Anyone know anything about becoming a doula?

[skatergirl]

I am intersted but don't know that much about the training etc. Also, is it a position that is respected by the medical world or is it frowned upon?

[SlightlyMadSkyscraper]

GO to the Bar and find lulu

Or Mars or a few others...

[RustyBear]

lulu's at her 80's party tonight, but there are others - Marslady & (I think) MrsMalumba and Herts

[SlightlyMadSkyscraper]

Lulumama I think is the most recent person that has done teh training I think. Mars has been doing it a while. Not sure about the others.

[lulumama]

Hi Skatergirl

I trained with nurturing birth it is a 3 day course, very intensive, with lots of written work and preparation, before and after...of course, any one can be a doula, it is not something that requires a qualification as such...BUT i felt it was importnat to do a course, especially one that was recognised by doula UK beacause once you have done your course and had your written work assessed, you can then join Doula Uk and be added to their find a doula service....the majority of the enquiries and jobs i have got have come through there.....

so far , all the midwives i have met have been really positive, as have the GPs and Health Visistors, i got involved in the Maternity Services Liasion Committee at my local hospital, and have got to meet the head of midwifery and consultant midwife.....

i think if you go in there, all guns blazing, wanting to right all the wrongs in the maternity services, and getting in the way of the midwives..you;ll get very short shrift..if you go in as a complement, as a help, not a hindrance, then you;ll do fine!

the role of the doula is to give one to one emotional support to the mother, to nurture her , empower her and give her the support to get the best birth experience she can...

Mars and Hertsnessex, and MrsMalumbas have atteneded a lot of birth between them, they are really fab established doulas, i am a trainee..so if you want to speak to a more established doula, then give one of them a shout!

hope that helps a bit though x

[yogimum]

If you look on mynannynetwork.co.uk they also offer doula training over three days. I trained as a maternity nanny with them and it was excellent.

[yogimum]

Its quite a new course for them so it maybe worth asking if they are going to be one of the courses recommended by Doula UK.

[hertsnessex]

i echo the same as what lulu says, who knows soooooooo much, she is a total vbac guru and great at her doulaing.

Cxxxxx

[Klaw]

I'm doing my course through Birth Consultancy Services, the only course provider in Scotland whom I found through Doula UK. I felt it was important to do a course recognised by Doula UK so that I would have a network of support behind me when it came to actually providing my services. We also have Scottish Doula Network for local(ish) support but that's as well as, not instead of, in my mind!

Depending on where you are you might want to think about \linl{http://birthingfromwithin.com/workshop_schedule\Birthing from Within courses} as there are a couple of weekends in September in London and Bristol which may whet your appetite and give you confidence to take this further. Obviously they're not with Doula UK but I've had a lot of positive responses from Doulas in Scotland when I suggested trying to get BFW to come to Scotland next year, they are very well respected and inspiring! I think the book is brilliant!

You should find that enquiries to any new or trained Doula you make would give you more info and encouragement to help you make a decision whether to take the plunge or not.

HTHs

[Klaw]

D'oh!!!

Birthign from Within courses , just scroll down to Septemebr and also browse the site.

[yogimum]

For those who are birth doulas is it difficult to get that first job? I did lots of training to work with newborns but actually getting my first position was hard as people want years of experience.

[hertsnessex]

i didnt find it too hard, i think if you have children and you know what birth is like, then that is all good experience.

i was honest with my client, and she was fine with it.

cx

[skatergirl]

Thanks for the info, I will check out the websites now..

[Klaw]

Yogimum, I'd say, I'm still waiting but then I live in Scotland and we still have to catch up with England when it comes to new 'fads'.

I do get enquiries on my website about becoming a Doula and once I have my certificate I will get listed on SDN and Doula UK so hopefully things will start picking up.

What is in our favour is that we cannot charge the fees that an experienced Doula charges so when someone is on a budget they may consider a Trainee more readily, and it all comes down to compatibility in the end anyway. You could interview an experienced Doula and a Trainee but find that you warm to the Trainee and find it easier to place your trust in her, iyswim? This is why it is important to interview a few once you consider hiring one.

[yogimum]

Klaw, I know what you mean. Its not much different here in Dorset. I'd love to do some maternity work here but there isn't any positions that become available and as I have a little one I'm reluctant to go to London.

[mrsmalumbas]

Hi there

I used to be a doula and am now a doula trainer with Childbirth International. There is no legal requirement for doulas in the UK (or indeed anywhere in the world) to be trained or accredited although it does make sense from a self confidence/professionalism point of view. There is also no requirement to be registered with doula UK or to follow their guidelines re trainee status, they are a voluntary organisation run by volunteers. However a lot of people do find doula uk a useful way of finding clients and networking with other doulas. Be aware though that doula training is not regulated, there are no training standards or anything like that so in terms of training it's very much caveat emptor. A lot of the training courses around are little more than weekend workshops with little in the way of follow up or support. If you enjoy using the internet and would like flexible learning you can also take a look at our website www.childbirthinternational.com and you can CAT me if you need more information. Good luck - being a doula is a fantastic and very rewarding career. You might also like to think about becoming a childbirth educator, this is a growing field and another string to your bow, so to speak.

[lulumama]

mrsm.......i really want to the CBI childbirth educator course..please can you email me and remind me to sort it out !


thank you !

[Klaw]

MrsM,

for me it was a toss up between the Scottish course providor, Adela Stockton or CBI which seemed a little more intensive but I decided on the Scottish lady because of the newtork support. That's not to say I won't do CBI as time goes on, or even Birthing From Within as I am hoping to arange to get them to Scotalnd next year. We have to continually update our skills etc so I see it as a very useful thing, doing various courses and weekends.

FWIW, I liked the Scottish course because although we do a weekend workshop we also have a LOT of essential reading to do and a written assignment to do in a six month period before we get our Certificate. I felt it was good to have the time to do reading, re-reading and an assignment because i knew I would take more in and learn about myself in the process.

Are there any CBI trainers up in Scotland?

[mrsmalumbas]

Hi Klaw

Sorry no CBI trainers in Scotland, I'm the trainer for all of UK and Europe - it sounds a lot but because it is distance based the workload is not so great! We do have a student in Scotland, a midwife doing the Childbirth Education diploma. We're also looking into the possibility of running some workshops as that would be a nice complement to the distance based learning. We do need to build our numbers up in the UK though and eventually would like to have a network of trainers around the UK and Europe, but we are still a relatively new organisation. I'd like to do Birthing from Within myself actually but funds are a bit limited at present. I did do the HypnoBirthing accreditation but haven't really used it.

[natmatt]

i looked into cbi and even emailed them and got no reply, i wanted to know about paying in sterling and having to pay a huge delivery fee when there is a british dept.

[Lulumama]

email them again ! they are usually super good at getting back to you

the sterling price for doing the antenatal educators course was £350 IIRC...

i know someone who is doing the doula and antenatal course combined, but cannot remember how much she said it was

[Lulumama]

no worries ! you;ll love it .. there is an NB forum for when you have got your certification from them, which is very helpful.