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Doulas play a key supporting role in bringing new life into the world. Birth doulas coach women through the ups and downs of labor and birth, while postpartum doulas help moms and families adjust to having a newborn and assist with everything from breastfeeding to household tasks.
But what does it take to become a doula? Here, experienced doulas share what you need to know about the training and certifications required of doulas-to-be.
What does a doula do?
The job duties of a doula can vary drastically depending on the type of doula, different sub-specialties and even by the day. Doula work is typically grouped into two overarching categories: birth or postpartum. They require separate training and certification. Whether you focus on one or both is a personal preference.
Birth doulas
“As birth doulas, we are there throughout pregnancy to answer questions that our clients have,” says Kristin Revere, a long-time doula, mentor and trainer who runs her own agency, Gold Coast Doulas, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A birth doula’s primary role is to support the birthing person, Revere notes, but they can also interact with any other loved ones involved and work as a team with their medical providers, if applicable.
The work of a birth doula can vary, but might include these tasks, according to Revere:
- Being available to support clients and answer questions throughout the pregnancy.
- Helping clients create a birth plan.
- Having prenatal appointments to check in.
- Offering resources throughout pregnancy, such as recommendations for physical therapists or future child care.
- Providing physical comfort and emotional support measures during labor.
- Taking photos in the immediate postpartum time.
- Empowering and advocating for clients during birth.
- Providing information on risks, benefits and alternatives if non-emergent, informed decisions must be made during labor.
- Following up post-birth to check on client’s emotional health, answer questions and offer support.
“Those with a passion for supporting women in the childbirth phase may only want to work as a birth doula. Other doulas on my team love supporting recovery and feeding.”
— Kristin Revere, doula, mentor and owner, Gold Coast Doulas
Postpartum doulas
A postpartum doula’s job, Revere says, can vary based on their training and preferred focus area. “Some postpartum trainings, like DONA International for example, are very focused on the recovery phase for the mother and supporting her primarily,” she explains. These doulas typically offer daytime support for the first six to eight weeks after birth. Revere says typical tasks may include:
- Supporting with feeding/nursing.
- Answering newborn care questions.
- Taking care of siblings to give the recovering parent a break.
- Watching the baby so your client can nap.
- Preparing snacks or light meals.
- Helping with light housework.
- Doing hands-on infant care (though not all daytime doulas include this).
Other postpartum doulas support families at night, often extending beyond the initial maternal leave and recovery period. “My agency works through the first year; we’re very focused on newborn care and sleep support,” Revere says.
Revere adds that some postpartum doulas are also trained as lactation consultants and/or sleep consultants. The type of work a postpartum doula does varies based on what they’re most passionate about. Those wanting to be involved with recovery support and helping around the house are ideal for daytime postpartum doula work; those preferring a focus on newborn care, feeding support and helping the family rest are better suited for overnight work.
How to become a doula
You don’t need prior relevant experience with parenting, child care or childbirth to become a doula, Revere says. However, while anyone can call themselves a doula — since the profession isn’t governed by a board — it can be difficult to get hired without formal training and a completed certification program.
If you complete a doula certification program, you’ll get all the basic training you need, Revere says. Doula training and certification provides the essential knowledge and preparation for the job, along with giving you significant credibility and a professional referral network. Additionally, employer benefits, along with Medicaid, increasingly cover birth or postpartum doulas and have the requirement of being certified.
While prior experience isn’t a requirement to become a doula, certain backgrounds can make the process easier. For example, “it’s easy to transition to postpartum doula if someone has been an infant babysitter or nanny and has that child care experience,” Revere says.
How long is doula training?
Some doula certification programs only require a few days’ worth of education and training, while others require hands-on learning and supporting several real births or postpartum families over the course of many months or a year.
How much is doula training?
Several organizations offer doula certification programs, and depending on the one you choose, it can cost anywhere from $200 to $2,000 to get certified, according to Childbirth International — though the average cost is typically between $650 and $1,000.
Organizations that offer doula training
DONA International
This is the largest doula certifying organization in the world, with over 14,000 certified doulas in more than 50 countries.
DONA International offers separate training for birth doulas and postpartum doulas. Birth doulas get certified by:
- Attending a DONA-approved workshop (virtually, in person or hybrid).
- Taking childbirth and lactation education courses.
- Supporting clients directly.
- Submitting documentation and undergoing evaluation.
- Completing a home study portion that includes creating a resource and referral list for your community, fulfilling a reading and education component and completing an application.
The process of becoming certified as a postpartum doula is very similar; the course material focuses on caring for new parents and babies after birth.
Cost: When you factor in the costs of a DONA-approved workshop, education and reading components and membership fee, the total cost to attain a birth doula certification with DONA is between $600-$1,000. For postpartum doula certification, total costs range between $655-$1,135.
ProDoula
ProDoula offers a more affordable option for doula certification. They focus on offering in-person training with their own standardized courses, and their birth doulas (which they call labor doulas) and postpartum doulas each require a two-day, 20-hour hands-on training.
Once you’ve completed in-person training, you’re what they call pre-certified, and you can start supporting clients. Once you’ve successfully completed your certification exam and have proof of CPR certification, you can become a certified doula. Once you’ve served at least three clients in the past 12 months, ProDoula lets you become a Certified Elite Doula (for an extra $50 application fee).
