Many people have asked me where I completed my birth doula and postpartum doula training. I was trained at the Center for The Childbearing Year and have only positive things to say about it. The center has amazing, knowledgable, and grounded practitioners. They have supported many women during labor and continue to support me in my business as a doula. Please read about their upcoming trainings below.
Are you interested in a career working with moms and babies? All through time, and in all cultures, women have been supporting and mothering other women at the time of birth. In response to the over-medicalization of childbirth, the role of the doula has evolved to safeguard the laboring mother’s emotional experience at a vulnerable time in her life. Doula certification is an effort to professionalize the traditional role of the female support person in childbirth. Doulas help moms and their partners navigate the institutional aspects of giving birth. They encourage, soothe, and educate. You do not need to be a mother yourself, nor have a medical background to become a doula—just a passion for birth and the desire to be in a support role for other moms.
Certified doulas are typically self-employed with independent doula practices (we will give tips on how to do this). However, many women interested in maternal/infant health have leveraged doula training and certification as a pathway into future careers in nursing, midwifery, medicine, social work, or public health. Other potential doulas are those community-based women who are recognized as the “go-to” person in their family, church, or social circle, attending to their sisters or volunteering their time to be of service to others. And practicing nurses can expand their repertoire of troubleshooting techniques while simultaneously earning continuing education contact hours required to maintain their licenses.
You may already have the heart of a doula—enhance your skill set with this hands-on training! Topics include comfort measures and pain relief techniques, creative positioning for labor and birth, support strategies for normal and challenging births, essential communication and advocacy skills, and more. This comprehensive workshop fulfills one step towards professional Birth Doula Certification through DONA International.
DONA Birth Doula Workshop
with Patty Brennan
Sponsored by Center for the Childbearing Year, Ann Arbor
June 25 & 26
Information & Online Registration: www.center4cby.com or call 734-663-1523
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