Begin or expand your birth doula business through this Birth Ways International Birth Doula training and certification program, which includes a live-streamed workshop taught by Master Doulas.

This package includes the BWI Birth Doula Training program and the BWI Birth Doula Certification. Both are described below.
Full disclosure: Certification is not required to work as a doula in most places, however the process does make for stronger doulas. Some clients ask for certification and some insurance companies will cover fees for certified doulas. Doulas in our certification programs get ongoing support through their birth-work journey.

Unique to BWI:  We provide ongoing, individualized support for you through this training and certification process!

• Your instructor will provide individual feedback as your requirements are submitted; she will answer questions and you can debrief with her while the clients are still fresh in your mind.
• We offer monthly "Live Q & A" video conferencing calls.  Numbers are kept low to allow participants to ask their questions.
• Doulas in the Certification Program have access to replays of past sessions.

The fee covers the training programs, feedback, processing all documents, and your official BWI Birth Doula Certification once all the steps are complete. There is no annual membership fee, no processing fees and no requirement to re-certify as long as you are an active doula or participating in continuing education (details with certification pack).

You can start taking doula clients and attending births as soon as you've completed the Birth Doula Training Program (completed the online modules and attended a workshop). You have two years to complete the certification process. Extensions are available by request. 

Please note we also have Postpartum Doula Training available and offer a sweet discount to our Birth Doulas, and vice versa.  

1) Birth Doula Training Program & Live-Streamed Workshop 

At the end of this program, your view of birth, women, birth practices, and where the power resides will be transformed!

A birth doula provides physical, emotional and informational support to their clients during pregnancy, birth and early post-partum.

Begin or expand your birth business with this Birth Ways International Birth Doula Training. 

Current hospital policies will be discussed, along with the ways doulas can be effective in any setting, either in-person or from a distance.

This program is a combination of self-paced learning modules and an interactive weekend workshop. You'll be ready to start working as a doula upon completion of the online modules and workshop, whether you wish to support a loved one through pregnancy and birth or make a career choice. You’ll leave with educational resources and instructions for hands-on practice.

Topics include:

• Practicing with integrity
• Role and responsibilities of a doula, scope of practice
• Key doula standards and professional ethics
• Working effectively with medical care providers and others that attend the birth
• Labour support tools, practical skills, comfort measures / coping methods
• Common interventions and informed decision-making
• Caesarean births and VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean)
• Alternative / complimentary support methods
• Self-awareness, including your motivation for doula work, your ideal client, your boundaries
• Basic anatomy and physiology specific to labour and birth
• Prenatal and postpartum client visits
• Working with diverse clients/families/populations
• Sensitivity and tools for working with client diversity
• Coping & support of unexpected events
• Basic breastfeeding initiation
• Effective communication – listening skills, impact of language
• Honouring individual birth process - memory of birth, narrative
• Start-up and sustaining your practise (birth work business)

The live-streamed workshop component is a required part of the program. 

Next Birth Doula Live-Streamed Workshop Dates:

June 3-5, 2022.
Times: 6-8pm Fri night, 9:30-5:30pm Sat & Sun. CST (GMT-6).
(We'll take lots of breaks.)

2) Birth Doula Certification Program

Please see the BWI Birth Doula Certification page for a list of requirements. 

The program fee is all you pay. There is no annual membership fee and no requirement to re-certify as long as you are an active doula or participating in continuing education (details with certification pack). Any doula who completes certification usually has the official birth-bug and doesn't need to be policed into continuing education. It's been our experience that those doulas naturally gravitate toward ongoing education. (We do have an optional recertification process for doulas who are part of an association the requires it.) 

You have two years to complete this process. Extensions are available by request at no charge, as long as you've been working through the program over those 2 years.

There are modifications or equivalents available for rural doulas, in case some of these requirements aren’t available locally.  Please ask your BWI instructor for details.

Our workshops include people from all walks of life. Some participants have been to births before but most haven’t.  Some are parents and others are not.  We train young folks, 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. 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 dwellers attend. Some participants have no background knowledge or experience while others are healthcare professionals.

Fee for BWI Birth Doula Training and Certification Program: $695. That covers everything you need. Of course, if you wish to buy books and attend additional paid classes, that's separate and outside of our services.

All BWI trained doulas can attend any of our prenatal classes for pregnant people at no-charge. 

Special offer: a $300 deposit holds your spot in the live-streamed workshop and opens the self-paced learning modules.

To register, please choose either the deposit or the full fee. 

If you are already enrolled in the BWI Postpartum Doula Certification Program, then please use the use the code "2ndCert" for a $100 discount.

Click the PayPal button to pay with your credit card or a PayPal account.  (You don't need a PayPal account to pay by credit card; click the PayPal anyway.) You will gain immediate access to both programs.

If you wish to pay by e-transfer, then please send it to info@birthwaysinternational.ca and allow 24 hours for us to process your payment and provide you with access to the system.  Please send us an e-mail too, so we know where to send your access info.