A Postpartum doula assists new families through the adjustments of new parenthood with compassionate presence, basic breastfeeding support and care of the parent(s) and newborn using a variety of hands-on practical skills and information.

This interactive course prepares you to become a postpartum doula and help a woman through her transitions in the fourth trimester after her birth. You’ll leave with educational resources, research-based data, powerful stories and practical tips. You will be ready to start supporting clients and loved ones.

You will learn:

• Practising with integrity
• Scope of practice and when/where to refer out
• Creating your menu of services
• Key doula standards 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

Our programs welcome people from all walks of life. Some participants are parents and others are not. Some have been to births before but many haven’t. We train young people, wise elders, and everything in between – it’s never too early or too late to embark upon this path. Rural and urban dwellers attend. Some participants have no background knowledge or experience while others are healthcare professionals.

If you wish to deepen your knowledge and pursue postpartum doula certification through Birth Ways International, this course is the first step.  Certification is not a requirement to practise as a doula but is a valuable process. 

* There are no hidden fees such as membership, mandatory conferences, admin fees, redoing of classes etc.  You can start taking clients as soon as you've completed this postpartum doula training program (the self-directed portion and the live-streamed workshop).  

Group Workshop Dates:

Our next group class dates will be Tuesdays, 7-9pm, Sep 26 - Nov 07; no class on Halloween (Oct 31). All sessions are recorded in case someone has to miss any.  

We may have a spring 2024 group class but more likely, future classes will be more of an "evergreen model". There will still be monthly group meetings but all instruction will be pre-recorded.

In the meantime, the self-paced modules can be done at any time. The monthly Learning Circles are available for live (online) connection with instructors and other doulas, no matter where you're at in your training process. We have people who are totally new to the program and 10 year alumni in those sessions.   In the meantime, the self-paced modules can be done at any time. The monthly Learning Circles are available for live (online) connection with instructors and other doulas, no matter where you're at in your training process. We have people who are totally new to the program and 10 year alumni in those sessions.  

Fees for the Postpartum Doula Training Program with live-streamed group workshop: $495

Click the PayPal button to pay with your credit card or a PayPal account.  (You don't need a PayPal account if you pay by credit card.) You will gain immediate access to the course.