Birth Doula Training & Certification - Childbirth International

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About Birth Doula Training

Congratulations on deciding to train as a Birth Doula. This exciting journey is life-changing for many, and we hope it will be for you. Childbirth International’s (CBI) birth doula training program provides everything you need to become a certified birth doula. Our support is wide-ranging, with an in-depth curriculum, worldwide trainer network, private student group, and flexible learning environment.

Your support as a birth doula will be invaluable to the families you work with as you help them prepare for their baby and navigate unexpected events. You’ll be part of the global movement to improve birth and honor the rights of every client you work with. In particular, you’ll make a real difference in people’s lives while making a living at something you’re passionate about.

Become a Birth Doula Guide – Free!

If you’re just starting on your journey to become a birth doula or trying to work out the best doula training program to choose, we’ve put together this guide for you, completely free.

There’s no obligation, no email or credit card required, and no heavy sales pitch. Just straight answers to all your questions about birth doula training.

Get the Becoming a Doula Guide – Free

What You’ll Learn in the Free Download

• The role of a birth doula
• How to identify a good doula training course
• How doula training is regulated and accredited
• How online training is different from face-to-face
• How much you can earn as a doula
• How to take the next steps in choosing the right course for you

… and more!

Compare Birth Doula Training Programs

If you are still wondering how to become a doula or where to train, we can help you there too. Choosing a training provider can be confusing, with each organization having different requirements and pricing, making it difficult to know which is the birth doula training program for you. We’ve done the hard work for you in our comparison charts so you can compare training programs.

View Comparison Chart

On our popular public Facebook group, you can learn more about the options for Birth Doula training and certification from other doulas who have chosen various programs: Becoming a Doula Facebook Group.

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 course at the same time, we’ll say thanks by giving you a 15-25% discount, and as a student with CBI, you will always have a 15% discount on any future courses you buy.

Risk-Free With a Full Refund Option

Deciding to join us on your journey to become a certified birth 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. Whichever payment option you choose, you will have immediate course access to CBI’s online doula training program. If you choose the single payment option, you can also choose to add printed manuals (the content is the same as the online course).

FIVE PAYMENTS

US$162/month

• Five easy payments
• Immediate course access
• Buy printed manuals at the end of the plan
• Admin fee ($10/month included)

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ONE PAYMENT

US$835 + shipping

• One single payment
• Immediate course access
• Printed manuals sent immediately
• No admin fee

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GO GREEN!

US$760

• One single payment
• Immediate course access
• Use web or app
• Gentle on the planet!

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Becoming a doula is rewarding in so many ways, from preparing parents for birth, and labor, to helping clients navigate unexpected events

Easy to Understand Birth Doula Certification Requirements

To become a certified birth doula with Childbirth International, you’ll submit assignments and complete the online, open-book exams. We want to make sure that the work you do for certification is relevant and valuable 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 birth doula. To become a certified Birth Doula with Childbirth International, you’ll:

• 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 during pregnancy, labor, and birth 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 Labor Doula and can now use the designation (CLD). There are no additional costs for certification, and your certification is for life.

What’s Included in Your Birth Doula Training

We want to ensure you feel prepared and confident in your role as a certified birth doula. Every client you work with will have different needs, but all of them will be looking to you for support in making 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, a trainer who’ll act as your mentor, and a global network of peers who’ll join you on your journey. You can read more about the modules covered in your birth doula training and find out about the topics included in your Birth Doula training below. Click on the title of the topic for more information.

You can download a copy of the Birth Doula Syllabus here.

