Become a Doula
Have you every thought about becoming a birth doula with a doula training?
According to the American Pregnancy Association, “Having a doula as a member of the birth team decreases the overall cesarean rate by 50%, the length of labor by 25%, the use of oxytocin by 40%, and requests for an epidural by 60%.”
If you want to make a difference in a pregnant person’s birth experience (and even make a difference at the beginning of the baby’s life), then sign up today. Whether you help one family, dozens of families, or even hundreds of families, you will experience a privilege and a power you will never forget.
You can make that difference.
A doula transforms the childbirth experience. This significant event can be isolating, frightening, and confusing—but with a doula’s support, it becomes extraordinarily empowering.
People who have continuous, one-on-one support are more likely to have a positive birth experience. They are also more likely to experience spontaneous vaginal births. Their labors tend to be shorter, and they’re less likely to need pain medication, interventions, or c-sections.
If you’ve ever wanted a job that makes a difference, you’re in the right place.
I can help you.
With this online doula training, I’ve trained thousands of doulas and attended over 1,000 births, and this program is developed to help you see through my eyes. This virtual, DONA International online doula training will prepare you for the beautiful, challenging, and always surprising life of a doula.
You’ll need knowledge, of course, but you’ll need confidence, too. Whether you’re concerned about guiding decisions during labor or landing clients beforehand, this course will prep you to become a successful, self-assured doula.
There are three things you need to be a successful doula
To thrive as a doula, you will need more than what you can get from a book. Even a stack of books. This comprehensive online doula training covers the three things you need in a collaborative method. You’ll gain practical, social, and emotional skills as well as a wealth of technical knowledge.
1. Knowledge and skills to support families before, during, and after labor
This is the space where doulas work their magic, transforming an overwhelming experience into a fully supported one. Regardless of the surprises birth brings, the simple act of support makes all the difference.
As you guide and nurture the families who look to you for guidance, you’ll draw on a comprehensive body of knowledge. You’ll thoroughly understand:
- The way labor unfolds.
- The physical issues that can arise during labor.
- The emotional aspects of an intense experience.
- The way hospitals work.
You’ll learn to provide emotional, physical, informational, and practical support for both the laboring person and their family, as well as advocating for those you are serving. Imagine feeling confident about providing help and care because you’ll be a childbirth expert.
2. Confidence to trust in yourself and show up boldly.
You’ll need more than information to provide dynamic support. If you’re worried about making mistakes, then you will enter the birthing room timid and nervous. Families need to feel calm and strength.
After you learn to be a doula, those fears will fade. You’ll be so well equipped that even your first birth will be more exciting than anxious.
Your families will rely on you—and you will thrive under that privilege. When learning from the most seasoned experts, you’ll feel ready, equipped, and empowered to tackle any challenges.
3. Professional skills needed to build a successful business.
You could be the greatest potential doula in the world, but if you can’t get clients, you’ll have no opportunity to develop your talents (or witness the astonishment of birth).
In this course, you’ll learn all the professional aspects of building a business from the ground up. You’ll be a confident and empowered businessperson as well as a professional and knowledgeable doula. We’ll address all things business, including:
- Writing your elevator speech
- Gaining your first client
- Figuring out pricing
- Living life on call (even if you have kids)
This course isn’t just about what to do in the birthing room. It’s about living the doula life.
What is included in the course?
After you sign up for this doula online training, you’ll receive a packet of materials in your mailbox. This includes a doula training manual and many handouts to get you started. For example, the handouts include sample business documents, like a contract and prenatal information forms, which you can customize to use with your clients.
- Small group work
- Large group work
- Brainstorming sessions
- Show & tell
- Mock interviews
- Alumni doula panels
- Review games
- And more!
And later, when you graduate, you’ll have access to my exclusive Alumni community of thousands of alumni doulas, monthly educational offerings, a lifetime subscription to a doula listing website, and my weekly virtual office hours.
Don't Miss These Birth Doula Training Topics
- Introduction to childbirth workshop (not included in some courses)
- Doula business basics
- Finding clients (including interviewing, agreeing on a contract, and setting fees)
- Statistics on the benefits of having a doula
- Non-drug pain relief & comfort measures
- Supporting the emotional needs of the family
- Labor positioning
- Epidural anesthesia and the doula’s role in supporting families
- Cesarean birth and the doula’s role
- How to assist clients with information gathering and using evidence-based data
- Lactation for birth professionals workshop (not included in some courses)
- And much, much more!
Who should take this doula training?
Maybe you’re curious about being a doula, or maybe birth support is your passion. You could plan to focus on people who want unmedicated births or people with high-risk pregnancies. Maybe you simply want to care for a specific family.
Anyone can be a doula if you care about supporting families before, during, and after labor.
You don’t need medical experience to be a doula. Even if you’ve never attended a birth, you can learn to be a doula.
If you’re interested because you think birth is extraordinary, you’re right.
Get support after the course ends
Even after the course ends, you aren’t on your own. You can use the alumni support options as long as you want.
When you complete the course, you’ll be invited to join an exclusive private Alumni community of doulas who have graduated from this course. This group always has robust conversations going to help you learn, celebrate, commiserate, laugh, and cry. And if you have a burning question late at night and can’t reach me, you can still find input from a few other alumni night owls.
I also offer weekly office hours to help you with your business goals and doula questions. During this one-hour video call, alumni are welcome to drop by whenever they want some input, feedback, support or just to listen to other doulas ask questions and share.
In our monthly speaker series, expert doulas provide insight and professional development—there’s always more to learn. Here are a few past topics:
- Deep dive into contracts
- LGBTQ+-friendly doula practices
- How nurses and labor and delivery nurses work together
- Body mechanics for doula
- Birth trauma & Trauma Informed Care
- Doula business models
- Pregnancy Loss & Doulas
This birth doula workshop is approved by DONA International as three steps in the process of becoming a certified birth doula with DONA International.
