Postpartum Doula Training and Certification

About Postpartum Doula Training

If you’re passionate about supporting new families, our Postpartum Doula course will provide you with the knowledge and skills to support them with confidence. Childbirth International’s Postpartum Doula training program covers the physiology of the postpartum period together with the skills that a new Postpartum Doula needs.

Many families find the initial weeks after the arrival of a baby can be challenging. They’re learning how to care for a new baby, helping siblings adjust, and trying to get some sleep! A Postpartum Doula can make this transition easier. Your presence can help parents enjoy the early days with their baby and discover the techniques that work for them.

Postpartum doula courses often focus on physical techniques or skills you can use during the early weeks after a birth. Being a postpartum doula is much more than making healthy family meals or caring for an older child. Parents are trying to make decisions about where their baby will sleep, which medical tests to choose, how to calm a crying baby, and learning how to feed their baby. All of these are things that a postpartum doula can help with. At CBI we make sure you have a solid grounding in these areas and more.

As a student you’ll develop strong communication skills, learning the important skills of reflective practice, and active and effective listening. You’ll learn techniques for helping a client debrief their birth, identify how they want to parent their new baby and support them through any difficult decisions. You’ll cover basic first aid measures, healthy meal planning, recognition of home safety, and tips on household tasks. In the physiology module, you’ll look at maternal and infant health, nutrition, sexuality and relationships in the postpartum period. You’ll also look at all the business aspects – how to build your client base, paperwork, forms and legal issues, advertising and promoting your business.

Choose an Accredited Training Organization

Choosing CBI means choosing the highest standard of training. CBI is the only birth and lactation professional training organization worldwide to be accredited with distinction by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), recognizing the quality of CBI’s training programs.

ANCC accreditation recognizes the quality and robustness of CBI’s training programs and the professionalism of the curriculum. All CBI courses are designed to be delivered online, using best practices for online training. Unlike a workshop where you can only touch the surface of everything you need to know as a birth doula, your CBI training will let you dig deep into topics important to your work. And your trainer and fellow students will always be there to answer your questions and guide you through any challenges you face.

Compare Postpartum Doula Courses

We know that choosing a training provider can be confusing when they all seem to have different requirements and different pricing structures. It can be difficult to compare online postpartum doula training programs with face-to-face options. To make it easier for you to make a comparison, we have put together a helpful chart for you to compare CBI to other certified postpartum doula training programs.

Straight-Forward, Upfront Pricing

You won’t be asked to pay membership or certification fees, your certification is for life, and there won’t be any extra fees. You won’t have the additional costs for attending a workshop, like accommodation, travel, and childcare. To make the course more affordable, you can choose to pay it off over five months and still have full access to all your course materials from day one, or pay in one simple, single payment. If you buy more than one certification course at the same time, we’ll say thanks by giving you a 15-25% discount, and as a student completing training and certification with CBI, you’ll always have a 15% discount on any future courses you buy. Read more about our course discounts.

Risk-Free With a Full Refund Option

Deciding to join us on your journey to become a certified postpartum doula is risk-free. If you decide this course isn’t right for you, email us within 48 hours of registering, and we’ll give you a full refund, no questions asked. You can read our refund policy for details.

As a certified postpartum doula, you play an essential role in helping families build the skills and confidence as they transition to parenthood

Easy to Understand Postpartum Doula Certification Requirements

To become a postpartum doula with Childbirth International, you’ll submit assignments and complete exams. Once the requirements are completed, you’ll be awarded a certificate showing you are a Certified Postpartum Doula. There are no additional costs for certification and your certification is for life. We want to make sure that the work you do for certification is relevant and useful to you. We won’t ask you to have medical caregivers evaluate you, or have you read extra books. Every requirement builds on your knowledge and skills and gives you a deeper understanding of your role as a postpartum doula. You can complete all the requirements for postpartum doula certification online.

The requirements for becoming a certified postpartum doula with Childbirth International are:

• Set personal goals for communicating with clients and caregivers
• Critique two videos for bias and evidence
• Analyze case studies on reflective practice and physiology
• Complete online, open-book exams (between 10-20 multiple choice questions in each exam) on physiology
• Survey the birthing options available to clients within your community
• Support two clients in the early postpartum period for a total of 20 hours (in-person or virtually)
• Reflect on your role and the skills you used when working with clients

Once the requirements are met, you’ll be awarded a certificate showing you are a Certified Postpartum Doula and can now use the designation (CPD). There are no additional costs for certification, and your certification is for life.

Whats Included in Your Postpartum Doula Training

We want to make sure you feel prepared and confident in your role as a certified postpartum doula. Every client you work with will have different needs but all of them will be looking to you for support in making the decisions that are right for them. To make sure you have the knowledge and skills to support your clients, you’ll have a comprehensive curriculum, together with a mentor and a global network of peers who’ll join you on your journey. The modules included in the Postpartum Doula Training program are:

• Communication skills
• Postpartum physiology
• Postpartum doula skills
• Business of birth

You can read more about each of the modules covered in your birth doula training and find out about the topics included and the competencies you’ll build in each lesson by clicking on any module in the above list.

Postpartum Physiology

Gain a thorough understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the postpartum period. All student materials are focused on evidence-informed care. Evidence-informed means care that is based on sound research while taking the client’s needs, beliefs and values into account. The opinions and thoughts of experts on postpartum issues are referred to throughout your student manuals – it’s important to hear the views of others in the field to build your own knowledge base. At the end of this module, you’ll complete the online, open-book tests to assess your learning. You’ll also submit a reflective evaluation of this module which will be reviewed and assessed by your trainer.

Topics in Postpartum Physiology

• postpartum physiological changes
• postpartum psychological changes
• sexuality and relationships
• adaptation of the newborn
• infant growth and development
• infant health and health problems
• routine postpartum procedures
• nutrition and exercise
• introduction to lactation

Becoming a Postpartum Doula

Develop your hands-on skills as a Postpartum Doula, enabling you to provide the best care possible, and identify strategies for establishing and developing your business. You’ll learn how to support a new parent in the early weeks, and feel confident in taking care of themselves and their new baby. You’ll learn how to provide information that helps them overcome problems and make those first few weeks joyful. During this module, you’ll submit reviews of three books, a survey, reflection on your experience as a postpartum doula, and a reflective evaluation of this module. These will all be reviewed and assessed by your trainer.

Topics in Becoming a Postpartum Doula

• meal planning and preparation
• household tasks
• home safety
• first aid measures
• postpartum education
• debriefing the birth
• supporting clients parenting
• cultural practices
• lactation support
• newborn care
• caring for multiples and infants with special needs
• supporting parents during hospitalization