Getting Started as a Birth Doula

Working With Clients During Pregnancy

Working With Clients During Labor

Working With Clients Postpartum

Communicating with Clients & Caregivers

Adapting to Labor Circumstances

Diversity & Cultural Humility

Reflective Practice

Grief & Loss

Anatomy & Physiology of Pregnancy & Birth

Physiology of the Early Postpartum Period

Psychological Wellbeing

Adaptation of the Newborn

Health, Nutrition & Diet-Related Issues

Pain in Labor & Pain Management

Labor Interventions, Policies, & Procedures

Cesarean & Vaginal Birth After Cesarean

Introduction to Lactation

Using Research & Evidence-Informed Care

Finances, Taxes, & Legal Issues

Goals & Values for Your Business

Marketing Your Business

Frequently Asked Questions

How long will my trainer support me for?

Your trainer will support you for as long as it takes to complete your training. Each time you submit an assignment, your trainer will be there with feedback and suggestions to enable you to dig a little deeper and help you to consider things you haven’t thought of. Whether you take three months or five years to complete your training, you will have a trainer available the whole time.

How long will it take for me to complete the course?

That depends on how much time you have available and how long it takes you to complete the assignments. Based on studying for ten hours a week, the course would take about 3-4 months to complete.

Can I access the course materials after I complete my training?

You can go through your course in any order you like and can always return to a module if you want to refresh your knowledge. Even once you have completed your training and are certified as a birth doula, you will still have access to your course materials, continually updated with the latest evidence.

How will I learn the hands-on skills of being a doula?

We’ve worked as doulas for the last 30+ years and have trained thousands of doulas. In our experience, hands-on skills are the easiest to learn. Much of what you will do as a doula will come naturally. Knowing when to place a hand on a client for reassurance or give a smile to tell them how well they’re doing. When to massage their lower back or squeeze their hips to relieve some of their discomfort. The challenging part of being a doula is helping them identify what they need, helping them communicate with their care provider or find a provider who meets their needs, and how to help them make the decisions that are right for them. These things can’t be covered in a couple of days in a workshop since they need time to think about, reflect on, and practice.

Will you help me find clients?

Yes. We will provide a solid foundation in business skills so you can identify where to find clients, how best to communicate with them, and how to present yourself as a professional service provider. We’ll teach you to calculate your fee structure, ideas about contracts between you and your clients, and many other tips to help you launch your doula practice.

Do I need special software to complete the course online?

As long as you have access to the internet you can complete the course online. If you prefer to work from paper-based manuals, you can choose these when you order your course (if choosing to pay by a single payment) or at any time afterward. The student website can be accessed with any browser and an app is available if you prefer to read your course materials on your tablet or phone offline. You will need to submit assignments but these can be uploaded in PDF or Word format easily and all communication with your trainer will take place through email.

What’s your philosophy on birth?

Our philosophy on birth is simple. We believe in supporting a client through pregnancy and birth in whatever way they want. Our goal is to support you in supporting your clients – whatever that looks like. We strongly believe in the right of everybody to choose whatever path is right for them and to be supported on that journey emotionally and physically by the people they feel safest with.

As a doula, we know that you can best support your clients when you have the knowledge and skills to guide them through any challenges and to do that, you need to have the opportunity to dive into topics and have time to absorb your learning. This is best achieved with the support of an experienced trainer who can mentor you through your learning. You should be able to define your journey in becoming a birth doula, taking whatever time you need, accessing culturally safe training, and fitting your training into whatever other commitments you have in your life. We believe you should be able to become a certified birth doula in a way that allows you to train without boundaries.

What if I change my mind about your program?

That’s not a problem. We understand that you might look at the course and decide it’s not right for you. We have a 48-hour full refund option so it’s absolutely no risk. As long as you contact us by email within 48 hours of registering for a course if you would like a refund, we’ll process that refund without any charges or administration fees.

You might have lots of questions. Have you taken a look at our Becoming a Birth Doula guide? It is a free download – no obligation and no credit card is required. If your questions are not answered in the guide or on this page, send us an email at [email protected] or reach out to us through Facebook Messenger – our team would love to answer your questions and help you decide if this is the right doula training program for you!

