Doulas offer invaluable experience, and childbirth educators add more evidence-based knowledge. Birth doulas are uniquely positioned to support families throughout pregnancy and labor. Our strength lies in emotional support, physical comfort measures, advocacy, and presence.
As doulas, we learn through hands-on experience. We support labor as it unfolds in real time. However, many doulas reach a point where they want a stronger foundation in the why behind birth.
Childbirth educators receive extensive book-based learning about labor and birth. We study anatomy and physiology, fetal positioning, hormones in labor, risk and benefit considerations for interventions, and how best practices align with major organizations such as ACOG, ACNM, and WHO. This structured knowledge allows us to teach confidently and accurately.
When doulas pursue childbirth educator certification, especially through a comprehensive program like the International Doula Institute (IDI), they combine lived birth experience with deep, research-based understanding.
Childbirth Educators Teach the “Why” Behind Birth
As doulas, we already do a lot of informal teaching. We explain comfort measures, positions, offer information about hospital routines, and talk through birth plans. However, as childbirth educators, we are trained to teach systematically. We learn:
- How to present complex concepts in clear, digestible formats
- How to explain physiology accurately
- How to offer unbiased, research-based information
- How to encourage critical thinking so parents are confident in informed decision making
As doulas, we can show a parent techniques like hip squeezes or rebozo work. However, a childbirth educator can explain how fetal rotation and hormones influence those techniques. The doula teaches what to do. The childbirth educator teaches why it matters.
This deeper educational foundation allows doulas to support informed decision-making without ever crossing into medical advice. As a doula, if you become a childbirth educator you gain the knowledge to educate more and the skills to do so while staying within your scope of practice.
Enhanced Communication With Parents and Providers
A deeper understanding of the birth process gives doulas greater confidence. When doulas have the educational background of a childbirth educator, they can articulate concepts clearly and help families navigate the clinical language used by providers.
This does not change the doula’s role or scope — doulas do not make medical recommendations and neither do childbirth educators. Instead, it enhances ability as doulas to help parents understand their choices and communicate their preferences in an empowered way.
Increased Sustainability and Growth
Another advantage of becoming a childbirth educator is sustainability. Teaching classes allows you to work with more families without relying solely on being on-call. Childbirth educators can teach:
- Group childbirth education classes
- Private sessions for individual families
- Virtual classes for flexibility
- Workshops for hospitals, clinics, or community organizations
This means more families served, more predictable resources coming in, and more balance in work and personal life.
Teaching childbirth education also introduces your doula services to families earlier in pregnancy — often resulting in meaningful, naturally flowing doula-client relationships.
IDI’s Training Bridges Knowledge and Real-World Application
The International Doula Institute (IDI) designed our childbirth educator training specifically for doulas and perinatal professionals who want to deepen their evidence-based knowledge. Our program teaches not only what to teach, but how to teach it effectively:
- Evidence-based content aligned with current guidelines and trends in birth
- Practical information and examples so you can develop teaching materials that align with your style
- Examples of how to conduct a class, encourage critical thinking, and help families learn through discussion rather than just lecture
Certified Childbirth Educators come away with confidence. For doulas who take this course, they have confidence not just in attending births, but in educating families and communities.
Doula + Educator = Comprehensive Support
Becoming a childbirth educator doesn’t replace doula work, it strengthens it. When we understand physiology on a deeper level, we can support clients through every phase: prenatal preparation, the birth itself, and postpartum transition.
A doula walks the journey with families. A childbirth educator lights the path ahead. When doulas become childbirth educators, they do both. Ready to get started? Register today!
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...