For those interested in the miracle of childbirth, exploring becoming a doula can be a fulfilling path. While medical providers focus on clinical aspects of birth, doulas provide non-medical physical and emotional support. Their role is to help foster a positive and empowering birth experience. This can be a unique path for a CNA.
For Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), transitioning to the role of a doula offers a unique opportunity. This is especially true due to the growing demand for birth doulas. CNAs can utilize their prior clinical knowledge and patient care to transition into doula services.
This article explores the benefits of transitioning into doula support as well as how to go about it.
Understanding the Role of a Doula
Unlike doctors, nurses, or midwives, who focus on safe medical outcomes, a doula focuses on emotional, informational, and physical support. The exact support depends on the needs of the expecting family.
This unique support system complements the medical care provided by healthcare professionals. Doula support can help ensure the birthing experience is as positive and empowering as possible given the circumstances.
Emotionally, doulas are a pillar of strength and encouragement. Childbirth can be a rollercoaster of emotions, and doulas are there to:
- provide reassurance
- reduce anxiety and fear
- help strengthen the bond between the parents and baby
- encourage active participation in decision making.
Doulas offer a comforting presence focused on the birthing person’s emotional well-being, allowing them to express their desires and concerns in a safe and supportive environment.
Doulas are also valuable resource. They offer evidence-based information to help families make informed decisions. From explaining medical procedures and potential interventions to discussing the pros and cons of different birthing positions, doulas ensure that parents feel knowledgeable and confident in their decisions. This aspect of the work is crucial, as it empowers families to take an active role in the birthing process.
Doulas also provide hands-on support to ease the discomforts of labor. This non-medical physical support includes but is not limited to:
- massage
- suggesting different positions to help labor progress
- breathing techniques
- relaxation techniques
- counter pressure
- double hip squeezes
- and more!
Doulas have comprehensive training in the physical challenges of childbirth and offer strategies and support to improve comfort and promote a smoother birthing experience.
The Potential Benefits to CNAs
For CNAs who become doulas, the day-to-day responsibilities in a hospital or birthing center provide them with understanding of the birthing process, patient care, and the dynamics of L&D units. Here’s an overview of the skills and experiences that CNAs acquire:
Medical Knowledge and Procedures
CNAs become familiar with medical terminology, procedures, and equipment in childbirth scenarios. This knowledge allows them to understand the medical aspects of childbirth, which is beneficial for providing accurate informational support as a doula.
Improved Patient Care Skills
CNA training provides skills for personal care and comfort to patients. In L&D, this might include assisting with mobility, helping with personal hygiene, monitoring vital signs, and providing support during labor. These skills are directly transferable to doula work, where physical comfort and emotional support are paramount.
Communication Skills
Effective communication is crucial in L&D settings, where doulas interact with doctors, nurses, patients, and family members. They learn to communicate clearly and compassionately, as doulas must navigate sensitive discussions, provide encouragement, and advocate for their client’s wishes during childbirth.
Empathy and Emotional Support
Working in L&D exposes doulas to the emotional intensities of childbirth. They learn to provide empathy and emotional support to families during one of the most significant moments of their lives.
Crisis Management and Teamwork
In L&D, doulas must respond quickly and efficiently to rapidly changing situations. This environment hones their ability to remain calm under pressure, think critically, and work collaboratively when unforeseen circumstances arise during labor.
Cultural Competence
Doulas in L&D units encounter families from diverse backgrounds and cultures, giving them insight into various childbirth practices and traditions. This cultural competence is crucial to providing respectful and personalized care.
Making the Path Change: Steps to Becoming a Doula
Here are detailed steps to moving from a CNA environment to helping in childbirth:
Research and Self-Reflection
Begin by learning about doula support. Research what doulas do, the types of support they provide, and their impact on childbirth experiences. Understanding the depth and breadth of this role is essential to making an informed decision about this path.
Doulas must be empathetic, patient, strong communicators, and passionate about supporting families through birth. It’s import to reflect on your motivation for becoming a doula and whether your personality traits align with the demands of this path.
Education and Certification
Certification involves completing a comprehensive training, like that provided here at the International Doula Insitute. Similar to studying for your CNA exam with these practice tests, it is important to really focus and study the course curriculum.
While it is vital to choose a CNA program which is fully accredited, there are not overseeing accrediting bodies for doula certification. However, the International Doula Institute follows guidelines in line with common with higher education accrediting bodies.
Gain Experience
Your experience as a CNA provides a solid foundation for understanding clinical aspects of birth and patient care. Use this knowledge to enhance your doula practice by bridging the gap between medical and emotional support for birthing families.
On top of that, build relationships with healthcare professionals, including those you may know from your time as a CNA, and connect with other doulas to share experiences and referrals.
Build Your Service as a Doula
Evaluate the benefits of joining a doula collective or agency, which can provide you with families to support, peer support, and opportunities for expertise development. Alternatively, offering independent doulas support to families offers more flexibility and autonomy but requires more marketing effort and management. If you choose to be independent, define your doula philosophy and the services you offer.
Create a marketing plan that may include developing a website, utilizing social media, and engaging with local community groups. Word-of-mouth will be one of your strongest marketing tools, so ensure every family has a positive experience.
In addition, familiarize yourself with the aspects of running a doula service, including support agreements, clear role of support, etc.
The transition to doula opens a path to a rewarding journey. A path which involves making a difference in the lives of growing families. So, hands-on experience in patient care, familiarity with the dynamics of labor and delivery, and understanding of the medical aspects of childbirth provide a strong foundation for this path switch.
Further, the empathy, communication skills, and ability to work under pressure that CNAs develop in their roles are directly transferable to doula support, where emotional support, informed decision-making assistance, and physical comfort are paramount. By leveraging this background in healthcare, you can offer a comprehensive support system that bridges the gap between the medical and emotional needs of birthing families.
This Guest Post is by Stacy Peterson from practicecnatest.com
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...