Buy This Course

CBI has been the perfect blend of education, support, and flexibility. I am eager to take the skills I’ve learned here and help individuals in my community as I start my small business. As I expand, I plan to return for more courses!

Lauren, Mount Roal, New Jersey

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Teaching Activities

As a CBI student, you’ll have a ready-made curriculum so you can start teaching whenever you feel ready. But you will also have dozens of ideas for different activities, so you can adapt your classes to meet your own teaching style and your client’s needs. You’ll be provided with activity suggestions on knowledge-based topics (e.g., lactation, stages of labor, pain management, interventions), communication topics (e.g., communicating with caregivers, writing birth plans, decision-making), and hands-on parenting skills. At the end of this unit, you will be able to:

• Plan teaching activities for a range of topics
• Determine the learning outcomes that the activities address
• Determine the learning styles that the activities meet the needs of
• Identify ways that the activities can be evaluated for effectiveness

Close Evaluating Your Teaching

In order to determine whether or not our classes are meeting the needs of our clients, the most effective way is to ask the clients. In this unit, we will explore different methods for evaluating the effectiveness of our classes and explore ways that we could enhance the classes if they are not. We’ll discuss different evaluation form designs and determine the most appropriate time and method for getting evaluations from clients. We’ll also look at how you use evaluations from clients to improve your classes and identify new areas for your own professional development. Finally, we’ll consider how to manage the situation when a client is disappointed with the classes. At the end of this unit, you will be able to:

• Create an evaluation form for use in childbirth classes
• Explain the reasons for using evaluation forms
• Identify areas that could be improved in your childbirth classes

Close Using Visual Aids

Visual aids can be used in childbirth classes to help clients grasp a concept visually that otherwise would be very difficult to understand. However, they can also be fraught with difficulties. Videos can frighten clients if they are inappropriate or too graphic, and charts or pictures may not be clear enough to understand. Using a pelvis or doll inappropriately can affect the messages you are sending to your clients. During this unit, we will explore the benefits and disadvantages of visual aids and consider ways that you can use them for maximum impact and effectiveness. We will also consider how you can use real people, for example, parents of a young baby or other health professionals, to add an extra dimension to your classes and help create a more realistic picture for clients. Finally, we will explore ways that you can use visual aids cheaply without necessarily having to purchase a large number of expensive items. At the end of this unit, you will be able to:

• Identify situations where visual aids are appropriate and effective
• Explain the birth of a baby using a pelvis and doll
• Select appropriate videos for demonstrating different types of births
• Recognize concerns clients may have when watching videos
• Describe how to manage a class with visitors or guests

Close Active Teaching Skills

In this unit, you’ll be exploring the differences between traditional teaching methods and active teaching methods, together with the importance of teaching clients skills rather than just knowledge. We’ll also be looking at ways to keep your teaching focused on the group’s needs and how to meet your client’s expectations. At the end of this unit, you will be able to:

• List the needs of your clients
• Identify appropriate icebreakers
• Describe the differences between traditional and active teaching methods
• Explain the benefits of teaching skills and exploring feelings
• Use active teaching skills to engage clients and ensure classes are interactive

Close Planning & Structuring a Course

Successful childbirth classes start with great planning! You’ll explore the different ways to plan and structure a course, learn about the differences between aims and learning outcomes, how to keep your classes balanced, focused on your client’s needs, and, most importantly, fun. You’ll identify the topics you want to cover in your classes and learn how to choose the right activities for each topic. You’ll also be looking at alternative course formats so you can choose the structure that’s right for you and your clients. At the end of this unit, you will be able to:

• Write aims and learning outcomes for your classes
• Design and complete a teaching plan for a full childbirth course
• List alternative class formats for teaching
• Identify environmental factors for effective teaching

Close Introduction to Childbirth Education

In the first teaching skills unit, you’ll explore the history of childbirth education and the role of the childbirth educator. You’ll look at the benefits of childbirth education to your clients according to the evidence. You’ll also think about the different formats and types of childbirth education classes and the different options for the timing and length of your classes. At the end of this unit, you will be able to:

