As summer slips away and the kids are headed back to school, you might find yourself with a little more time on your hands. This makes now the perfect time to do something for YOU! You can become a doula, and you can start today.
Why now? As a busy parent, I know back to school time still doesn’t mean tons of free time. However, you might find an extra hour or two each day with a bit more free time. If that’s the case, you can dive in a learn while your kids are learning too.
When the kids go back to school, it’s an opportunity to reclaim some of your time and focus on personal growth. For parents, especially mothers who have dedicated years to nurturing their children, this transition can be the ideal moment to explore a new passion. Becoming a doula is not just about learning new skills; it’s about embracing a role that is deeply rooted in compassion, care, and empowerment—qualities many parents have honed over the years.
How Do I Become a Doula While The Kids Are At School?
At the International Doula Institute, we pride ourselves on being an accessible program which can fit into nearly any schedule. In fact, the bulk of your doula training can even be done right from your smartphone!
Our unique go at your own pace program allows you to finish in as little as six weeks, while offering the flexibility to take up to a year to finish. Best of all, the steps to become a doula are easy to follow.
There’s just four steps to become a certified doula:
- Complete all modules of the online curriculum including readings, real world practice, written assignments and tests.
- Sign the Scope of Practice
- Sign the Doula Code of Conduct Statement
- Sign the Disciplinary Standards
And if you’re wondering what step 1 entails, to complete all the modules you will need to:
- Complete each module in our online curriculum
- Observe a childbirth class
- Receive your tentative certification
- Attend two births as a birth doula within one year of receiving your certification
That’s it! You’re a certified birth doula.
Can I Really Balance a Doula Journey and Parenthood?
While everyone’s circumstances are unique, many parents find doula work meshes perfectly with parenthood. Why? While life on-call has its challenges, it affords a certain flexibility. You can choose how many families you support each month as well as what areas you serve.
As far as completing your training while balancing parenthood, our program is designed to be completed at your own pace. Many parents can squeeze their doula training work in between naps, school days, after bedtime and on weekends.
What Our Students Say
If you are wondering if you can truly balance parenthood, perhaps another career, and doula training, rest assured many people are able to do it! If they can do it, you can become a doula too!
Here’s what some of our now Certified Doulas and former students said:
“My experience with IDI has been amazing. I love the freedom of being able to do my programs online and go at my own pace. The instructors are supportive and they help whenever you need it. I very much appreciate the Facebook group community they have for the students, it’s a great way to network and get to know other students on the same journey as me. The best overall is that I was able to make monthly payments, whereas in other programs you have to pay for them all at once.” – Tanesha
“International Doula Institute made it so easy by offering a “go at your own pace” course. This was such a benefit as I had multiple major life changes happen within the year I took this course. Each of the assignments helped develop my skills, knowledge and passion to serve families from all walks of life. I especially loved writing several papers on different cultural practices regarding birth and postpartum. The assignments challenged me to rethink everything I knew (or heard) about birth and to approach it in a way that now includes non-biased knowledge and facts. This course encourages you to never stop learning about birth and postpartum. Every staff member and teacher was always kind and answered any questions I had. It truly had been a 10/10 experience with this course and I am so grateful for the skills it has taught me!” – Mikayla
See? It’s very possible! Hurry and get started today with our special Back to School pricing.
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...