Midwives & Doulas in European Union: Market Size, Businesses & Forecast 2026

The midwives and doulas industry in the European Union provides non-hospital and personal care services covering prenatal, labor, and postnatal support. The sector operates as a key component of the broader European healthcare system, relying on both public health integration and private-practice models. According to Eurostat data, the overarching human health and social work sector employed 13.3 million persons in 2022 (Eurostat), while a broader healthcare staff analysis recorded 4.4 million nurses, midwives, and associates active across the EU in 2020 (Eurostat), highlighting a steady demand for maternal and reproductive health professionals despite shifting demographic and birth rate tre

Industry snapshot

Key public data points

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What does the Midwives & Doulas in European Union industry cover?

The industry encompasses professional midwifery and non-clinical doula support services delivered outside of primary medical doctor or hospital-managed tracks. Midwives provide clinical medical monitoring, delivery assistance, and postnatal infant care, whereas doulas specialize in emotional, physical, and educational support during pregnancy and postpartum. Under European statistical criteria, these market activities fall within outpatient and community-based health care provision.

• •Midwifery professional services are formally defined under the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08) using codes 2222 and 3222.
• •Doula care is categorized strictly as a non-regulated supportive or personal care service, distinct from registered clinical midwifery practitioners.
• •Services are routinely carried out within private consulting rooms, maternal health centers, or directly in patients' homes.

Who operates in the industry and how is it structured?

The market structure across the European Union is highly localized and fragmented, heavily reliant on independent self-employed professionals, localized group practices, and non-profit maternal associations. While corporate health networks operate standard maternity clinics, community-based midwifery and doula networks remain driven by individual contracts or regional health service agreements. This dynamic splits the market between state-subsidized public care paths and out-of-pocket private services.

• •In the broader market category of human health activities, Eurostat recorded over 2.1 million active enterprises across the EU in 2022.
• •The sector demonstrates a low concentration, with localized providers delivering the majority of community maternal services.
• •The workforce is heavily gender-skewed, with Eurostat reporting that 78% of all EU health sector personnel were women in 2020.

What drives demand in the industry?

Demand is primarily driven by evolving public healthcare policies, maternal health preferences, and regional workforce availability. Increasingly, expectant parents look for personalized, continuous care options, which boosts the utilization of independent midwives and personal doulas. However, overall industry demand faces counter-pressures from structural labor shortages and shifting birth rates across Member States.

• •National health policies that promote home births and community-based birthing centers directly dictate the utilization rate of independent practitioners.
• •Regional workforce density varies sharply; for instance, historical Eurostat tracked figures show a distribution ranging from over 0.5 midwives per 1,000 people in places like Norway to lower densities below 0.2 in parts of Southern Europe.
• •An increasing emphasis on postpartum mental health and parental support continues to expand the private market for non-clinical doula services.

Who are the notable companies in the industry?

The competitive landscape lacks major multinational public corporations due to the inherently local, individualized nature of midwifery and doula care. Instead, market activity is shared among independent practices, regional healthcare cooperatives, and private clinic networks that employ midwifery teams. Corporate operators active in European healthcare delivery, such as Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA, Orpea (now emeis), Korian (now Clariane), and Capio, run facilities that integrate midwifery services, but standalone commercial doula or midwife chains are virtually non-existent.

• •Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA operates extensive medical networks and hospital care channels that employ clinical midwives across Germany and Spain.
• •Clariane (formerly Korian) operates medical and specialized nursing care services within European community health networks.
• •emeis (formerly Orpea) maintains specialized care clinics that cross over into the broader community health and social work services economy.
• •Capio, a prominent European healthcare operator, manages local clinics and maternity units employing certified midwifery professionals.

What are the recent trends and outlook?

Recent developments center on modernizing professional frameworks and integrating digital platforms for prenatal consultations. Professional bodies are pushing for uniform standards across borders to facilitate mobility and ensure safety. Concurrently, the private doula sector is expanding through digital matching platforms and independent collective networks that connect practitioners directly with families.

• •Industry bodies such as the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) govern global and regional updates across 29 of 30 EU/EEA countries.
• •Digital health apps and remote consultations are increasingly used by independent midwives to provide continuous monitoring and prenatal triage.
• •A growing policy focus on institutional transparency has accelerated the collection of performance data across community health sectors.

How is the industry regulated?

Regulation differs heavily between midwives and doulas, creating distinct legal frameworks for operation. Midwifery is a strictly regulated clinical profession governed by EU directives ensuring the mutual recognition of qualifications across all Member States. Conversely, doulas operate in a non-regulated space where compliance is managed through voluntary codes of conduct issued by national associations rather than statutory state mandates.

• •Midwifery standards and cross-border recognitions are governed by European Union Professional Qualifications Directives.
• •The sector operates under strict privacy mandates, requiring strict compliance with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) frameworks for maternal health records.
• •National health ministries dictate individual scopes of practice, determining what medications or clinical interventions an independent midwife can legally perform outside a hospital environment.

Government, statistical and trade sources used for this Claight analysis.

• Eurostat Human Health and Social Work Activities Statistics 2022 ·
• Eurostat Health Care Staff Dataset 2021 ·
• European Commission NACE Rev. 2.1 Classification Registry 2023