doula

Only 300 copies of the Radical Doula Guide left

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Cover of Radical Doula Guide

About a month back I had to set up a new online store for the Radical Doula Guide, as my old one decided to no longer offer the service. You can now order copies of the guide here. Same deal, similar credit card processing, new look and URL!

I’ve sold over 1100 copies since it published a year and a half ago. I’ve been blown away by the interest and support for it–so a major thank you to everyone who has bought a copy, or suggested it as a resource. I sincerely hope it’s been of use.

I have about 300 copies left. Haven’t decided what I’ll do when they run out–whether I’ll order a new run to keep selling print copies, create a digital version for download, etc. But if you have been wanting to get a copy, now is a good time to order one.

If you have links to the old Radical Doula Guide store on your website, consider updating them. This page is a good reference as it will always be updated with the most recent information.

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Is finding a job as a doula difficult?

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Continuing my tradition of posting answers I get via email here, I recently got a question from an inspiring doula wanting to know about what education background she might need, and if it would be difficult to find a job as a doula.

My answer:

Thanks for your email. Doula work can be really rewarding!

In terms of your questions, it’s not a traditional profession like others you might know about. While there are many doulas who do that work professionally, there is no formal education requirement (meaning a college or master’s degree or some sort). Instead, people of all education backgrounds participate in doula trainings (usually a long weekend) and then decide if they want to pursue certification as doulas (not required).

The jobs, then, are also less formalized. With few exceptions, most doulas work independently and find clients directly. Kind of like a massage therapist might. Those doulas build their own client base through marketing and word of mouth, and work on a fee for service basis (aka you charge people directly for your services, anywhere from $300-$3000 per birth, depending on experience, location, etc).

So the job search is a very different process.

I hope that helps! If you’re interested in doula work, I’d recommend signing up for a training and there you will learn a lot more about how it works.

The whole idea of being a self-employed doula, I’ve noticed, is really new for a lot of people. If you’re going to live off your doula work it really will require a lot of self-motivation and some business savvy. You also have to figure out how to get your own health insurance, and paying taxes is more complicated when you are self-employed. It’s a lot to learn! I’m only just now starting to hear about more formal full-time jobs as doulas, in hospitals or with agencies.

If you want to read more about my musings on the future of the doula movement and institutionalization, read this column.

What’s the goal of the doula movement?

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In my latest column for RH Reality Check I muse about the question of the goal of the doula movement.

I felt a bit nervous putting this one out there because it touches on issues of money, sustainability, access to our services for those who need it most, and how institutional affiliation impacts the ability to make change.

When I talk about these issues I’m very conscious of the fact that I don’t make a living as a doula. While a few of the things I do that relate to doula work–publishing the Radical Doula Guide, writing my column for RH Reality Check, the occasional speaking gig–brings in some modest income (we’re talking under a few thousand dollars per year), the bulk of my pay-the-rent money comes from non-doula related work (primarily my work with non-profit orgs as communications consultant). So, I know that all of my commentary on these issues comes from the position of someone outside the doula work is my living community.

And I want to make clear that I find nothing wrong with doula work as a profession, it’s just not the path I’ve chosen for myself or my work, for many mostly personal and logistical reasons.

So, the column:

There is no easy answer to the question of where the doula movement is headed. It’s clear to me that doulas provide an important and potentially transformative intervention for our maternal health system. But it’s also clear to me that institutionalization and professionalization threaten the very model we’ve developed, a model that, because it is outside the medical system, allows us to shift the dynamic and improve outcomes.

An alternative that I think may be more feasible is working to bring the doula model of care to existing participants in the health-care system. How could the doula model transform the way current providers, like doctors and nurses, care for their patients? Rather than creating a vast doula profession, could we transform maternity care by turning everyone into doulas? Could family members, for example, be trained or shown how to provide the kind of support that doulas provide?

I think doula work is valuable and important, and I also don’t believe the essence of doula work—non-judgmental and unconditional support for pregnant and parenting people—needs to be locked away in a system that says only a certain amount of training, certificates, or other paperwork bestows upon someone the right to provide this support. We run the risk of replicating the model we’re trying to revolutionize. And I don’t think that is where real social change happens.

Read the full thing for my whole analysis, including one example of a midwife bringing doula-like training to existing members of the broader health care network.

I would love to hear from you, fellow doulas, what do you think is the goal of our movement? How do you think we’ll get there?