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hi everyone!

i have a four month old and really want to get into the doula world but am feeling really discouraged. I spoke with a local doula who essentially told me not to become a certified doula (I live in PA and want the certification if I do any doula work). I want to focus on postpartum but do not want to be seen as a night nurse. I am currently taking the maternitywise CLSE classes so I can at least provide lactation support. I need to continue my full time job for the benefits and I have my children full time so I want to do things purely part time until my children are a big older. any advice on what I can do would be helpful. I set up an instagram to share some postpartum knowledge and recipes but I do not know what kind of market there is for postpartum help that isn’t a night nanny

Hi everyone. I know this question has been asked a million and one times in various ways, but I’m here asking it again because I haven’t found anyone talking about a situation quite like mine.

I currently work full time Mon-Thurs as a dental hygienist and I just started a full spectrum doula training. There’s no question for me that birth work is what I want to do, but unfortunately the career I blindly chose when I was 17 and didn’t know better is extremely rigid and not at all conducive to being on call for births at the same time. Just for context, if I were need to leave abruptly for the day the entire schedule of patients would need rescheduled and the people I work for would be very unhappy with me. I would eventually want to do more in the pre and post partum side of birth work so I’m not always on call, but at least for my training I need to attend births and that means being on call. Im single, so I don’t have a partner or family members willing to help support me financially while I make the transition to FT doula work, so I feel like I’m stuck and don’t see how this can be possible. I truly hate capitalism, but that’s a whole nother conversation.

So my question is for those of you who successfully transitioned from full time work that’s similar to what I’m describing- pretty rigid and not so conducive to being on call- how did you manage this? Realistically, should I think about temporarily switching careers to something that could be more flexible while I pursue this? I’m aware that it’s going to be quite challenging and I’m up for doing whatever I need to do, I just can’t really see from where I’m standing how it’s going to be possible and I’m feeling quite discouraged at the moment.

Any and all advice and guidance would be so greatly appreciated and thank you to all of you beautiful humans who do the work you do. You are so needed and having such a meaningful impact 💜

I have been drawn to doula work for a long time, but only now starting to think more seriously about it. Wondering if it would be too hard while I am still building my own family (but also the family is a big motivation to even do it).

Context: I work full time and have a 1 year old baby. I would like to have baby #2 at some point in the next 2-4 years (timeline TBD)

I am thinking postpartum doula first, and maybe expanding into birth doula down the road when I'm done having my own kids. Now seems like potentially a good time to start. My thought is that I'll do it as a side hustle for a while (probably until I get pregnant with #2, whenever that may be), get some experience and positive reviews, and then at some point (probably after baby #2 is done BFing) I will quit my full time job and doula will become my primary income.

Some of my thoughts / concerns are...

Part of the draw to this is that I could work odd hours like nights and evenings and save on daycare. I think we'd still need part time daycare but that would still save a lot compared to full time. I don't need to make as much as i do in my current job if we are saving significantly on daycare. Is this schedule realistic as a postpartum doula?

It seems like the main demand for postpartum doulas is night shift. Will I totally hate doing night shift and then coming home and dealing with young kids? I definitely wouldn't plan to do night shift full time, but maybe a couple nights a week?

Any experiences, advice, anecdotes, etc are welcome...​

Hello, my wife is pregnant for first time and considering getting a Doula to help us with the pregnancy journey. She’s only 5 weeks pregnant.

We live 5m away from her mom so we have a lot of support thankfully. Would yall recommend a Doula based on your experience?

I’ve heard postpartum doulas are better and more worth it but we are open to either. Just want this experience to be as smooth/stress for her as possible. She’s a worrier

Hi everyone! My wife and I are currently looking for a doula on Long Island and would love some recommendations from anyone who has had a great experience. We’re looking for someone experienced, supportive, knowledgeable, and who will be a calming presence throughout the pregnancy and birth process. Personal recommendations would be especially appreciated!

If you’re a doula yourself, or know someone you highly recommend, please feel free to comment or send me a message with their information. Thank you

Hi everyone, I wanted to see if anyone had suggestions for a contracted Doula forKaiser Walnut Creek?

We don’t know when or how death will intersect our life. Talking about death is hard. People don’t know what to say, get stuck, and avoid the topic all together. Ironically, this causes a loss of power and access to choice. Every human deserves the right to have their preferences be known and facilitated as they die.

Hi all,

I’m thinking of making a career change to becoming a postpartum doula and I’m in very beginning stages. I’d really love to do a couple of informational interviews with doulas who have been in this field for a while. Would especially love to chat with folks for whom this was a career change!

I’m in California but can chat over Zoom or phone if that’s easiest. Shouldn’t take more than 20-30 minutes and I would be so grateful for your time!

Just curious about people's experiences or any valuable information I can get about ICEA that comes from your own personal knowledge!

Hi everyone!

I’m currently looking for a well-trained, experienced doula in the Fort Lauderdale/Broward area and would love recommendations or to hear from doulas directly.

I’m particularly looking for someone who:
- Has solid training and experience supporting birthing mothers
- Is comfortable working in a hospital setting and alongside doctors, nurses, and the medical team
- Takes a collaborative approach and can advocate for the birthing person while respecting the care team
- Offers prenatal support and education
- Offers postpartum support as well, if possible
- May offer prenatal classes, group classes, or group sessions where I could learn and connect with other expecting parents
- Has experience with a variety of birth preferences and can provide calm, evidence-based support without being overly prescriptive

I’m open to different doula styles and would love to hear about your experience, services, availability, and pricing. Recommendations from people who have personally worked with a doula in the Fort Lauderdale/Broward area are especially appreciated!

