Postpartum Doula Training
A Postpartum doula assists new families through the adjustments of new parenthood with compassionate presence, basic breastfeeding support and care of the woman and newborn using a variety of hands-on practical skills and information.
Begin or expand your postpartum doula business by attending Birth Ways International Postpartum Doula training. It's live-streamed so you can attend wherever you are around the world!
Our program is a dreamy blend of the live-streamed weekend workshop, the self-paced learning modules, monthly Q&A sessions, and the community of doulas you will meet at the workshop and in the Zoom calls.
This interactive comprehensive program prepares you to be a confident postpartum doula helping women through the transitions of the fourth trimester. Lessons you will learn how to share include preparing for postpartum, making an effective postpartum plan, and thriving after the baby is born.
The live-streamed workshop is a required part of the program which also includes:
- Virtual vault of resources that are proven to be solid and evidence-based
- Educational videos tailored to postpartum doula issues where we share tips and wisdom from our 35 years of experience
- Modules of instruction and content to complete at your own pace and learn before the weekend
- Awesome links to resources and videos you can learn from and use with your clients
- Virtual hospital tour again (also recorded) with a master doula
- Access to Zoom check-ins and Q&A sessions with instructor and other doulas Community!!
- Comprehensive Postpartum Doula Manual full of user-friendly language, info, guidelines, sample forms, business ideas, client sheets
We've received great feedback on the learning modules as they give participants a chance to work at their own pace, process the info and ask questions. It also reduces the time we have to be sitting in front of our screens during the weekend - we have scheduled lots of breaks, breakout rooms and varied teaching styles during the training.
We are master doulas and instructors and have been training doulas since 2013 (online since 2015) so we are experienced in making this a wonderful live-streamed learning experience.
Whether you want to support a loved one through postpartum or you wish to start a career for yourself as a Postpartum Doula, this training will give you all the tools, resources, and hands-on practice you need to get started right away. You will be qualified to start taking clients immediately upon completion!
Some participants are parents and others are not. Some have been to births before but many haven’t. We have young people, wise elders, and everything in between – it’s never too early or too late to embark upon this path. Rural and urban people attend. Some participants have no background knowledge or experience while others are healthcare professionals.
Click here for dates and details. You can register on this link too.
As soon as you register, you can begin working on the online modules. You will attend one of the workshops. Details are on the first page of the registration site - easy.
You Will Learn:
- Practising with integrity
- Scope of practice and when/where to refer out
- Creating your menu of services
- Key doula standards, Code of Conduct and professional ethics
- Working effectively with medical care providers and others
- Postpartum support tools, practical skills, comfort measures / coping methods
- Self-awareness, your ideal client, your boundaries and biases
- Basic anatomy and physiology specific to postpartum
- Prenatal and postpartum client visits
- Postpartum recovery & care of mother
- Care and feeding of newborns
- How birth interventions / trauma affect postpartum care and recovery
- Warning signs for mother and baby
- Ideas for sibling and extended family
- Working with diverse clients/families/populations
- Common concerns for new parents/informed decision making
- Effective communication – listening skills, impact of language
- Honouring individual birth process - memory of birth, narrative
- Business start-up, payment options/range for postpartum doulas
The fee is $525.*
Contact us if you'd like more information or click here to register.
If you wish to pursue postpartum doula certification through Birth Ways International, this course is the first step. While certification is not required to work as a postpartum doula, it is a valuable process. Please check out the certification page for an explanation of the cost and why we chose to make it a separate product.
* There are no hidden fees such as membership, mandatory conferences, admin fees, etc. You can start taking clients after the weekend training.
Postpartum Doula Training Participant Testimonials:
Every workshop I take from Angie and Karen I end up with a sense of wellbeing. I enjoyed the openness and knowledge they bring to the training; I especially liked the idea that there is so much more to being a Postpartum doula that just holding a baby and cleaning – that holding the space might be worth more than having a shower!
Brooke, Regina, SK
It was a lovely training! Thank you so much for furthering my knowledge on how to better serve women, especially a demographic that is in need of this type of service. I appreciated hearing about their personal experiences and all the tips and tricks that you wouldn’t read in a book.
Katie, Ottawa, ON