s autonomy and bodily integrity.  

Doulas accompany women and their families during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period, often acting as the only consistent presence throughout their journey. They listen without judgment, offer non-clinical guidance, and ensure women feel seen, heard, and supported — no matter where or how they give birth. This person-first approach creates an environment where trust, safety, and dignity can flourish, which is at the heart of the PUSH Campaign’s mission.

While some doulas shared about challenges of working with overmedicalized health systems that do not value their advocacy or expertise, all agreed about the importance of continuing to center women and the rights of families about professional rivalries.  

Nonetheless, the energy in the virtual room was one of alignment, solidarity, and shared purpose. It was a reminder that doulas and midwives are not only care providers but also advocates and agents in a movement that places women’s health, rights, and dignity at its core.

Doulas Advocates for Midwives

Beyond their one-on-one support for pregnant people, doulas are increasingly advocating for broader health system reforms. Most doulas promote midwifery-led care as the gold standard for normal, physiological birth, working alongside midwives to ensure women receive respectful and evidence-based care. In health systems where midwives are under-resourced, underrepresented, or restricted by outdated regulations, doulas play a key advocacy role — not just for their clients, but for the providers who centre women’s needs. Doulas often serve as connectors between women and midwifery services in their communities, guiding them toward birth plans and providers aligned with their preferences and rights.  

In a powerful act of solidarity, fueled by the momentum of the International Day of the Midwife (#IDM2025), EDN and its network of over 5000 doulas launched the Doulas Supporting Midwives Global Manifesto: https://storage.e.jimdo.com/file/2226eac3-239f-40fd-86d5-6cd2df6dac5d/MANIFESTO%20Doulas%20support%20Midwives.pdf

Let's PUSH Together

During the webinar, doula were invited to join the PUSH Campaign and take the first step by singing the Push pledge — a commitment to advocating for midwives and woman-centred care across personal, professional, and policy spaces.  

For doulas around the world, the invitation to join the movement stands!  

Let’s PUSH together! Let’s PUSH for rights, for women, and for midwives — and ensure that every woman receives the care she deserves.

We invite you to sign the PUSH Push pledge, incorporate campaign messages into your advocacy and your work, and join a growing global alliance of champions for respectful empowering woman-centred care!  

For doula organizations and networks, we will be happy to share about the PUSH campaign at your upcoming meeting – contact us at: info@pushcampaign.org  

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