I just came across this blog and enjoyed many things. However, one thing that I questioned was your comment, “i recognize that quitting my job would force me to charge high fees for support, which would make it so that white upper-class women make up the bulk of clients.” I would like to comment and provide an opinion on this based on a recent doula workshop I attended. I loved my trainer and the class was awesome. One thing of course we talked about in the class was how much to charge for services. I was already coming into wanting to charge a lower fee and definitely of the mind to help teen moms in need of free services. My trainer talked about doulas charging what they are worth, on the mid to high range of fees (at least for my area). She stated that her opinion was that doulas ARE worth these fees, and that those who charge lower fees also lower expectations associated with doulas in general. We then talked about having a scholarship program for those who couldn’t afford it and doing a certain amount of these per year.

Does anyone else have a thought on this? I’m probably not recreating her positiveness or goals on this topic. She was not negative at all, just wanted doulas to be thought of as highly as we are all trying to make everyone see we are.

Thanks for a great blog!

my trainer was great, and i’ve recommended her workshops to friends that are interested in doula work as well. i was satisfied with the way that she addressed diversity, although i honestly wasn’t expecting much in that regard…and very pleased to hear about her own issues with DONA’s policies (doc evaluations, ways to advocate for mom during labor, etc…). what pleased me the most was that she, as a certified member, is able to (and does!) bring these issues up to DONA during conferences, etc…to lobby for change…which is what i meant by fucking with the system.

in terms of concerns about DONA’s code of ethics not allowing doulas to contradict doctors…i’ve thought about that for a minute, and i can’t help but wonder what a true motive would be behind causing strife for a laboring mother during one of the most precious moments of her life by contradicting or confronting her doctor. of course there are exceptions…a young mother without support, a mother who doesn’t speak english, a single mother without support, etc…but during labor, it can be very real that people are talking at, for, and about mom. a doula should not be among those folks. if mom has expressed something that is being ignored by her doctor, there’s a way to keep things in line with what mom wants without the situation becoming confrontational.

don’t know if anyone has heard about “hostile patients”…but the ama is moving in this absurd direction of “punishing outspoken patients” by labeling them thus…making it easier for insurance to deny coverage if their members were hostile patients. i wouldn’t want any mother in my care to have to suffer consequences this extreme because i injured the doc’s ego.

i called my local hospital the other day with the hopes of volunteering. the head of volunteer services sounded very excited about gaining a volunteer until i told her that i’d like to offer doula services to laboring women. she became disgruntled and repeated “absolutely not” several times. i couldn’t help but wonder if there had been prior experiences at this hospital with doulas to cause them to be so adamantly against the idea. (of course, i also questioned what could be happening that they wouldn’t want a doula to be in the room advocating for!)

some hospitals in ny are also using the swine flew scare to prohibit doulas from entering the labor room! clearly it’s not about this strain of the flu…it’s about coming up with various and sundry ways to keep us from providing our services to mothers in need. i would rather suck it up and not be confrontational so that the doula behind me doesn’t hear “absolutely not,” when she wants to volunteer her services…or be prohibited from working in hospitals. advocacy and activism are right on…but there’s a time and place…i am not convinced that the labor room is it.

I’m in the process of getting DONA-certified, for better or worse. I was really disappointed with my DONA training. However, after the fact, I’ve found one cool organization that does a DONA-approved training. HealthConnect One focuses on community based doula programs, and they run a private doula training in Chicago. It’s run by two amazing women of color, and is a good mix of the private doula training with a community focus. More information here – http://www.chicagohealthconnection.org/pages/_private_birth_doula_training/68.php

I’ve heard great things about ALACE, but I’ve also heard they’re going under — so if you’re certifying with them, you need to hurry up.

It’s really great to hear everyone’s perspectives and experiences.

One question about ICTC–do they also offer certification, similar to the DONA process?

I’m going to compile some of these thoughts for a resource page I’m creating about doula trainings.

If anyone has experience with other groups (like ALACE) I’d love to hear your thoughts as well!

I do consider myself to be a radical doula and really stuggled with the restrictions of DONA. AND, if adhearing to their SOP means that I can help more women, then that’s what I am going to do!

One of the comments to this post really struck a cord with me. I wasn’t planning on getting the training to become a DONA trainer, but once I finish my certification in a few weeks, I actually already have enough births to apply to be a trainer. I am really going to consider doing this now, and offering free/low cost doula trainings to the communities that need them. And, in doing other trainings, bring up many of the issues that are lacking. While I am a white, middle-class, bisexual woman…as a Women’s Studies major I certainly feel like I have learned a lot that I can bring with me and I know many people who have lived it who may be willing to do trainings with me.

First it was great to see you last week at the Big Push meeting on Captitol Hill and to discuss the issues of economic and racial disparities in maternal and child health care in the US.

First off the Kennedy-Baucsh proposed health care reform does not even address materal and child health care. So how much of a reform will it be even if it were to pass?

I am both a DONA-certifed birth doula (first) and ICTC certified Full Circle Doula; I have been given the privilede of co-teaching the ICTC training with Sister Shafia Monore twice.

I became DONA certified because: I did not yet know about the ICTC program; I know that in the US to be validated by some you need a piece of paper from a widely recognized credentially group; the DONA web site listing is a great marketing tool.

I found the DONA training to be very good, especially the section on fetal demise. However, there was no training on cultural, social or birth issues relevant to any culture other than White America. The DONA book list did not list books about issues facing women of color, new arrivals in the US, or those of other cultures. The DONA trainers are not women of color.

I served as a doula pro bono for almost 1 year and served clients from the economically and racially marginalized communites of DC. I solicited clients from the city’s homeless shelters, abused women sanctuaries, drug rehab programs,teenage pregnancy pograms, and community programs. I developed and managed a community-based volunteer labor support program for over 2 years before I turned my time to serving paying clients. During these 3 years I learned from my clients the issues in their lives, that were unque and important to them. I am an African born in the New World but I still have alot to learn.

Then I found ICTC!!! Sister-Healers from throughout Africa and its Diaspora overflowing with information on any health topic. Women who see the role of a midwife, doula, healer as one far beyond just the reproductive phase of a women’s life. Women who are committed to improving the health of women and their families, improve infant and maternal outcomes, and improve and preserve the family. Women who are committed to serving and training their communities. It is my view that a community who can not birth itself can not survive.

The ICTC Full Circle Doula Training covers all of the topics that DONA does plus many more. We teach on urban environmental issues, conduct community outreach and education exercises as part of the training class schedule, exchange information on alternative health care methods, develop nutrition and diet plans for families on WIC, have straegty sessions on ways to involve the expectant fathers in the pregnancy and birth, ways to spread information on pre-conception health issues, and much more. We share songs! We remind each other that “when you teach a man you teach one person. When you teach a women you teach a community”.

Come train with ICTC!

To my ICTC Sisters who have responded I give a shout out— Hey Nikki and Jennie!!!