• Describe a brief history of childbirth education
• Explain the role and responsibilities of a childbirth educator
• List the benefits of childbirth education
• Describe different formats of childbirth classes

Close Teaching Adults

Much of our experience of teaching will come from being taught ourselves. During this unit, we’ll consider the learning needs of adults and common problems when working with adult groups. You’ll develop strategies for getting adults to work effectively together in groups and learn how to address the needs of both your clients and their partners or other support people in childbirth classes. At the end of this unit, you will be able to:

• List common problems when working with adult groups
• Identify strategies for making groups work effectively together
• List differences between the needs of clients & partners in childbirth classes
• Identify teaching situations that could be problematic
• List strategies for working with clients with different needs

Close Working With Clients Postpartum

A birth doula typically provides 1-2 postpartum visits with a client but might be available for telephone or email consultation for the first few weeks after the birth. In this unit, you’ll be looking at how to debrief a birth with a client and also with peers if you need support after a birth, writing a birth story for your client, accessing resources to support a client, supporting other family members, and providing support if your client is experiencing a perinatal mood and anxiety disorder.

Close Working With Clients During Labor

In this unit, you’ll be developing techniques that help you to support a client during labor and birth. You’ll look at positioning, massage techniques, breathing and relaxation methods, and complementary therapies. You’ll explore how you can communicate with a client on the options available to them for pain relief. You’ll also consider the challenges of being on call and how to create an optimal environment for birth. You’ll examine the difference in your role when you’re at a home birth and how you can support partners and other family members. Finally, we’ll go through the documentation that might be useful at a birth.

Close Finances, Taxes, and Legal Issues

The financial and legal issues are significant parts of your business but often the most daunting.  In this unit, you’ll look at the most important financial documents to produce, techniques for monitoring the financial health of your business, and different legal issues for you to consider.

Keeping track of the money is essential for a healthy business regardless of whether you charge a full fee for your services, reduced or sliding fees, or offer your services for free, donation or barter. It is difficult to make business decisions about new products or services if you don’t know how much money you have or don’t have.

Setting up your business and protecting yourself legally is also important. If you’re already working as a birth and lactation professional and haven’t done this before, it’s never too late to start!

Close Marketing Your Business

Marketing can seem overwhelming if you’re new to setting up a business. In this section, we’ll break down the steps of marketing to make it easy and achievable.

Understanding Your Clients and Competitors

Whether you have an existing business or are starting at the beginning, understanding who you might be selling to or where potential new customers are is key to knowing how to meet their needs. Its also important to understand the other services in your community that you are competing with so you can decide how you want to offer something that potential clients are looking for.

Defining Your Products and Services

It may seem obvious, but knowing what you are selling and why your customers want to buy it is important. This unit will help you to identify your unique selling point, increase your profile within your community, and identify any potential areas for growth.

Designing Your Look and Feel

Once you have an idea of who your customers and competitors are and what you are selling, it’s time to work on the look and feel of your business. You’ll explore the image you’re portraying to your potential customers, how they see you, and how you create a “brand.”

Promoting Your Business

Once you have an idea of the direction you want your business to take and how it will look as it grows and develops. This is all great – but it is important that you tell people about it. If nobody knows you exist, there is no point in having a wonderful service, and a clear and distinct image, even if you have something unique to offer!

Many small business owners turn to paid advertising such as magazine advertisements, flyers, and brochures as their first foray into the world of promotion. In this unit, you’ll discover that there are many ways of promoting your business, most of them for either low cost or for free.

Close Goals and Values for Your Business

Running your own business is an exciting challenge. A successful business can be financially rewarding and also boost your self-esteem. Learning how to manage your business, however large or small, is liberating. This unit will take you through establishing a business and getting it up and running.

