Day 1

This session will likely focus on effective communication techniques for understanding the families that doulas work with. Every family is unique and communication is a very important skill to grow in order to effectively support the family including their partners, and communicating with healthcare providers. We will practice active listening, paraphrasing, open-ended questioning, and navigating challenging conversations. We start the training here so that we can practice through our time together.
This session will delve into a core responsibility of a birth doula. We will discuss our personal opinions, feelings and the ethical considerations involved in supporting the family with their wishes, not ours. Checking our biases before entering a hospital or a families home and personal world is very important for a healthy doula who knows her boundaries and judgements.
We cover pregnancy and birth anatomy and how it can be presented to the birthing family so that they have a greater understanding of the birth process. We cover hormonal changes, anatomical aspects, and different stages of labor and birth as well as the 4 P’s: passage, passenger, pelvis, psyche.
This is an interactive session that is hands on in order to learn comfort touch, massage, labor positions and using communication, comfort and the ability to hear your clients desires, yes’s and no’s. You will learn to confidently support your clients physically in labor and become proficient at asking for consent before touch.
This is a deep dive into specific medical topics like pain management, interventions, and variations of birth (VBAC, breech presentation, twin deliveries, pain medication, high risk pregnancies, inner-uterine growth restriction, fetal monitoring, and much more.
Time to address any lingering questions or topics you'd like further clarification on. Scenario cards are used to begin our process of thinking like a doula and troubleshooting real scenarios that you will come across.

Day 2

We love guest speakers. Some of the topics we have had in the past trainings include: Optimal Fetal Positioning, Postpartum Support, Lactation counselors, Spinning babies, How to navigate a hospital taught by an RN and lots more.
It can be very effective to have the right tools in your pocket so to speak and be the most effective one can be as a doula. We will cover the unique tools Lisa and Bonnie have picked up along the way including the use of a tens unit and keeping a log of the birth for the family, aromatherapy, massage tools, unique lighting and more.
Observe Bonnie conducting a prenatal visit with a pregnant family.
Witness the interaction between her as a doula and the mama, and her partner. See how she weaves him into the prenatal visit.
Debrief the experience afterward, focusing on communication styles, information gathering, the families fears, hopes and concerns. See her use education and techniques during the prenatal and follow along with your own prenatal flow sheet.
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Safety Briefing: Trainer outlines safety considerations and potential risks of ice baths. We discuss why using our new skills to support each other through an potentially uncomfortable experience (an ice bath) is beneficial to the training so that we can put our new skills to work.
Ice Bath “prenatal”: Each partner takes a turn discovering the unique fears, expectations and comfort/coping skills so that their doula partner can provide emotional and physical support during the ice bath experience on day three.
Culture, identity, beliefs, and sensitivities are not always obvious. We teach doulas to approach every family with curiosity, humility, and respect—to ask thoughtful, open-ended questions, listen carefully, and create space for people to share the traditions, values, boundaries, language, identities, and experiences that are important to them.
Birth does not always unfold as expected. Plans can change quickly, and families may be faced with interventions, complications, difficult decisions, transfers, cesarean birth, separation from their baby, NICU care, loss, or other unexpected outcomes.
We teach doulas how to remain grounded and supportive when birth takes an unexpected turn. This includes helping families understand what is happening, encouraging communication with their medical team, supporting informed decision-making, protecting moments of connection when possible, and helping parents feel seen and cared for during uncertainty.

Day 3

A lactation consultant will teach us the importance of breastfeeding initiation and latch techniques. Common breastfeeding challenges and solutions that doulas can watch for.
How to provide emotional and informational support to new parents navigating breastfeeding while staying in your skill set as a doula. We create interactive sessions with role-playing scenarios to practice communication and support skills.
The business of doula work can be tedious and confusing. An expert will be with us to guide you through the process of starting your thriving business and provide you with necessary tools and resources. We will also help you networking and building relationships with birth professionals.
It is time to put our new skills and tools into play. Doula groups from Day 2 now support each other through an ice bath experience. Allowing each trainee to experience both the ice bath and also holding the doula role for the other through the ice bath experience.
Afterwards we debrief the experience much like a birth. Discussing the effectiveness of the support received and also what could have been done differently and more.
We teach doulas how to support bonding and early feeding, encourage rest and nourishment, notice when a parent may need additional medical or emotional support, and help families process the birth experience without imposing our own interpretation of it.
A birth doula’s postpartum role is not to provide ongoing postpartum care, but to offer continuity. We help families transition from birth into early parenthood feeling supported, informed, witnessed, and connected to appropriate resources when more care is needed.
We have been doulas for decades and we know the realities of the emotional and physical challenges of doula work, including loss of sleep, the weight upon a partner or family of a person who is a birth worker and compassion fatigue. While teaching practical tools for self-care, stress management, nervous system regulation, we also go into the realities of work/life balance and how to walk that very fine line.
Time to address any lingering questions or topics you'd like further clarification on. Scenario cards are used to begin our process of thinking like a doula and troubleshooting real scenarios that you will come across.
We will summarize key learnings and outlines expectations for the remainder of the training program, how to find a coach as you create your business and how to become certified if you want to take that path.

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