Are you interested in becoming a doula but wondering which is the best doula training? You’ve come to the right place to look. The International Doula Institute (IDI) quickly grew to a leading organization for doula training over the last decade.
As the doula field continues to grow, we know more students than ever are looking for truly flexible, evidence-based, and comprehensive training. Because IDI was founded by an experienced doula and busy working parent, it is designed to be easy to work through without sacrificing important evidence-based information.
IDI has created a training experience that sets students up for long-term success in birth and postpartum work.
IDI Uses Comprehensive, Evidence-Based Curriculum
Our curriculum is rooted in best practices in maternal health, infant development, and perinatal support. We also regularly review and update our courses to reflect current evidence and trends in birth.
Unique to IDI is our fully comprehensive perinatal expert package so doulas can go beyond birth and postpartum and dive into many areas of support. Whether training to be a birth doula, postpartum doula, or certified breastfeeding counselor, our students receive science-backed information.
Our curriculum is designed to empower you to support all families confidently and competently. We go beyond the basics of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum and dive into emotional support, trauma-informed care, cultural sensitivity, and teaching parents how to advocate.
The holistic approach of IDI ensures you are prepared for the real-world complexity of birth and postpartum care.
Flexible Online Learning – Go At Your Own Pace!
If you’re like most of our students, you want to get into birth work, but you are already balancing a career, family, or caregiving responsibilities. We understand this and offer 100% online, self-paced training.
You can study at your own pace and access materials anytime, from anywhere. Our learning platform is even mobile phone friendly! This flexibility makes doula training more accessible, especially if you’re in a rural area or international location with few in-person training offerings.
We Provide Support and Community
At IDI, we do not just train doulas – we aim to cultivate birth experts. These experts know how to get into their communities and serve families. Students have access to their instructors who offer a mentorship style role, and a thriving student and peer doula community.
We aim to guide you from training through certification to finding families who need support. Wondering how to let your community know what doula support you offer? Our training includes the basics of marketing and connecting with your community.
The International Doula Institute Is Truly Inclusive
The team at IDI is diverse which leads to authentic, lived experience, inclusive training. While we offer a unique Diversity, Equity and Inclusion For Birth Workers certification, the concept of being truly inclusive is woven throughout all our courses.
As an IDI trained doula, you will be truly equipped to support the diverse needs of modern families. We know families come in many forms. We believe in reproductive justice, mental health awareness, LGBTQ+ inclusive care, and working with all family structures in a way that helps ensure families have dignified support throughout the perinatal experience.
Our training reflects today’s birth landscape and prepares our doulas to be respectful and effective allies to all families.
The Best Doula Training is Truly Accessible
At IDI, we pride ourselves in offering a high-value education at an accessible price point. We offer affordable payment plans. One major perk of being a fully online training is no costly in-person requirements. When you train online, there are no travel costs, no retreat costs, etc. We do our best to reduce financial barriers without compromising quality curriculum and training.
IDI Offers Multiple Certifications
At IDI, we believe in helping our doulas reach their goals. From birth and postpartum doula training to get started, through lactation and childbirth educator trainings, and even prenatal yoga and nutrition certifications, we make it easy to become a true perinatal expert.
Many students begin with one certification then jump in for more, building well-rounded skillsets that serve families through the full continuum of care.
IDI Is Respected in the Perinatal Field
Our certified doulas serve families in a variety of settings including hospitals, WIC offices, birth centers, nonprofit organizations, and more all over the world.
We also work with hospitals to provide training to their staff. While most doulas continue to work privately with families, IDI is a recognized training organization with several states’ Medicaid programs.
The International Doula Institute stands out for our commitment to quality, accessibility, and inclusivity in doula education.
Whether you’re just beginning your journey into birth work or looking to add new skills, IDI offers a top-tier training experience that prepares you to make a meaningful impact.
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...