Doulas and childbirth educators are both essential experts for childbirth. They each provide unique support and guidance to expectant parents. This is why the International Doula Institute certifies many birth experts, as each role completements others.
While doulas offer continuous physical, emotional, and informational support during labor and birth, childbirth educators focus on preparing parents for the birthing process through comprehensive education and skill-building.
Doulas also provide basic prenatal preparation. However, most doulas provide two 2-hour prenatal visits which are also meant to cover personal preferences, birth plans, etc., and may not leave enough time for truly comprehensive childbirth education.
So, why should a doula consider becoming a childbirth educator? Lots of reasons!
When a Doula is Also an Educator – Comprehensive Preparation for Expectant Parents:
Doulas who become childbirth educators can offer expectant parents a holistic approach to childbirth preparation. By combining hands-on support during labor with comprehensive education families learn more including:
- What to expect during labor
- Childbirth techniques and options
- Coping strategies
- Potential interventions
- Informed decision-making
So, doulas-turned-educators empower parents to navigate the birthing process with confidence and knowledge. Many doulas encourage the parents they support to take comprehensive childbirth education, however, this is not available in all areas. When a doula becomes an educator, they can easily offer both services to their clients.
Continuity of Care
As both childbirth educators and doulas, these experts can establish a deeper connection with expectant parents. They can provide continuity of care throughout the childbirth journey. Do you want to offer the families you support continuity of care? Becoming a childbirth educator is a great way to do so!
When parents are navigating pregnancy in our modern model of maternity care, continuity of care is often lacking. Many practices, even midwifery ones, include multiple providers. Having a doula and childbirth educator who is the same person allows for a chance at continuity of support.
Starting from childbirth education classes, where parents learn about labor stages, comfort measures, and birth preferences, to the labor and birth itself, where doulas offer continuous support and advocacy, this seamless transition ensures consistent guidance and support for expectant parents.
Childbirth Educators and Doulas Enhance Advocacy and Empowerment:
By combining the roles of doula and childbirth educator, birth experts can amplify their advocacy efforts. They can empower parents to become active participants in their birth experiences. As a doula, you know how important supporting parents in advocacy is. Becoming a childbirth education can help you support them even more!
Childbirth education equips parents with the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions. Doula support facilitates spaces where their preferences are more likely to be respected and their voices are heard during labor and birth.
This collaborative approach fosters a sense of empowerment and confidence for expectant parents throughout their birth journey. It is often even more beneficial when the support prenatally and during birth comes from the same person. Continuity of care and support matters!
Diversification of Services – Be a Doula and Childbirth Educator
Offering both doula services and childbirth education classes allows birth experts to diversify the support they offer. With multiple ways to support families, they can cater to a broader range of families.
While some parents desire the hands-on support of a doula, other parents do not or may not have the means for it. By also providing comprehensive childbirth education, you have an additional way to support families which benefits your role as a birth expert as well as helps your community.
Alternatively, not all parents need comprehensive childbirth education. Some parents work in maternity, might be an educator themselves, or have previously given birth. By offering doula support, an educator can expand their offerings.
Doula support is also unscheduled and on-call. This unpredictable nature can make it difficult to support many families. By providing childbirth education, you can expand the families you support and how much you provide services.
Expert Growth and Development
Becoming a childbirth educator in addition to being a doula presents opportunities for expert educational growth and development. Doulas can expand their knowledge base, enhance their teaching skills, and stay updated on current childbirth practices and research.
As you’ve learned as a doula, continuing education is an important part of being a birth expert. This continuous learning journey not only benefits expectant parents but also enriches your own expertise and practice as a doula and educator.
The integration of doula and childbirth educator roles offers a synergistic approach to supporting expectant parents through the childbirth journey. 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...