Doulas of North America (DONA):
This is the largest doula organization in the US, which also does international work. They hold the largest number of doula trainings, and are probably a good place to start. I did my training with DONA in 2005, and while I enjoyed it a lot, it left things to be desired (see above). That said, I appreciate the foundation it gave me. Go here to find a doula training in your area.
toLabor: The Organization of Labor Assistants and Birth Options:
This group was born out of the group formerly known as ALACE. I do not have any experience with toLabor (or ALACE) but there workshop sounds really interesting from the website description. The tuition is about $425 (with various discounts for certain things). From their website:
toLabor’s doula training program is unique among all the other doula training organizations in North America for several reasons:
-advocates for the midwifery model of care, regardless of care provider (midwife or doctor), or place of birth (hospital, birth center, or home).
-encourages trust in the birth process, respects it as a woman-centered passage, and is dedicated to supporting women’s birth choices.
-respects obstetric procedures as beneficial in some circumstances but potentially detrimental when applied routinely. We emphasize evidence-based practices, informed consent and prevention of medically unnecessary interventions.
-help increase parents’ confidence in the natural process of birth. We teach relaxation and coping tools to work with pain and discomfort, rather than techniques for avoiding sensation.
-has long been recognized for its holistic approach to childbirth. Our instructors are respected for their incorporation of psychological aspects and mind-body integration in their classes.
-offers the most rigorous doula training program, providing you with a solid base of knowledge about the physiology of the body and how it works during labor and birth, allowing you to become aware of what kind of physical support your client needs.
-training gives you the skills and confidence necessary to provide the emotional and psychological support your clients need.
Tuition includes the entire training and certification process: the training workshop, processing your work, the exam, the certificate itself, and the first year of membership in toLabor.
International Center for Traditional Childbearing (ICTC):
ICTC is the one doula training organization I know of focused on the experiences and expertise of women of color. You can read about one doula’s experiences with ICTC here. About ICTC:
The International Center for Traditional Childbearing, ICTC is a non-profit, culturally diverse, pregnancy support, health promotion and training organization. We offer prenatal and parenting classes, doula services/trainings and complete pregnancy support. As a whole, we strive to positively impact the lives of the unborn, newborn, mothers, fathers and their families; through education, breastfeeding promotion, and overall self-care. We are fully committed to the empowerment of women, increasing positive birth outcomes and decreasing infant mortality in African American Communities. Impart: We strive to follow the moral and ethical guidance of our learned Midwives and Healers of past.
Their training is called the “Full-Circle Doula/Birth Companion” training. It costs $400, and here is a brief description:
Blessed is the Doula whose intention is to sacrifice her time to serve the mothers, babies and families. A doula is a birth companion who provides personal support to women and families throughout the pregnancy and birth experience. ICTC sponsors Full Circle Birth Companion/Doula Trainings.
Our training’s are perfect for students interested in learning midwifery or Doula skills from an international perspective, focusing on enhancing the prenatal and birth experience for women and their families. Full Circle Birth Companion Doulas will learn Childbirth Education methods, New Baby Care, and Breastfeeding counseling.
Our training staff is comprised of midwives, doulas, health workers, and guest speakers, who are experts in the maternal and child health field. Doula attended births contribute to a reduction of cesarean rates and shorter labors, reduction in epidural requests and analgesia use, reduction in vacuum and forceps deliveries, improvements in bonding experience and partner satisfaction after births and higher breast feeding success rates
Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association (CAPPA):
I just came across the organization (which is connected to Operation Special Delivery (see third step)), so I can’t vouch for them. If you have experiences with CAPPA, email me, I would love to have a guest post! They have a doula training program, as well as certification. You can read about the organization here, and about their vision of childbirth here.
Birth Arts International:
Also don’t know much about this group, it was forwarded along. From their site:
Birth Arts International was originally founded in 2000 by Demetria Clark as the Green Mountain Doula Guild. Since then the organization has expanded and grown into Birth Arts. We have gone from a regional body to one that is working on a national level, offering extensive doula, postpartum doula and advanced doula trainings.
They have distance learning and workshops. More info here.
Intuitive Doula:
Not a group I’m very familiar with, but one reader recommended their training, which is done long-distance.
Carla Stange and Marilyn Lemos have developed a distance learning doula training course that explores the instinctive and intuitive role of the birth and postpartum doula.
Our Intention
- Intuitive Doula invites you to join us in the efforts to transform the world, one birth at a time, through enabling positive birth experiences.
- Intuitive Doula intends to support the doula’s basic role, that is, to provide an atmosphere of support and loving guidance throughout the birth process.
- We intentionally honor the birthing rights of all women.
- We aspire to enhance the art and instinctive and intuitive nature of the doula’s role.
- We work to guide a doula’s understanding and recognition of birth as a transformational life experience and a rite of passage.
- We believe in the doula’s purpose to support women in their physical, emotional, spiritual, and social needs during pregnancy, birth and postpartum.
- Our ultimate aim is to teach aspiring doulas to support women in birth thereby decreasing the amount and frequency of interventions and unnecessary procedures used in hospitals.
- Above all we protect the desire of women and believe and trust in the beauty and strength of their bodies to bring forth life.
Commonsense Childbirth Doula Training (the JJ Way):
I met Jennie Joseph, the woman behind the Commonsense Childbirth school, a few years ago. She’s amazing. A British midwife of African descent, Jennie brings a passion and a vision for childbirth care to her practice in Florida. She focuses on working with low-income and high-risk women and has done incredible things with reducing interventions and improving outcomes. I don’t know anything about her doula training, but all of the information about the training is available here.
Doula Caribe (Puerto Rico):
Their website explains that they offer birth and postpartum doula trainings in Spanish, in Puerto Rico. Full details here (website in Spanish). Not a group I’ve worked with.
Know of other doula trainings? Email me (radicaldoula[AT]gmail[DOT]com) with information and I’ll add it.
