Articles on doula training, certification, recognition and building a practice from Birth & Baby University.
Doula work asks for warmth, presence and availability, often at the hardest moments in a family's life. It can also ask for more than a person can sustainably give. This article reviews what research…
Read the article: Professional Boundaries and Emotional Labor: Protecting Your Well-Being as a Doula"Be an expert" is common advice, and for a non-clinical doula it needs careful handling. Visibility can mean being known to clinicians who might refer clients, to community organizations that need support for families,…
Read the article: Why Professional Visibility Matters: How to Establish Yourself as a Trusted Perinatal ExpertTummy time is one of the most repeated pieces of newborn advice, and one of the most resisted by newborns. Parents are told it builds strength, prevents flat heads and supports development, yet many…
Read the article: Tummy Time: What the Evidence Says About Motor DevelopmentPostpartum doulas work in the part of the perinatal journey that has the least formal structure: the weeks at home after birth. Families often have a hospital team during pregnancy and birth, then a…
Read the article: How to Become a Certified Postpartum Doula: What You Need to KnowDisagreement in a birth room can mean many things: a client who wants something different from what staff propose, a doula who is worried about how a client is being treated, or a clash…
Read the article: How to Navigate Disagreements in the Birth Room While Preserving Professional RelationshipsDim lights, privacy, a quiet room: these are staples of doula advice, often tied to claims about stress hormones. Some of the evidence is encouraging, but much of it is observational, and one setting-comparison…
Read the article: How the Birth Environment Influences Stress, Hormones, and the Labor ExperienceA newborn cannot tell anyone what they need, but they are not silent. They communicate through movement, mouth and hand behavior, changes in alertness, and eventually crying. Postpartum doulas spend hours watching babies and…
Read the article: How Newborns Communicate: Understanding Early Hunger, Stress, and Engagement CuesAs states put public money into doula care, the questions from legislators, plans and communities get sharper: how many families are actually using it, are outcomes better, and what does it cost? Answering those…
Read the article: Evaluating Publicly Funded Doula Programs: Utilization, Outcomes, and CostIf you are a doula, you probably want to know why a family says yes to you. Research on doula selection specifically is scarce. What exists comes from a few surveys and interview studies…
Read the article: What Makes Families Choose a Doula? Understanding Consumer Decision-MakingFathers and partners are present at most births and at home through the postpartum weeks, yet perinatal care has been designed mostly around the person who is pregnant. That is changing. Researchers now study…
Read the article: The Growing Role of Fathers and Partners in Evidence-Based Perinatal CarePage 5 of 23
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