Birth Doula Training in Southern Oregon
Are you passionate about: Birth? Babies? Families?
Would you like to make a difference in the lives of people at the most formative time of human development?
Do you like to nurture and support others?
Would you like to work in a rewarding and revolutionary field?
Do you like to have control of how much you work and to feel fairly compensated?
Consider joining this latest addition to the maternity care team!
Birth Doulas Make a Difference!
Birth Doulas play a unique role in providing personalized and continuous support to birthing people before, during, and after childbirth. The birth doula brings back a kind of care that’s been missing in modern childbirth and is complementary to clinical care. Birth Doulas practice in hospital, birth center, and home birth settings, with all types of maternity care providers.
Here are just a few of many ways that doulas enhance the childbearing experience:
- Prepare families for their journey through birth and early parenthood
- Help families have the safest and most memorable birth experience possible
- Provide a comforting and nurturing presence that makes a profound difference
- Empower parents with tools to express their needs and navigate the birth care system
- Promote normalcy and gentleness for birth caught in a high-tech approach
- Assist with labor progress and pain management skills
- Protect parent-baby togetherness and immediate breastfeeding
- Facilitate family adjustment and utilization of community resources
The Doula Cooperative is looking for compassionate and reliable individuals to train as community-based THW Birth Doulas, or if already state certified, to join our Doula Care Team, so every birthing person has access to the care and support they deserve. We are especially committed to creating a workforce to serve the diverse communities in Southern Oregon so that families may experience more culturally responsive care. The Doula Cooperative offers THW Doula Training under the Community Doula Program’s OHA-approved Training curriculum.
Whether you’re just starting your journey or looking to expand your expertise, our program not only prepares you to be a skilled doula but also sets you up for long-term success in this rewarding career.
The Community Doula Program (CDP) has generously shared their OHA-Approved Traditional Health Worker (THW) training curriculum with The Doula Cooperative due to the dedication of two of TDC’s board members who contributed to its creation, Debra Catlin and Tracy Hanson. Debra donated the work of 30 years of childbirth education and doula training to the Community Doula Program.
THW Birth Doula Certification Pathway
Includes the education and support needed to complete all of the necessary requirements to become certified as an Oregon THW Doula and begin serving clients!
50 hours EDUCATION
35-Hour Community Birth Doula Training Course
This training course utilizing the Community Doula Program’s OHA-approved training meets the Birth Doula requirement for certification as a THW Birth Doula.* Once state certified, reimbursement for doula services can be paid by both OHP and private insurance companies.
This is an in-person series so as to create an immersive, fun, and heart opening experience, where you will both give and receive the essence of doula work-a loving and healing presence. It blends the ancient wisdom of traditional ways of supporting birth with evidence-based care practices. Through a holistic approach, expand your knowledge of the psychological, social, emotional, cultural, and spiritual realms of childbirth. Come to understand the personal and systemic influences on the birthing person’s and baby’s birth experience, the ways that doulas contribute to a positive birth outcome, and how to establish a trusting relationship with clients. Practice advanced techniques that facilitate the physiologic processes of labor and birth, promoting wellness and normalcy. Fully grasp the tenets of professional conduct as a member of the maternity care team. Develop a business and marketing plan to ensure success in establishing your doula services. All in all, a comprehensive course awaits you!
The first 10 sessions cover the core information and basic skills that build a deep foundational knowledge of physiological pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and breastfeeding. The rest of the sessions (18) delve into the significance of and influences upon the childbearing experience, the art of therapeutic presence, the integration of knowledge and hands-on skills into the role of the birth doula with the many variations of birth experiences, and the support given in pre and post natal contact with clients. Classes are interactive with group sharing, storytelling, artwork, hands-on practice, role-play as a pregnant person, a partner, and a doula, case scenarios, thoughtful exercises, and rehearsal of client interviews blended with multimedia presentations. Includes course texts, an extensive training manual, and a Doula Practice Manual in hard copy and digital format. A Community Resource List is made available for use in your practice and to meet one of the certification requirements.
* The Community Doula Program only accepts THW Doulas from their service areas in Linn, Benton, Lincoln, Lane, Marion, and Polk counties who primarily serve the OHA prioritized populations.
- 35 hours THW Doula Training Course (see above)
- 6-hour Cultural Competency – in person class
- 4-hour Trauma Informed Care-Virtual
- 1-hour HIPPA Compliance-Virtual
- 1-hour Interprofessional Collaboration-Virtual
- Adult and Infant CPR Course-in person
- Oral Health-online course through OHA
ONGOING MENTORSHIP
Our Doula Services Coordinator will provide you with information and mentorship throughout your path to certification-from training, through certification, and to your first paid client!
- Ongoing communication and personal consultation
- Option to shadow an experienced doula at pre and post support visits and a birth.
- Referrals and counsel for 3 prenatal, birth and postpartum experiences
- Instruction on completing the THW application
- Credentialing and billing insurance classes
- Billing service that offer discounts to our Doula Care Team Associates
- 6 months attendance at Community of Practice Meetings
THW Birth Doula Certification Pathway Fee $1800 (Partial scholarships may be available, especially for members of Oregon prioritized populations and other identified categories. Contact our Doula Services Coordinator about scholarship availability, then complete the application here.
Birth Doula Training Only: $850 (For family members, friends, midwifery or nursing students, care providers or others who wish to simply expand their birth support skills)
Testimonials
As we have limited spaces for our doula trainings, please apply below. After reviewing your application, the Doula Services Coordinator will contact you regarding availability and acceptance into the doula training. Once accepted, complete the Doula Training Registration form and make your payment.
