r/doulas

Hey all! I recently finished my full spectrum training program and am now starting the process of getting my state certification. While I’m full spectrum trained and would like experience supporting birth and postpartum clients, I’ve been considering focusing on postpartum support and newborn care. As such, I’ve been looking into the Newborn Care Specialists Association’s certification process and their approved coursework.

Some side notes- My full spectrum training did have some information on newborn care as a part of postpartum support. Additionally, I have taken extra supplemental classes on breast feeding and newborn care at my local hospital. Also, I was a nanny for a few years, and I got a good bit of experience caring for newborns and assisting the parents with other things while in this role.

Of course, taking additional coursework in newborn care isn’t free (nor is it particularly inexpensive, in some cases) so I wanted to hear some opinions/experiences from other doulas. Has anyone here taken the extra steps to get their newborn care specialist certification on top of their doula training? Do you feel like the information in the course you chose differed substantially from what was already included in your doula training/prior experience in birth work/family support? Have you found that being able to add your NBCS certification to your resume has helped with booking clients?

Any advice or insight would be appreciated. Thank you in advance!! Hope you’re having a nice weekend :)

Hi everyone! I’ve been lurking in this thread for a while & researching different postpartum doula trainings since December. I’ve been a nanny for over 15 years, and am finally ready to begin my longtime dream of postpartum doula work!

I have narrowed down the hundreds of options of trainings (so overwhelming) & am finally down to choosing between these 2. Childbirth International or Birthing Advocacy Doula training.

Both seem like fantastic options that touch on everything I’d like to learn, and I plan on doing a lot more researching & reading on my own time to add to my knowledge as well! Does anyone have experience with these 2 and recommends one over the other? Or any insight or advice to offer?

I am petsitting this weekend so I would love to get the ball rolling today while I have so much time on my hands but am nervous to make the final decision!

For context I’m based in Denver and I have a background with newborns & new mothers, but I’m definitely looking for a self paced online format with lots of juicy content & a community of experienced Doulas to learn from!

Thanks everyone 💚💚

Hello friends!

What are your fav tips & tricks for plus-size/bigger bodied/Fat patients breast/chest feeding? Are there certain products you hear fit when others often dont? Are there things you always make sure to tell these patients or make sure to avoid?

Im a grad nursing student (former doula) and trying to come up with a resource for plus size breastfeeding that is Fat positive/weight neutral. I see so many things centered on 'obesity' and losing weight and that kind of thing.

Thanks in advance!

Would love recommendations for any handy tools you use as a birth doula. Pocket guides or things like that!

The last few potential clients I’ve met with were all super interested and seemed excited about me being their doula.. then they would get back to me later and say that their husbands don’t want me there, aren’t interested, or think that my very flexible pricing is too expensive. Girl I’m down to trade services. I’m not too expensive 😭

What can I do? If anything? I feel so bad for the birthing people. They seem to want me there. We have a good connection. Am I doing something
wrong?

I know one of the husbands and because of some comments he made I think it’s because he’s just a misogynistic dude who thinks I don’t actually do anything so there is that ✌️

Hi everyone. 🤍 I’m a newer postpartum doula, and I’m hoping to hear from those who have experienced the loss of a client baby.

A family I worked with recently lost their baby following a sudden illness, and it’s been something I’ve had a hard time processing. My heart is absolutely broken for them, and I’ve found myself carrying a lot of grief since learning the news.

I’ve also been replaying my visits in my mind and struggling with a lot of “what ifs.” I can’t help wondering if I missed signs that something wasn’t right. I know those thoughts may simply be part of grief, but they’ve been really difficult to sit with.

I’ve reached out to the family, and the agency I work with is sending a gift. As I’m trying to navigate this, my biggest question is: what did your role look like after the loss?

Did you continue to check in from time to time, or did you give the family space unless they reached out? Were there things you did that the family later appreciated, or things you wish you had done differently? I want to support them in whatever way is most respectful and helpful.

