Doula Programs: Risk Management Strategies

Doula program administrators, with or without liability insurance coverage, may want to consider implementing the following risk reduction strategies.

  • Incorporate indemnification language into the Articles of Incorporation to protect the Board of Directors.
  • Create or adopt a formal professional scope of practice document that clearly defines the doula’s role, and limits to her role, and ensure that all participating doulas adhere to it.
  • Prohibit labor support at home and require doulas to meet laboring clients at the hospital or birth center. An exception can be made in the case of a planned homebirth, but only if the midwife is present in the home at all times that the doula is present (i.e., program doulas are not to be used as “labor sitters” by the midwives). It is important to note here that professional doulas often do provide very beneficial in-home reassurance and support to mothers in early labor. For the anxious first-time mother who might head off to the hospital in very early labor, only to be sent home again, the doula’s presence can help keep her calm, confident, and rested at home. However, program directors need to consider whether it is reasonable to accept the risk that a doula might be put in the position of catching a baby at home, and I recommend against accepting this risk. Program administrators may want to consider making an exception for the client who needs transportation assistance to the birth center or hospital. Given the high-risk population many doula programs are targeting, removing“access to care” barriers through transportation assistance may advisedly be a retained risk.

The Doula Programs blog provides a forum for doula program visionaries and implementers to consider common challenges, ask questions, and learn from each other. Patty Brennan is the author of The Doula Business Guide: Creating a Successful MotherBaby Business.

Posted by Patty Brennan on June 9, 2011 • Filed under Doula Programs
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