You’ll look at some common reasons businesses fail and think about your own goals for running a business. You’ll create your own “why” for becoming a birth or lactation professional and consider the best business model that works for you and meets your needs.

Close Adapting to Labor Circumstances

Labor is often a time of enormous challenges, both physically and emotionally. However, for some, labor is more difficult than for most. In this unit, you’ll look at some of the more common causes of a challenging labor and how you, as a birth doula, can help a laboring client. You will also learn the techniques for Rotational Positioning, a CBI-designed tool to support clients in some challenging births.

Close Working with Clients During Pregnancy

Working with clients prenatally is an important part of the doula role. It’s during this period that you build your relationship with clients, help them identify their goals, their expectations of you, and help them determine the choices that will enable them to have the birth they want. During this unit, you’ll be looking at the first contact you have with potential clients, your first client meeting, how to help a client debrief a previous birth experience, establishing your client’s goals and expectations, effective ways to write a birth plan, setting boundaries with clients, identifying the documentation you want to have, and meeting a client’s caregivers.

Close Getting Started as a Birth Doula

In this unit, you’ll look at the initial steps to becoming a doula – what your role entails, recognizing the benefits of birth doula support, building relationships, and getting ready to work with your first client. You’ll explore the history of birth support, examine a range of doula business models, consider how to approach the initial contact you have with clients, and begin preparing for working with your first client. You’ll also look at local, regional, and ethical requirements for client confidentiality.

Close Introduction to Lactation

As a provider of childbirth classes or postpartum support, you’ll often be called upon to provide information on feeding a baby. You may also be asked to answer questions or provide support to people who are experiencing problems with lactation. During this introduction to lactation unit, you’ll look at how milk is produced and how the lactation process works. You’ll also explore the more common problems clients might experience, understand what causes these problems, and consider pumping and weaning.

Close Cesarean and Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC)

Cesarean rates continue to increase in most countries despite the risks to both parents and babies. During this unit, you’ll consider the reasons for the increasing cesarean rate and possible indications for cesarean birth. You’ll also explore the consequences of cesarean and the alternatives available. You will develop a deeper understanding of vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC), the true risks and benefits, and under what circumstances a VBAC may not be available.

Close Labor Interventions, Policies, and Procedures

During this unit, you’ll consider the common interventions experienced during labor and the policies, procedures, and standard routines found in healthcare settings that can impact your clients. You’ll explore the reasons for routine procedures and the potential consequences of these and discuss alternatives to routine procedures. You’ll understand the differences between active and expectant management and the potential consequences of each approach. You’ll develop evidence-based resources that help a client to make an informed choice about interventions in pregnancy and labor.

Close Pain in Labor and Pain Management

For many, the fear of pain during labor is their major concern throughout pregnancy. Understanding why pain is experienced during labor, the options available for managing the pain, and the benefits and disadvantages of each option, is important if you are to help your clients be truly informed during labor. During this unit, you’ll explore the concept of pain itself and develop a deeper understanding of the options available. You’ll learn about the pharmacology of each pain relief method available in the hospital environment and how they provide pain relief.

Close Health, Nutrition, and Diet-Related Issues

While the specific links between diet and pregnancy outcome are not always simple and clear, many complications that can arise during pregnancy, such as diabetes, are made worse by poor nutrition and lack of exercise. Research shows benefits to adopting a healthy diet early in pregnancy although it is more likely that these health improvements result from people having access to healthier foods and better living conditions. We use the term “diet” to mean the range of foods eaten in a day or a week, not “diet” in the sense of a structured weight-loss plan. A person’s activity level also ties into their physical and emotional health. In this unit, you’ll look at what is “healthy eating,” the nutrients that are the building blocks of nutrition, how diet affects the health of the parent and baby, and what happens when the diet or level of exercise may be contributing to ill health. You’ll also look at the benefits of exercise and tips on getting active. Understanding these principles is helpful for you as a birth and lactation professional, so you can support clients who may lack basic information about healthy eating and its role in well-being, or may feel overwhelmed by the idea of making changes in their diet or level of activity. You’ll also analyze the special dietary needs of specific groups.