I’d also really appreciate hearing how you cared for yourself afterward. If you’ve experienced the loss of a client baby, how did you process the grief and the guilt that came with it? Is there anything you wish someone had told you?

Thank you for reading. I know this is such a heartbreaking topic, but I’d be so grateful to hear from anyone who has walked this path before. 🤍

Do yall pass this on to the client? What are your thoughts on dealing with all the credit card and processing fees? What do most doulas do about this?

Hello! I am a student birth doula working on certification through BAI. Has anyone had a VBAC that would be willing to tell me about your experience? Feel free to message me. Thanks in advance!

Hey yall! I’m a birth & postpartum doula in training and would love to hear yalls opinions on some names I’ve come up with! I really wanted to pull inspiration from Psalms 23 so that’s where some of this came from. I would like to expand to offer childbirth education classes in the future as well as becoming a lactation consultant. With that in mind… Here’s my list & thoughts… please leave any suggestions/opinions for me below!

(In no particular order)
-Lambs & Lullabies Doula Care
I like this one because of the opportunity to use cute lambs in branding & a nod to “the Lord is my Shepherd” also lullabies to nod to postpartum care/peaceful births.

-Dauntless Doula Services
I initially loved this one! (My name starts with D so felt it fit well) but my husbands initial response was that the word dauntless is intimidating 😅 I kind of agree but wanted to get the opinion of the masses before I completely wrote it off

-Renewed and Restored Doula Services

Birth & Beyond or Birth & Borrow

Will be offering doula services (birth and postpartum)
Baby gear rental items
Toy Lending library
Childbirth education classes
Birth photography

Has anyone transitioned to another career after doula work? For context I’m a postpartum doula and sadly I’m starting to get really disheartened by the demands of this work. To be clear, I LOVE my job and my clients but can’t seem to find a perfect balance between days or nights or a combo. Days aren’t as high in demand in my area and feel like glorified nanny work a lot of the time but overnights are really starting to wear on my body and spirit.

I’m considered going back to school to complete my bachelor of social work. I’d love to work in an abortion clinic doing resource coordinator stuff, or for an abortion advocacy group. I’m grateful for how much I’m able to charge as PP doula and fear without finishing my undergrad then I’d take a huge pay cut leaving this work.

I’m curious what other avenues others may have gone down in relation to reproductive justice, reproductive health, pregnancy, postpartum etc.

Okay guys, I got an AMAZING client with a sucky husband! What tips do y’all have for me?

There’s honestly an essay I could write about this man, but here’s what I need:

-How do I focus on my client and her desires with him in the background being a grouch?

-I typically involve partners in the prenatals, but…. I really don’t know if it’s working with him there.

-Any tips for navigating the birth space with him?

And as some background:

He’s made it clear he doesn’t think she can go through birth without an epidural because of how she reacts to stubbing her toe (went on a long winded monologue about how she can’t do it and he’d never give birth without one - I had a nice long chat with him about them having different values and him needing to compartmentalization his values since this is her experience). He also turned down comfort measure practice with his wife because “it doesn’t matter, she’ll still be in pain”. (I was able to “trick” him into doing it by asking him to copy me, so that’s something I guess?)

He doesn’t approve of her wanting a birth center birth because of the cost (but then didn’t even know the actual cost because that’s “her” job).

Is worried how her postpartum mental health will affect his work because he’ll have to do more things around the house (which will stop him from getting a promotion????? He seriously made it sound like he’ll become homeless and destitute if he has to do the dishes)

He’s made it clear that he doesn’t like or respect me (weirdly rude to me? But in a really passive aggressive way that he then turns around and blames his wife for???). For example, I ended our prenatal at the two hour mark - my normal - and turned around and asked them their takeaways and thoughts to wrap up. She told me hers. And when it was his turn he said “Well I’m thinking it’s beyond the hour mark”. When I explained that prenatals typically take 2 hours and apologized for not making the expectations clear he said it was his wife’s fault for not telling him(?????) Like, he could’ve asked how long this would take at any point. So weird). He also complained about having to pay me to be their doula since they really couldn’t afford it, but they have to pay me since they signed the contract???? (They are on a payment plan and my cheapest package - AND my website clearly states I offer discounts to family’s in need. Money issues were NEVER brought up before now).

