First Steps

joliba-foot-massage.jpgSo, you are thinking you would like to become a doula? Congratulations! For those of us who feel drawn to helping moms and babies, getting paid to do work we would do for free is simply amazing. Where to start?

Fast Track for Aspiring Doulas:

  1. Read over the DONA birth doula certification requirements or DONA postpartum doula certification requirements. We will review, in detail, all of the certification requirements during the Doula Training weekend and answer any questions you may have.
  2. Aspiring birth doulas can fulfill two requirements at once — a pre-requisite for Birth Doula Training and a certification requirement — by taking the Introduction to Childbirth for Doulas class prior to the Birth Doula Training weekend (offered the Friday immediately prior to the two-day Birth Doula workshop).
  3. Similarly, aspiring postpartum doulas can take the Professional Education in Breastfeeding & Lactation on a weekend prior to the Postpartum Doula Training and fulfill both a pre-requisite and a certification requirement.
  4. Take the DONA Birth Training or DONA Postpartum Doula Training.
  5. Begin reading from the required reading list (birth doulas, click here; postpartum doulas, click here) at any time prior to or after the training (some reading is a required pre-requisite for aspiring postpartum doulas). Book reports or written reviews of books read are not required. We are on the honor system here. The Center has multiple copies of all the books required for DONA certification in our lending library. You may borrow a maximum of three books at a time for a maximum of three weeks.
  6. Begin developing your list of local resources with contact information. Local resources are folks who offer any services or products that your clients may need, want, or benefit from. You may include web resources. To meet the DONA certification requirements, your list must include at least 45 listings in at least 30 different categories. Ultimately, your resource list can also become part of your marketing plan. If you are referring folks to these businesses, they should also be referring to you. Get to know your birthing/parenting community. None of us works in a vacuum.
  7. Aspiring birth doulas can complete the breastfeeding class requirement at any time, before or after the doula training. Check out our Professional Education in Breastfeeding & Lactation class.
  8. Likewise, postpartum doulas can complete the required CPR training at any time, before or after the doula training weekend.
  9. Aspiring postpartum doulas must complete one of the following before undertaking the postpartum experiences to be submitted for certification. If you have added an infant to your own family within the past five years, you can skip this step. You can get started any time on this requirement.
    • Had experience as a postpartum doula (minimum of 8 hours)
    • Had experience providing care to an infant less than 10 weeks of age (minimum of 8 hours)
    • Attended an infant care or parenting class (see CCY’s Newborn & Infant Care class)
    • Shadowed an experienced postpartum doula (minimum of 8 hours)
    • Volunteered with infants in a daycare or with a new family
  10. After the doula training weekend, sign up for the next Volunteer Orientation Part I with the Doulas Care program. Through this program, you can be matched with low-income women who would like a doula. The births attended through the Doulas Care program can be used to fulfill certification requirements. Trained postpartum doulas are needed as well in communities throughout southeastern Michigan. How quickly you can accomplish providing labor and birth support to three clients after the doula training weekend is partly up to you (your availability, capacity, desire) and partly dependent upon the demand for doulas in your area that the program has been able to generate to date. Ditto for completion of the postpartum certification requirement of providing a minimum of eight hours of support to at least three families. Of course, you can also get yourself invited to births of sisters and friends or provide postpartum support to families in your circle of friends and acquaintances as well! The Doulas Care program simply provides an optional pathway to fulfilling certification requirements. You must be a resident of one of the counties served in southeastern Michigan in order to participate in this program.
  11. Purchase of the DONA certification packet can be accomplished through their website, but does not need to be done until you are ready to attend your first birth for certification purposes. Births attended prior to the DONA training may not be used towards certification requirements. We recommend purchasing the packet four weeks prior to the woman’s estimated due date so that you will have it in hand for the birth (required). Postpartum doulas must also purchase the packet prior to providing support to the required three families. You have precisely two years to complete all certification requirements from the time you purchase the packet. If not completed within that time frame, a new packet must be purchased with the possibility that some certification requirements may change. You have precisely four years to complete the certification process from the time of the training; after that interval, you would be required to repeat the doula training if seeking certification.

If you prefer to take it a little slower:

  • Focus on meeting pre-requisites for the Birth Doula Training or the Postpartum Doula Training. These are listed with the course descriptions for each.
  • Take it one step at a time. This is especially suitable for those whose family circumstances might preclude total immersion in their new-found calling. If it is too great of a hardship for you to attend a weekend doula training at this time (leaving young ones, separation from a breastfeeding toddler, financial concerns, etc.), hang in there. Does it make sense to devote yourself to helping other families get off to a great start while your family suffers to make it possible? There really is no rush. You can be slowly but surely working towards your goal.
  • Look also for Birth Doula and Postpartum Doula Trainings offered through Washtenaw Community College (WCC) in 2009. At WCC, the trainings will be offered over a period of weeks on a specified weeknight, rather than the weekend intensives. We hope that this configuration may work for those of you who otherwise might not be able to attend doula training due to babysitting concerns, work schedules, or Sabbath observation. Check our website often as it will be updated, with links to WCC, when new trainings get scheduled in that venue.

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Certification

Patty Brennan is an approved doula trainer through DONA International. All Birth Doula and Postpartum Doula trainings, as well as the Introduction to Childbirth for Doulas and Professional Education in Breastfeeding & Lactation trainings offered at the Center, fulfill certification requirements. Kate Stroud has completed the birth doula trainer process through DONA and her approval as a trainer is pending. To learn more about the certification process, including associated costs beyond training, go to the DONA website. There is a separate process for birth doulas and postpartum doulas.

Certification candidates must accept responsibility for following the steps outlined by DONA regarding the certification process. These steps will be discussed in detail during your doula training. A Certification Packet must be purchased from DONA for those seeking certification. The DONA website outlines some important time restrictions and considerations regarding the purchase of Certification Packets. Please read the instructions carefully.

Is Certification Required?

Students should be aware that the pursuit of doula certification is optional. Certification is not required in any state in order for one to practice as either a Birth Doula or Postpartum Doula. Certification does represent an individual’s effort to professionalize her services and may increase public perception of the validity of the doula’s role. Certification may also enhance the ability of doulas, now and in the future, to qualify for insurance reimbursement for their services.

How CCY helps doulas complete certification requirements

  • We offer all of the classes on site to help you complete certification requirement, including a professional breastfeeding class that works for both birth and postpartum doula requirements (Professional Education in Breastfeeding & Lactation), and CPR training.
  • As an alternative to the Introduction to Childbirth for Doulas class, there are ongoing opportunities under a Work/Study Exchange, to observe a series of Childbirth Preparation classes offered at the Center for expectant parents. The doula helper attends the seven-week series of classes for free and, in exchange, brings a healthy snack and beverages for the couples each week. The helper is also expected to arrive a half hour early for class to help the teacher set up and stays afterward to help with clean up. If you are interested in this opportunity, please email Jamie to sign up (this email is being protected by spam bots; you need Javascript enabled to view it). You can also simply register for this class at the reduced fee of $175 or sign up with a friend at the couple price of $235.
  • We also need helpers for the Breastfeeding Basics and Newborn & Infant Care classes. This is an opportunity to expand your knowledge base, while interacting with expectant parents. Email Jamie to sign up (this email is being protected by spam bots; you need Javascript enabled to view it).
  • Need help completing the experiential component of the certification process? Through Doulas Care, women who have completed doula training can get hands-on experience at births or postpartum, by volunteering in this community-based program serving low-income mothers and their families.

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