Before becoming a doula...
Is doula practice right for me?
What questions should I ask myself before becoming a doula?
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Am I cut out to be a Doula?
I would like to become a birth companion and be with families throughout their perinatal journey (prenatal preparation, presence at birth and postnatal follow-up).
You're in the right place. The question to ask yourself is:
What is the added value of training vs. no training?
Training is much more than acquiring knowledge: it is reconnecting with the heart of the doula role and understanding its full depth.
Training will help you understand your role and better define what you want to offer families, collaborate and respect the skills of each health professional.
Training gives us the keys to understanding the issues of pregnancy and birth, in order to inform and support parents in the face of unforeseen events, while respecting our non-medical role.
Training builds credibility and a commitment to a serious and respected practice.
In short, training is a valuable asset to structure your practice, assert your role and prepare you to support families with professionalism and kindness.
I do not intend to practice coaching, I would rather follow the training to better understand a process that I have experienced or that I am about to experience.
Some people choose to follow doula training as a personal matter, primarily to better understand a process they have experienced or are about to experience. This approach is valid, and some doula training schools offer introspection on your experience in order to support, understand, and integrate it (see the “Choosing your training” page - under construction).
It is important, however, to understand that doula training is essentially designed to equip you to support someone else. There is a theoretical component, which includes a thorough understanding of the physiology of birth, the psychological transition experienced by parents, and the course of a medicalized birth, among other things. This component is often supplemented by basic training in counseling, a reflection on the doula posture, and sometimes even a training course to integrate support practices that might be less suited to your needs.
I want to offer prenatal classes and equip families before birth.
A prenatal class and a prenatal meeting do not fulfill the same role in preparing expectant parents. In Quebec, as doulas, we have the opportunity to practice both types of approaches: offering personalized meetings to support each person individually, while also leading prenatal classes to share essential knowledge and prepare expectant parents for the arrival of their baby.
The prenatal course is educational and structured. It follows a defined program to convey information about pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. Its objective is to inform and equip parents on the medical, physiological, and practical aspects by allowing them to understand how labor works, the different possible interventions, pain management, and first aid for the baby, so that they can make informed choices.
The prenatal meeting is personalized and interactive . It focuses on the specific experience and needs of the expectant parents. Rather than a rigid program, it allows for the exploration of emotions, fears, expectations, and desires surrounding pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. It creates a space for discussion and reflection on how pregnancy prepares for childbirth and how childbirth shapes the postpartum period.
Why is this distinction important?
From pregnancy to childbirth: A prenatal class allows parents to understand the physiological mechanisms of birth, while a meeting allows them to explore how their pregnancy experience – their emotions, their stress levels, their physical preparation – can influence the progress of labor and childbirth.
From childbirth to postnatal: A class explains what awaits parents after birth (baby care, recovery, breastfeeding), while a meeting allows them to integrate their experience of childbirth, to verbalize it and to see how it impacts their transition to postpartum.
I want to work as a birthing assistant in a birthing center with midwives.
A doula, by definition , provides support completely independent of medical or institutional systems. However, it is possible to see “Doula training” as a prerequisite for hiring on job offers for birth assistants. Thus, some of the birth assistants employed by the various CISSS and CIUSSS are also trained doulas. Basic doula training often meets the theoretical training needs of these requests and can easily be enhanced by the various continuing education courses related to the services offered at the birthing center.
Some doulas will practice both professions at different times in their schedule, but never at the same time since the postures and roles of the birth assistant and the birth companion are different. If you intend to work in a birthing center, we invite you to contact them directly for more information on their prerequisites and recommendations for choosing training. (See Choosing your training)
I am a midwife in a country other than Canada and am looking to become a doula here.
The reserved act of midwifery refers to medical and professional acts that are exclusively reserved for the practice of midwives, due to their specialized training. In Quebec, this includes, among other things, pregnancy management, childbirth, as well as postnatal care for the mother and baby.
These acts are regulated by specific laws and standards that aim to guarantee the safety and well-being of those accompanied during pregnancy and childbirth.