I DID NOT know about this guy before getting hired on. The client didn’t really mention him beyond that she had a husband and I just met him yesterday at our first prenatal. Additionally, she is 35 weeks and their relationship doesn’t seem great, so I don’t have a lot of time/resources to work with here.

I feel so disheartened and weird like there was something wrong that I said during a consultation with a client. I was super super nervous and was like visibly shaking and I think she saw that. She hasn’t reached out to me since the consultation and there’s been nothing since, I just got completely ghosted. Just feeling a bit weird and not sure how to proceed with this if I feel so much anxiety during one on one consultations. And not sure if ghosting is a common thing for clients to do. Just feel yucky and I haven’t been able to get a consultation since.

Hello!

I’m a trans woman living in New York State and have a deep connection to end of life care. I am also a seminarian in an affirming religious group and will be ordained next summer. I wanted a vocation that would allow me to serve people, especially people who are overlooked or underserved.

Recently, a friend of mine asked if I had considered becoming a death doula and after doing some research, I believe this calling may be for me. I believe that medical care in America is focused solely on prolonging life as long as possible and our society has no idea how to talk about or prepare for death at all, let alone able to entertain the concept of dying well. I was a sickly child and had numerous near death experiences and since then have been very specifically sensitive. I have also been around multiple relatives as they passed and saw how beautiful death can be for those who are prepared.

I am unsure how to get started. I have seen many training and certification programs online and am unsure what is needed or recommended. I also don’t want to get scammed. I’m sorry for the rambling post but if anyone could point me in the right direction, I’d appreciate it.

Hello! I’m looking for a doula in the Bay Area (SF preferably but open to wherever) who would love sharing their wisdom on how one becomes a doula. I’m finding a lot of mixed information online and hoping to connect with someone who’s actually doing the work. I’m a recent PsyD graduate and now that I’m done with the stress of grad school, I’m hoping to become a doula to bridge this with my work as a psychologist interested in perinatal mental health. Any recommendations for agencies to reach out to would also be appreciated! Thank you.

I’ve recently been looking into becoming a postpartum doula and I’ve been researching about different workshops close to me. I keep seeing ones that are one or two days long and at the end of it, you get certified. I’m just not sure how I feel about it. I feel like I wouldn’t be that prepared after that short period of time. I’d like to start out with an agency and then possibly create my own business one day.

Have you gone through these short workshops? What was your experience like? Did you feel prepared afterwards? I know knowledge comes with time and experience, but I want to be confident in my abilities when I start out.

Thanks for reading!

I’m wanting to become a postpartum doula and have been doing a lot of research. I understand what the basics are but I mainly wanted to know what does it look like for YOU specifically?

I love babies and love helping others and have been told I have a very loving and compassionate heart. I feel like these are great qualities to have as a doula but I still wonder what a day in the life would look like and if I would enjoy it.

Although I love babies, I don’t really want me be looking after them for hours on end. I’d rather educate the parents but of course care for the baby when needed. Does this seem realistic or does being a postpartum doula mean you’ll have to care for the baby for long periods of time?

Thanks.

hi!! I’m looking for a good and affordable end of life doula training program that is online and self paced but still very reputable. Any suggestions??

Hi all! I'm a new doula, looking to specialize in working with queer and ITNB (intersex, trans, nb) clients. I'd really love to connect with folks doing this work in NYC and learn more from a mentor.

Thanks for any help!

Hello. I searched this sub first to see if there was any recent conversation on fertility doulas and didn't see much in the past year. I'm wondering if anyone has a recommendation about training to become a fertility doula? I would specialize particularly in IVF.

I had a discovery call with Bebo Mia today. Honestly, I don't see anything like it in all of my searching. Thoughts? Experiences? Thanks!
Edit: Doula School International's Fertility Doula training might be another option, would love to hear reviews.