Being a doula is a rewarding career that allows women to support other women before, during and after giving birth. While a doula works to assist and provide support for an expectant mother, a doula does not have any medical training. Even though a doula does not receive any medical training as part of their doula certification, you can still play an important role in helping an expectant mother have a positive experience.
So, what do you need to know before you pursue a rewarding career as a doula?
The decision to become a doula, is not an easy one, nor should it be. There are numerous rewards that are associated with being a doula. We are here to help you understand the process of becoming a doula.
Many women are drawn to the doula profession as a means to help other women transition to motherhood. Others decide to pursue doula training as an extension of their current profession as a childbirth educator, lactation specialist or other health-related field.
Those who are interested in pursuing a rewarding career as a doula might be wondering, what are the necessary steps to become a doula? In order to be a doula, one must complete training and become certified. Most requirements include attending childbirth education, learning about breastfeeding, and attending a specified number of births. Those who wish to specialize and become a postpartum doula, will continue their education by learning about the principles of home visitation and how to care for infants and mothers. Both our birth and postpartum doulas learn about cultural diversity, ethics and basic business practices.
Training to become a certified doula is available through the International Doula Institute training program. Having a doula certification can open up career opportunities that are limited to certified doulas and can also provide additional confidence to prospective clients. For those who are wishing to work in a hospital or birthing center, you will need to be certified.
As more and more women are electing to have home births or births in birthing centers, doulas are increasingly becoming more and more popular. If you’ve ever thought about becoming a doula, now is the time to complete your training and become certified through the International Doula Institute! Contact us to learn more about this amazing career and discover if being a doula is right for you.
Author: Aliza Juliette Bancoff
Aliza Juliette Bancoff is a well-known doula and doula trainer who has been providing doula services to families for over a decade. She is the founder of Main Line Doulas, a doula group providing doula support in the great Philadelphia area for the last decade, the International Doula Institute, which provides online doula training and lactation training and certification programs and the International Breastfeeding Institute which provides lactation training and certification. She is the co-founder of United Birth, a company devoted to increasing access to doulas across the country to make the perinatal time safer both physically and emotionally. “Every birthing person deserves access to quality doula support. And we are working to make that a reality across the country. The work we are doing to get doulas to every birthing person will decrease the black infant and maternal mortality rate significantly by 2030.” Says Bancoff. Aliza is known for her compassionate and empowering approach to doula work, and she has been featured in numerous media outlets, including United Nations Maternal Health Report, Parent Magazine, CafeMom, theBump and many more. Aliza's journey into doula work began when she gave birth to her first child and felt a strong calling...