Doulas, for their part, play a complementary role, offering emotional, physical and informational support, without performing medical acts reserved for midwives ( see definition ).
I want to be better equipped to support someone I know (partner, friend, sister) without necessarily offering support services to other families.
Support from a loved one is the most traditional (even ancestral) form of support. Different paths can be explored to equip you to better support. First, it is important to differentiate between a support person and a birth companion ( doula ).
During childbirth, the birthing person naturally surrounds themselves with various resource people who can support them throughout their experience. People like their mother, aunt, and friend offer non-professional support.
Support person (close): It may be interesting to follow a Birth Preparation with a doula, either alone or with the couple or the person who wishes you to accompany them. Often called prenatal classes (hyperlink) or prenatal meetings (hyperlink), this preparation will help you better understand the tools available to support future parents, understand the physiology of birth, but above all, witness the reflective paths launched by the doula. This way, you remain in a position of personal support.
Support Person (Doula) : If you wish to be the birth companion (doula) for these people, first find out about the role of the doula , the charter of values as well as the responsibility of practice.
Your personal relationship with the people you support can be a great asset given the strong bond of trust that unites you, but it must also involve a deep reflection on your posture, their expectations and the impact of your relationship on the professional distance often required to allow an adequate helping relationship. It is therefore important to seek out comprehensive doula training (See “Choosing your training”) allowing you an in-depth understanding of the processes, the current context of births according to different environments as well as the adoption of a solid posture in the helping relationship.
I only want to support breastfeeding
Since breastfeeding support is within the scope of several professions, trades or practices, it is important to first position yourself on the role you would like to play.
Assessment, diagnosis and treatment of breastfeeding problems are all actions reserved for health professionals specialized in the field.
In Quebec, perinatal nurses, nurse practitioners, midwives, family physicians and pediatricians are among the stakeholders who can prevent and offer a treatment plan for difficult breastfeeding through their various other roles.
An IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) lactation consultant
An IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant), on the other hand, is a certified healthcare professional with advanced breastfeeding training, without necessarily having one of the professions mentioned above. They can assess and treat more complex issues, such as persistent pain, sucking difficulties, or concerns about the baby's weight gain. IBCLCs have independent practices and can therefore work in private practice, as well as in an organization or hospital setting.
It is possible to help families in their breastfeeding experience simply by offering them presence and support.
A breastfeeding godmother
A breastfeeding mentor is first and foremost a person who has breastfed themselves. They volunteer their time providing guidance and support to breastfeeding individuals, often under the supervision of an IBCLC. Their primary role is to listen, encourage, and share their experiences to help parents achieve a more peaceful breastfeeding experience. While most breastfeeding mentors offer an introductory meeting to families during prenatal care, their presence only begins after the baby's birth.
The doula supports breastfeeding continuously and in a way that is adapted to the needs of families.
From the prenatal period, the doula can:
explore breastfeeding wishes with the family
provide her with information about the different options available to her
contribute to the implementation of practices or tools facilitating the initiation and maintenance of breastfeeding from the birth of the baby.
The doula encourages families to make free and informed choices. Her approach is based on respect and unconditional support for parents' choices regarding breastfeeding.
Some people are IBCLCs, breastfeeding sponsors, and doulas.
It's important to understand, however, that one person cannot fulfill all of these roles simultaneously, in the midst of a single interaction with a breastfeeding person. So, if that person offers a diagnosis or treatment, they do so as an IBCLC. If they share their own breastfeeding experience, they are fulfilling their role as a breastfeeding mentor. And if they adopt a supportive stance and accompany the parents' experience, they are fulfilling their role as a doula. These practices are complementary.
I am a professional working in perinatal care and I wish to enrich my practice by becoming a doula.
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I want to support all life transitions, not just birth (Preconception, Menstruation/Menarche, Parenthood, Menopause, Bereavement and Death).
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I want to become a postpartum companion and support families in adapting after birth.
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