After your application has been accepted, complete the following:
Our support doesn’t stop once you become certified as a THW Doula. We are invested in your success, sustainability and well-being as a practicing doula. We offer THW Doulas an opportunity to become an Associate on our Doula Care Team where you can receive client referrals, mutual support, ongoing professional development, and many additional benefits.
Birth Doula Training Course Topics:
- Introduction to the Birth Doula Profession
- Physical and Emotional changes of Pregnancy, Prenatal Care, Healthy Lifestyles
- Overview of the Labor and Birth Process, Hormone Physiology
- Early Labor Care, Activities, and Relaxation
- Active Labor- Using Rhythm, Breathing and Attention Focusing
- Second Stage, Birth, and Immediate Postpartum
- Birth Complications, Interventions, and Medications
- Cesarean Birth, The Newborn
- Postpartum Recovery and Transitions
- Initiation of Breastfeeding
- The Role of the Community Birth Doula
- Influences on the Childbearing Cycle
- Emotional Support and Communication
- Preparing Parents for Labor and Birth
- Creating a Coping Environment
- Labor Coping Strategies
- Support During Early Labor
- Active Labor Support
- More Pain Relief Measures
- Transition, Second Stage, and Birth
- Empowerment Support and Advocacy
- Supporting Challenging Births and Improving Labor Progress
- Supporting Challenging Births, Part 2
- Prenatal Client Contact
- Postpartum Client Contact and Breastfeeding Support
- Perinatal Mental Health
- The Doula Life and Professional Standards
- Working as a Birth Doula and Business Start-up
Is Doula Work Right for You?
Becoming a doula is a meaningful and fulfilling career, but it isn’t for everyone. The unpredictable nature of birth requires a high level of dedication and emotional resilience. A doula’s role extends beyond the birth itself—prenatal visits, postpartum support, and ongoing communication with clients are essential parts of the job. Some business related tasks, marketing a practice, and community outreach are also involved.
Doulas typically operate as independent professionals, giving them the flexibility to manage their own schedules. However, attending births requires a unique level of commitment. Babies arrive on their own timeline, meaning doulas must be on-call for weeks at a time, ready to support a laboring client at any hour. While the work is rewarding, it requires adaptability, patience, an ability to be non-judgmental, and a deep passion for birth work.
If you’re ready for a career that blends flexibility with deep, personal connection, becoming a doula may be the perfect path for you.
In 2013, the State of Oregon created the Traditional Health Worker (THW) Doula program to increase and diversify the birth doula workforce in order for all expectant families to have access to the benefits of doula care and for doulas to earn sustainable pay. With increasing demand for doulas in Oregon communities, now is a great time to start your journey.
Compensation as a Doula
The Oregon Health Plan and several health insurance companies offer reimbursement for birth doula services for state certified THW Doulas and the means to bill for these. This makes doula care more accessible while ensuring doulas can receive sustainable payment for their work. The Doula Cooperative is a billing provider for our Associate Doulas.
In addition to insurance-based clients, doulas often have private pay clients, allowing them to set their own rates. THW Doulas bill for prenatal and postpartum visits and for attending the birth. Doulas can choose how many clients to take so they have full control of their time demands and income needs.
The Role of a Community Birth Doula
Before the Birth…
A doula meets with the family to discuss healthy lifestyle practices, their needs and concerns, priorities, coping strategies, birth options, and how they will work together as a team. The doula points clients to evidence-based information to help parents make informed decisions about their care and teaches parents how to advocate for themselves. Doulas help parents create a birth care plan that communicates their desires surrounding several birthing situations to their care team.
During Labor and Birth…
The birth doula provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support throughout the birth and into the early hours following, no matter the choices made or circumstances that arise. With vaginal births, they utilize strategies that promote the normal process of birth, reduce stress and pain, and speed labor progress. Doulas offer many hands-on comfort measures, reassuring words, and a focused presence. Doulas provide guidance for partners and family members who also wish to provide this kind of support, enhancing their participation.
After the Birth…
Doulas visit with the family at home after the birth to offer education, emotional support, postpartum comfort measures, breastfeeding help, infant care tips, debriefing of the birth, and ongoing follow-up to promote a healthy postpartum recovery and positive family adjustment.
Out in the Community…
Doulas reach out into their communities to let parents, organizations, agencies, and other professionals know about the value and availability of doula care during the childbearing cycle. They network with and refer to other services that also benefit families.
Proven Benefits of Birth Doula Care
Research consistently shows that having a trained doula provide this package of care leads to better childbearing year experiences and improved health outcomes for parents and babies. Studies published in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and The Journal of Perinatal Education have found that doula care is associated with:
- Shorter labors – Individuals with doula support often experience shorter labor times.
- Lower rates of interventions – Studies show a significant decrease in the use of epidurals, Pitocin, and cesarean births when doulas are involved.
- Improved birth satisfaction – Birthing individuals report feeling more in control, empowered, and supported throughout their experience.
- Better newborn outcomes – Babies born with doula support present have higher APGAR scores and are more likely to be successfully breastfed.
- Better overall mental health – Greater birth satisfaction, less incidence of postpartum depression and birth trauma.
Sources:
- National Library of Medicine – Impact of Doula Care
- American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology – VBAC Study
- Social Needs Investment Lab – Maternal Health Outcomes
- National Academy for State Health Policy – Medicaid and Doulas
- U.S. Department of Health & Human Services – Doula Issue Brief
- Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute – Doula Support Review