Cost: ProDoula’s certification and its required training currently costs a flat fee of $595. You also must pay a professional membership fee of $95 the first year, then $75 each year thereafter.
Birth Arts International
The Birth Arts International organization was established in 2000 and has a range of training and certification options, including for birth and postpartum doulas. From beginning to end, their certification program takes four to eight months since it’s self-paced.
The process includes:
- An online multimedia class with assignments and required readings.
- An online or in-person childbirth education class.
- Attending five births in your local community.
Postpartum doulas must also complete an educational program with required readings, in addition to attending to four families in the postpartum phase and fulfilling community support requirements.
Cost: For both their birth and postpartum doula programs, Birth Arts International charges $600 for certification (or three monthly payments of $235).
CAPPA
Established in1998, the CAPPA organization offers international certification for different types of doulas and educators.
To become a CAPPA labor doula, requirements include:
- Attending a training class either online or in-person.
- Completing required reading and education materials.
- Attending at least three labors/births as a doula.
- Creating a resource list for local parents.
- Passing a test.
To become a CAPPA postpartum doula, requirements include:
- Completing training and reading either online or in-person.
- Obtaining infant and child CPR certification.
- Working with three families in the postpartum phase.
- Receiving evaluations from families and other birth professionals.
CAPPA has an online distance course learning option for both birth and postpartum if you’re unable to attend a scheduled online or in-person training.
Cost: Traditional courses for either type of doula certification start at $775 plus the cost of books. For students who cannot attend a training, there’s an online distance learning course that starts at $925 plus books.
There are other organizations out there that also offer doula certification. As you decide which organization to get certified with, compare pricing, credibility, how extensive their referral network is and if they offer in-person trainings in your area.
Benefits of doula training and certification
While getting certified is not required in order to serve as a doula, it does come with many advantages. The obvious one is that it equips you with the necessary knowledge and education to do the work safely and effectively, but getting certified also:
- Gives you additional credibility to potential clients.
- Allows you to charge higher rates due to your training.
- Puts you into a referral network with your certification organization, giving you job leads.
Once you’ve obtained your basic doula certification, pursuing additional training can further set you apart with potential employers or clients. “More and more clients are asking for advanced training certifications and training beyond basic doula training,” Revere says.
She notes this could include taking a breastfeeding class that goes beyond certification training (or even becoming a Certified Lactation Consultant) or — for birth doulas specifically — a training in vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC).
“Birth is unpredictable; I could be at a birth for two hours or two days if it’s an induction or lengthy labor. Being able to be on-call and be flexible are important for the role of a birth doula.”
— Kristin Revere
Birth or postpartum doula: Which is the right career for you?
Before pursuing formal doula training, you’ll need to decide whether to get certified as a birth doula or postpartum doula. Revere says about half of her doulas are trained in both, so that’s always an option.
As you choose the one (or first one) to pursue, Revere suggests considering the following questions:
1. Do you want to be a doula full-time or part-time?
“If you want to make a full-time career of a doula — whether you work for an agency, on your own or have a partner — I’d recommend doing both [birth and postpartum certification] to avoid a part-time job,” Revere says.
She notes that some doulas prefer to stick to one speciality and do it part-time, while keeping other part-time work such as nannying or working as a hospital nurse two days a week.
2. What type of work excites you?
“Those with a passion for supporting women in the childbirth phase may only want to work as a birth doula,” Revere says. “Other doulas on my team love supporting recovery and feeding, and the mothering-the-mother focus; they love snuggling babies and [the] newborn phase and caregiving in that way.”
3. Are you up for the physical demands?
“Being a birth doula is a physical job, so that should be factored in for a potential doula,” Revere explains. “Are they able to be on their feet and physically support, as well as emotionally support, a client? “
4. How flexible are you?
“Birth is unpredictable; I could be at a birth for two hours or two days if it’s an induction or lengthy labor,” Revere reveals. “Being able to be on-call and be flexible are important for the role of a birth doula.”
On the other hand, she notes, postpartum doula work usually involves set shifts with a family, making it easier for those who need to balance other careers, interests or obligations.
If you’re unsure of which path to take, consider reaching out to one of the doula certifying organizations and asking for advice.
Furthering your doula education
Don’t forget that doula training is not just one and done. You should make sure to do continuing education on your own to stay up-to-date with the latest information, science and techniques. You can do this through additional training offered by your certification institution or through local groups.
Don’t forget: Some doula organizations require you to get re-certified after a set period of time. For example, DONA International requires its certified doulas to get re-certified every three years.
The bottom line
Being a doula is a rewarding career, and getting started and becoming certified requires little to no prior experience.
Choosing a certification program comes down to personal preference, Revere says, since many have similar requirements overall but variations in how training is handled. “Personally, I prefer in-person training or live Zoom trainings vs. self-paced, since nothing replaces the interaction and hands-on, active learning” she adds.
Once it’s time to start finding work as a doula, Revere reiterates that the type of focus, work and clients you tackle come down to your passions and goals. “At Gold Coast Doulas, we support all types of birth and parenting and feeding decisions, but some birth doulas may have a specific niche, like only attending home births or do unmedicated births,” Revere concludes. “It varies based on the path a doula is passionate about and chooses for themselves.”
