Doula Workshop Topics:
An overview of the doula profession
Defining the doula role (The doula scope of practice, their roles and responsibilities)
The role of a doula in a hospital, birth center and home setting
Working with hospital staff and care providers
Advocacy - what the doula’s role is and what it isn’t
Dad’s and Doula’s (encouraging, and supporting everyone, and how to get them more involved!)
Interviews, prenatal and postpartum visits
Effective communication
Evidence-based care
How to set up and market your doula business
How to network with other birth workers, and find resources for your clients
How to become certified (if you choose to be certified at all)
The birth crisis in America and why doula’s make a difference
Basic anatomy and physiology
Basic medical terms that relate to maternity care
Fetal development through the pregnancy
Tests and screenings during pregnancy- why and how they are done along with risks and benefits
Is it labor? (Types of contractions, signs of labor, preterm labor, etc).
Stages and phases of labor - what is happening to the mother both physically, and emotionally and how a doula ‘dances’ to the rhythm of labor.
The hormones of labor and birth and the effects they have on both mom and baby.
3 ways to an easier birth: Gate Control Theory, Fear/Tension Cycle, and Relaxation
Active birth and optimal fetal positioning
Hydrotherapy and waterbirths
Labor Support Techniques:
Using a rebozo
Using a birth ball
Massage, counter pressure, double-hip squeezes, and many other tricks of the trade
Progressive relaxation
The doula bag
Things that go beep, medical procedures and medications used in labor/delivery.
(IV’s, monitors, pain relief, episiotomies, sterile fields, etc)
Inductions and Cesarean births
Special situations: VBACs, breech and other situations
The birth plan, and how to help clients develop one
Helping the family through variations in the birth plan
What to expect immediately after delivery (and how to help)
When the unexpected happens - birth support in times of crisis
*and so much more!
An overview of the doula profession
Defining the doula role (The doula scope of practice, their roles and responsibilities)
The role of a doula in a hospital, birth center and home setting
Working with hospital staff and care providers
Advocacy - what the doula’s role is and what it isn’t
Dad’s and Doula’s (encouraging, and supporting everyone, and how to get them more involved!)
Interviews, prenatal and postpartum visits
Effective communication
Evidence-based care
How to set up and market your doula business
How to network with other birth workers, and find resources for your clients
How to become certified (if you choose to be certified at all)
The birth crisis in America and why doula’s make a difference
Basic anatomy and physiology
Basic medical terms that relate to maternity care
Fetal development through the pregnancy
Tests and screenings during pregnancy- why and how they are done along with risks and benefits
Is it labor? (Types of contractions, signs of labor, preterm labor, etc).
Stages and phases of labor - what is happening to the mother both physically, and emotionally and how a doula ‘dances’ to the rhythm of labor.
The hormones of labor and birth and the effects they have on both mom and baby.
3 ways to an easier birth: Gate Control Theory, Fear/Tension Cycle, and Relaxation
Active birth and optimal fetal positioning
Hydrotherapy and waterbirths
Labor Support Techniques:
Using a rebozo
Using a birth ball
Massage, counter pressure, double-hip squeezes, and many other tricks of the trade
Progressive relaxation
The doula bag
Things that go beep, medical procedures and medications used in labor/delivery.
(IV’s, monitors, pain relief, episiotomies, sterile fields, etc)
Inductions and Cesarean births
Special situations: VBACs, breech and other situations
The birth plan, and how to help clients develop one
Helping the family through variations in the birth plan
What to expect immediately after delivery (and how to help)
When the unexpected happens - birth support in times of crisis
*and so much more!