Close Adaptation of the Newborn

In this unit, you’ll explore the normal physiology and health of the baby in the early postpartum period. Just as it is important to understand the parent’s physiological experience in the postpartum period, it is also important to understand the physiological adaptations the baby makes after birth, what physical patterns are normal in a newborn, and what problems can occur. When a baby is born several physiological changes take place that is nothing short of miraculous. The baby, who has completely relied on its parent until birth for oxygen, nutrition, and protection must be able to function separately within minutes of being born. You’ll look at the main physiological changes that occur minutes after birth. A grounding in this information will help you provide information so parents can make informed decisions and feel more confident about their early parenting experiences.

Close Psychological Wellbeing

During the early postpartum period, new parents may go through a variety of emotional changes. This is partly due to fluctuations in their hormone levels and the enormous lifestyle changes and responsibilities of having a new baby. A newborn baby makes enormous demands on the energy, time, and emotions of a new parent. This can sometimes seem overwhelming, particularly when an individual gives birth for the first time. The sudden realization that they are responsible for this tiny person 24 hours a day can be daunting. Despite parenting classes, no amount of preparation seems to prepare parents for the reality of caring for a new baby. This unit will explore the normal psychological changes that take place in the postpartum period, together with postpartum mood and anxiety disorders.

Close Physiology of the Early Postpartum Period

During this unit, you’ll explore the physiology of the early postpartum period – the first few weeks after the birth of a baby. You’ll consider the normal events for this period, the physical recovery, and the emotional changes that typically occur. You’ll also look at recovery after cesarean birth and feeding an infant after a cesarean. You’ll also build up a library of resources to support clients in the postpartum period.

Close Anatomy and Physiology of Pregnancy and Birth

Understanding the normal physiology of pregnancy, labor, and birth provides you with the knowledge you’ll need for working with pregnant clients. A strong understanding of physiology is essential to your birth doula training.

Anatomy and Physiology in Pregnancy

A sound understanding of the physiological processes surrounding pregnancy and childbirth is imperative for both childbirth educators and birth doulas. It will enable you to better support your client when unexpected events occur and develop your skills in assisting clients to care for themselves during the childbearing year. During this unit, you’ll cover the physiology of pregnancy, developing a thorough understanding of the growth of the fetus (from conception through to term), reproductive anatomy, and the changes that occur during pregnancy.

Physiology in Labor and Birth

Understanding the physiology of labor and birth is fundamental as part of the knowledge base of childbirth educators and birth doulas. Recognizing the stages of labor, responses to labor, and the different labor patterns can help you effectively communicate and support your clients. During this unit, you’ll cover the physiology of labor and birth. You’ll develop a thorough understanding of the processes and mechanisms of labor.

Close Grief and Loss

Supporting families through loss and grief is one of the most challenging areas of working as a birth and lactation professional. This is one area that students and experienced practitioners alike often dread. In this unit, you’ll explore theories of grief to give an overview of how the grief process is understood and look in detail at individual forms of loss, such as miscarriage, stillbirth, illness, or fertility problems. You’ll examine how families experience such losses and the issues they may face in the aftermath. You’ll also look at how you can support clients in maintaining control over their decisions and making their experience an empowering one before, during, and after a loss, even if their experience is one they would never have chosen. Finally, you’ll think about the importance of self-care when supporting a family through loss.

