FAQ’s
What does DONA require for Birth Doula Certification?
Here’s the skinny answer click here DONA Certification Info-Graphic
For more details, scroll down to the bottom of DONA’s certification information page.
Do I need to be certified to be a doula?
No. Particularly if this is something you are offering to friends and family.
Increasingly certification is becoming more necessary. As Medicaid, insurance and HSAs consider coverage for doulas, many are requiring certification. California requires training for doulas who are being reimbursed by Medi-Cal. Hospitals and parents appreciate the accountability that certification entails. In a national survey, doulas who are certified are paid at a higher rate.
What about MEDI-CAL and other compensation for doula care?
Most doulas work directly for their clients and are compensated by their clients. For decades, doulas have struggled with their desire to provide services to clients who may not be able to afford the care of a doula. At the same time, not all doulas can afford to provide services without compensation.
After years of negotiating, doulas have finally received approval to become enrolled Medi-Cal providers, which allows us to serve low-income clients and be paid by Medi-Cal for our work. After the workshop, you can apply to become a Medi-Cal approved doula. When you are enrolled as a Medi-Cal approved doula you can receive reimbursement for your services (up to $3200 per client). (*Correct?*) Medi-Cal has online training for steps to become an enrolled doula provider. This workshop will not be a training on how to do that. But the workshop does count toward Medi-Cal’s approved doula training requirements.
DONA is an approved certifying organization for Walmart employees and Carrot Benefit recipients. Walmart will pay doulas $1000 for a birth. Doulas are permitted to bill beyond that directly to a Walmart employee. Carrot recipients can pay doulas whatever their fee is. DONA-certified doulas are also accepted as Tri-Care Doulas who serve military families, receiving up to $2000 compensation.
Where can I stay nearby the Santa Rosa workshop?
The address for the workshop is 583 Summerfield Road, Santa Rosa, 95403. Many people have liked using Air B&B www.airbnb.com to find a room to stay locally. My neighbor rents her AirBnB for less than $100. It is safe and quiet, but not fancy. A 6 minute drive to the workshop. There are lots of places in Santa Rosa. Generally East of Highway 101 is the zone to be in.
The closest hotel is The Flamingo. Very nice. Hillside Inn is next door. Basic – but locally cherished for their breakfast restaurant. In our historic district with easy walking to food are ArtHouse and Hotel E and in RailRoad Square AC Hotel, Hyatt Vineyard Creek and Hotel La Rose. Those make for a 10-12 minute commute – pretty easy! Other Santa Rosa hotels are the Sandman, Extended Stay America, and LaQunita near a Trader Joe’s. This is wine country and it fills up fast. You could search for price reductions on www.expedia.com, www.kayak.com, www.hotels.com and www.getaroom.com
Is the doula the same as a nurse?
Doulas do not replace nurses or other medical staff. Doulas do not perform clinical or medical tasks such as taking blood pressure or temperature, monitoring fetal heart rate, doing vaginal examinations or providing postpartum clinical care. They are there to comfort and support the laboring person and to enhance communication between those in labor and medical professionals. A doula can remind you of questions you want to ask. Nurses may need to take breaks or change shifts. A doula provides continuous support.
How can I be available all the time?
You probably can’t. That’s why most doulas make arrangements with a back-up doula to cover them when they are not available. You would inform your clients of this in advance. If you can’t arrange back-up, you would let your clients know of the times that you would not be available and decide together how they would want this handled. Some doulas work with an on-call group of doulas who take turns covering different days of the week. They provide their clients with this schedule. There are a few doulas who work for a hospital-based program and are on-call on certain days. This is rare.
Do you offer payment plans?
You have the option of paying a small non-refundable deposit to hold your spot. On workshop day 1, you can pay your final payment without penalty for late payment. Call or email me if you have questions.
Should I quit my day job?
No. Most doulas start out with just a few clients in their first year. They allow back-up to cover them when they are not available.
How will I find clients?
At the end of the workshop I will provide a list of volunteer and a few possible paid opportunities in Sonoma, Marin and San Francisco area. For those coming from other places, I will do my best to help you connect with others in your area. For your own purposes, identify people in your community who have access to pregnant people. Doctor and midwifery offices, pregnancy counseling services, prisons and teen groups may be interested in spreading the word about your services. You can also publicize your services by posting flyers or speaking at bookstores, parent support groups and childbirth classes.
Should I print business cards?