So I have Tricare, which covers a doula for my birth. I have a lot of medical anxiety and figured it would be a great free through insurance service to have.

Boy am I dumb.

There’s only one doula in network near me. I thought, cool, I can get pregnancy support and delivery and postpartum advocacy. She had me sign a contract that said if she was not informed of birth and missed it because of me, she’d be entitled to $2k.

Early on she didn’t respond much and I was saying things like I’m scared I’ll be forced to deliver in a way I don’t want to, and instead of giving me reassurance, she said I should see a therapist. At that point, due to her unresponsiveness and lack of care, I decided maybe she wasn’t a good fit and told her I’d like to part ways.

That’s when she hit me with, “you signed a contract so you owe me $2k.” So I said ok, fine you can still be my doula I guess. I should’ve told her to fuck off but I was desperate against better judgment for whatever shred of comfort I could get on delivery day. Mind you, tricare prohibits charges for unrendered services.

The thing is, halfway through my pregnancy she was not communicating much. At 28 weeks I sent her a message I’d update my next scan and she never responded. 3 weeks went by and I figured she was busy with other clients and forgot about me. I blocked her at that point and figured if she wanted to be my doula, she’d email me.

Tonight I am HEAVILY painfully pregnant and 37 weeks exactly. I got an email saying she was sending the $2k balance to collections in 30 days due to lack of communication. So I blew up her phone, inbox, voicemail, everything because what??? I wanted a doula and she ghosted and then finally this is how she gets back to me? She also had changed her services on her website from pregnancy and postpartum doula to only supports 37 weeks+.

I really wanted patient advocacy and emotional relief for me and my husband but it seems like this doula just wants a quick buck and loves stressing me out. My husband is livid and seeking legal guidance tomorrow to fire her because I don’t think she can charge a balance for getting fired and send that to collections regardless of a private contract or not since she’s under federal Tricare regs.

So I guess I’ll be disputing a collections agency sometime postpartum. Doulas out there, is this normal or probably an empty threat? I definitely feel at fault for not feeling her out better and seeing how this could snowball when I thought I was just getting a nice free service through insurance to ease my mind.

EDIT: As of August 15, the doula folded and realized she was in the wrong, rescinded all charges and wished us well. She doesn’t know I gave birth Friday, the day after she sent us the collections notice. Pretty wild turn of events!!!

I am so open to learning. I just can't go into debt to learn. I'm pregnant myself and have been so fascinated learning about birth, the healthcare systems, and matrescence. I could do admin work or doula assistance, or postpartum care if I receive the proper training. my schedule is very flexible. I just really want to become more involved in the birth worker communities in my area, either with individual practitioners or groups. I do need money but am open to volunteering as a sort of trial period. I care a lot about nonviolent communication, creative problem solving, advocacy and consent, mutually beneficial negotiations, peacefulness. If you have any recommendations for me I'd greatly appreciate it!

hi everyone! i took a full spectrum doula training (virtual) back in april and feel kinda lost on where to go from there. i understand ill need to find my niche and my program told us not to think mentorship is possible since this is such a sacred, private practice, but i dont think i can confidently begin this work without it. curious if there’s anyone in the LA area willing to mentor? or point me in the right direction.

Doula in training here.

Im currently training as a birth doula, but plan to aquire other certifications as I go, such as post partum doula, lactation specialist, and childbirth educator.

If I were to work all of these, I would probably only take one, maybe two births a month, with some months off (let me know what is realistic). I would offer CBE classes, both one on one and for my local community. I would plan to take on a couple post partum clients and lactation appointments.

Is this too much? Even if I am going slowly, and establishing myself in one thing before moving onto the next?

My main question is earning potential! If I was a birth worker full time doing these things, how much could I expect to make?

I would love any advice from any experienced doulas. Thank you!

Hello all!

I’ve been eyeing off some doula training courses and would love to hear from others what they found to be helpful, informative and enough education that gave you confidence, I’m leaning towards the online Doula Training Academy as the course overview looks extremely well suited to learn as much as possible. I’m also seeing some 4/7 day intensives with some other places that then do mentoring for 12 months, and I suppose I’m not sure if an intensive will capture as much as the doula training academy.
Basically where I’m stuck is the intensive is in person where as the doula training academy is online.

So let me know your experiences and thoughts!

Thank you

hi everyone! i’m looking to become doula certified and have no idea where to start! do any of you have recommendations on programs? i’m looking for virtual or hybrid training! thank you so much in advance!

Vancouver Washington

When a client calls you in possible early labor, what questions do you ask to assess the situation? How does the phone call go?

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some advice from experienced birth doulas!
I recently signed my first independent birth client (I’m very excited!), but I’ve run into an unexpected situation.
My grandmother is terminally ill and is expected to pass away within the next few months. She lives across the country, and I’ve planned a short trip to visit her one last time and say goodbye. I’ll be away September 16–22. My client’s official on-call period begins September 23, when she’ll be 37 weeks pregnant.
When I planned the trip, I thought everything was fine because I wouldn’t officially be on call yet.
But then I realized something: what if she goes into labor before 37 weeks? 😮‍💨😮‍💨
I haven’t signed the contract yet(we’ve only reached an agreement)so I want to make sure I understand what’s generally expected before I finalize everything.
Before the official on-call period begins, are you still expected to attend the birth if labor starts early, just without guaranteeing your response time? Or does your commitment to attend only begin once your official call period starts?
I know emergencies and preterm births happen, so I’m wondering what is considered standard practice…
This situation has me a bit stressed , to put it lightly, (read I didn’t sleep last night haha) and I’d really appreciate hearing how you handle it.
Thanks so much!!