Close Reflective Practice

Reflection is a process where you not only at what happened in a situation but also why. Reflection enables us to go beyond the surface of our experiences and to explore the reasons why we and others acted in certain ways, what influenced us, what choices we made, and whether those choices supported our goals. With reflection, we can see a whole range of alternatives we may not have identified at the time of the event in question and can examine why we didn’t identify or choose those alternatives. Reflection helps us to be aware of our power, even if we realize that we didn’t use it. Reflection benefits us not only in our personal and professional lives but also leads us to begin asking different, more effective, questions of our clients, providing them with a vision of a more empowered way of being. In this unit, you’ll develop a strong understanding of reflective practice and how it can enhance your experiences and those of your clients while providing you with clear strategies for supporting clients in debriefing using reflective practice techniques.

Close Using Research and Evidence-Informed Care

Evidence-informed care integrates clinical judgment with the best available research available for clients to make decisions about what is the best course of action for themselves or their baby. The use of reliable research is a key component, but the term “evidence-informed care” also allows for the judgment of the individual healthcare provider in communicating the general principles of research evidence to an individual client. You’ll be able to understand the structure of research and develop the skills to communicate evidence, or lack of evidence, to clients in a balanced and non-threatening way. You’ll also explore the importance of informed choice and the components that ensure a client is giving informed consent when medical interventions are proposed.

Close

Communicating effectively with clients, their families, and their healthcare providers is an essential part of working with pregnant and new families which is why it is part of all of our certification training programs.

Effective Communication & Active Listening

When working with clients and the family and caregivers supporting them, you’ll strive for open and honest communication that fosters trust. This unit explores the essential components of verbal and non-verbal communication and the power of effective communication. You’ll learn about the main obstacles to effective communication, using empathy instead of sympathy, and becoming skilled at using open questions to help your clients explore their needs and preferences.

Language & Communication

In this unit, you’ll consider the effect of language on the perception and understanding of birth and the postpartum experience. The way people perceive language affects how they understand concepts. As a birth and lactation professional, your confidence in using explicit language, body language, and your understanding of the cultural context of language all affect the messages you send and how you present information to your clients. You’ll learn about the impact of risk-based and benefits-based language, and develop your skills in establishing empathy and language that works toward eliminating health disparities for your clients.

Active Listening Skills

Sometimes clients don’t want information or input – they may just need a listening ear. When others are given the space to speak freely, they may identify their misconceptions, fears, or the steps they need to take. Active listening skills modeled by yourself can help clients overcome differences between themselves, family members, and their caregivers, enabling them to avoid conflict and resolve challenging situations.

Reflective Practice & Debriefing

Reflection is a process where you look at what happened in a situation and why. Reflection enables us to go beyond the surface of our experiences and explore why we and others acted in certain ways, what influenced us, what choices we made, and whether those choices supported our goals. With reflection, we can see a whole range of alternatives we may not have identified at the time of the event in question and examine why we didn’t identify or choose those alternatives. Reflection helps us to be aware of our power, even if we realize that we didn’t use it. Reflection benefits us not only in our personal and professional lives but also leads us to begin asking different, more effective, questions of our clients, providing them with a vision of a more empowered way of being. In this unit, you’ll develop a strong understanding of the reflective process and how it can enhance your clients’ experiences while providing clear strategies for supporting clients in debriefing using reflective practice techniques.

Close Diversity and Cultural Humility

As a birth and lactation professional, you’re likely to find yourself working with clients, colleagues, or caregivers who have different cultures and belief systems from you. To enable you to build effective working relationships, you will explore your values and biases and reflect on how to work with diverse groups of people even when you don’t agree with each other or have very different approaches to pregnancy, birth, lactation, and parenting. It’s also helpful to know where your boundaries are, whether there are situations you feel you can’t support, and how you’ll communicate these to clients. In this unit, you’ll also look at cultural safety, implicit bias, and how power balances and systemic structures influence the healthcare an individual receives, leading to disparities in outcomes.

Cultural safety enables you to support culturally diverse clients and communities and respond appropriately to cultural cues. In this unit, you’ll build your understanding of resources for culturally and linguistically diverse clients, and create a lifelong plan for advocating for cultural safety.

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