Yes, but not too many. You may want to change something on them.
What do doulas get paid?
It varies. There are doulas who charge $600 a birth (usually when they are newer) and those who charge $2800 a birth. I even know of some charging $5000 but that typically includes other services like chiropractic or acupuncture. It is dependent on your level of experience, the area you live in, and your desire to keep labor support financially accessible, weighed against your family’s need for income. Although it is not required, most doulas who are starting out offer their services on a voluntary basis or at a lower cost – perhaps just enough to cover food, parking, transportation and childcare. I personally recommend charging something if at all possible. This helps ensure that you will be called at 2am so that the person in labor doesn’t worry about bothering you. They paid for your service and have the freedom and permission to use it no matter what the time.
What books and links do you suggest?
- The Birth Partner, by Penny Simkin, 5th edition – a must for the workshop
- The Doula Book by Kennell and Klaus
- Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn by Penny Simkin
- www.childbirthconnection.org This site is full of up to date, evidenced based information about pregnancy and childbirth.
- www.motherfriendly.org Promoting a wellness model to improve birth outcomes and reduce costs, this group has over 90,000 members.
- www.lamazeinternational.org Many people don’t realize that Lamaze is no longer about the “strange” breathing. Normal birth is the name of the game!
- www.DONA.org Info on certification.
- Like many doctors, nurses and midwives – giving birth is not what qualifies you as being able to help at a birth. Training, knowledge, diplomacy, reliability, stamina and perhaps most importantly, your compassionate heart for the laboring person are more important factors.
- You are a “tabula rasa.” This Latin phrase for “blank slate” means to me that as a doula who has not given birth, you have no preconceived notions about birth and what this person is experiencing. You fully believe what they tell you of their experience. You are a blank slate.One time I was with a pregnant person in her teens during labor. She was 2 cm dilated and rocking back and forth as she moaned in her labor bed. Rolling her eyes as she looked at me, her mother whispered, “She’s very dramatic. 2 cm doesn’t really hurt this much, does it?” I knew what I had read in books, and what I had seen at other births, but I didn’t have any personal experience of labor at 2 cm, so with an open heart I was able to say to this soon-to-be grandmother, “The pain is real to her.” 2 hours later my young client held her baby in her arms! Because I had no personal birthing experience, I was less tied to what I thought labor “should be” and was able to validate what was actually happening. This person was moving quickly through her labor, no matter what her cervix might have indicated. Thank goodness I didn’t tell her something like, “save your energy, it’s only going to get harder.”
- One (or two or three) births of your own don’t make you an expert. They make you knowledgeable for sure.
If you gave birth ten times you would agree that every birth is different. Just because you may not have had that one experience, doesn’t mean that you don’t have an understanding of what the needs of people in labor are. You empathetic heart is a greater guide. Your willingness to be generous with praise and to provide anticipatory care are of greater service to the laboring person than your own experience of giving birth. - If you haven’t given birth, you have no baggage. Yup. Some of us have to practice leaving our baggage at the door before we walk into the room with that pregnant person. You don’t. You are fully present. You are not comparing what she tells you to your own experience. You aren’t tempted to tell your story when really, you should be listening to her needs.
- You have the freedom to be fully present. If you don’t have children, you don’t have childcare concerns.
What is a birth doula?
A caring person who:
- Recognizes birth is a key life experience, understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a person in labor
- Assists a expectant family in preparing for and carrying out their plans for their child’s birth
- Stays by the side of the laboring person throughout the entire labor (no change of shift)
- Provides emotional support, physical comfort measures, an objective point of view and assists in gathering information to aid decision making
- Acts as a liaison between the laboring person, partner and clinical care providers
- Does not replace the partner or clinical care provider
Who relies on a doula?
Childbearing people and couples, midwives, doctors and labor and delivery nurses appreciate the resources, techniques, knowledge and continuous empathetic support a doula provides. For those laboring without partners, the labor support person may be the only source of focused, continuous emotional support throughout the labor and birth of the baby.
Historically, women have relied on many different people to provide this kind of support — mothers, partners, friends, midwives, nurses and childbirth educators. Recent studies indicate better outcomes for babies and the birthing person, shorter, more comfortable labors, fewer complications, and greater maternal satisfaction when a labor support person is continuously present.
The doula’s nurturing patience, expertise and commitment to childbearing person and their partners can help families to have safe and satisfying birth experiences.