Free tool · For people training as birth doulas
Plan Your Birth Doula Certification
Tell the planner how many hours a week you can study and when you want to start. It turns the birth doula training’s published scope into a dated week-by-week plan, gives you a checklist of what to complete, and puts BBU’s own certification steps on a timeline.
- Free
- No signup or email
- Works right on this page
- Nothing you enter is sent anywhere; saving is your choice
Planning to become a postpartum doula? That training has its own plan: Plan Your Postpartum Doula Certification.
How the training is structured
BBU’s Certified Birth Doula Training is fully online and self-paced. Its page describes about 24 hours of video and activities across seven areas of practice: your role and scope; labor physiology; comfort and partner support; hospital births and care teams; different paths to birth (including cesarean, VBAC, home and birth-center births and NICU stays); early postpartum; and building your practice. A training workbook accompanies the videos.
The page does not publish hours per area, so the planner splits the 24 hours evenly across the seven as a planning assumption, and says so on your plan.
Planning weeks around your life
Enter the hours you can realistically give each week, including workbook time, and a start date. The planner divides the training into weeks at that pace, works through the areas in order and dates every week. At five hours a week that is five weeks; at two hours a week, twelve. Change the hours to see how the finish date moves.
BBU’s trainings FAQ says each training includes about 24 hours of videos and activities and that “many people finish within 3–4 days.” Your pace is your own; the planner never compares you with anyone else.
What you will need to complete
The plan ends with tick lists of the seven areas and the workbook exercises the training page names: mapping how you would support a family through each stage of labor, drafting client-interview questions, practicing comfort measures and positioning, and planning how you will work alongside a hospital care team.
How certification works at BBU
BBU publishes its certification in three steps, and the planner repeats them in BBU’s own words:
- Initial certification: complete the training to earn your initial one-year certification.
- Full certification: within that year, complete BBU mentorship or 15 eligible birth/postpartum CEUs for full three-year certification.
- Renewal: continuing education is required to renew every three years.
Your plan dates the first two steps from your estimated finish. These are BBU’s terms only; other organizations, employers and benefit programs set their own requirements, so confirm what applies to you.
Questions people ask
How long does the doula training take?
It is self-paced, with about 24 hours of video and activities. The planner turns your own weekly hours into a dated plan.
What do I get at the end?
BBU’s published terms: completing the training earns an initial one-year certification, and within that year BBU mentorship or 15 eligible birth/postpartum CEUs lead to the full three-year certification.
Do I need experience first?
No prior experience is required for the full training. Cross certification is the route for people who have already completed a doula training.
Where is the plan for postpartum doula certification?
It is a separate tool, Plan Your Postpartum Doula Certification, built on the Certified Postpartum Doula Training’s own seven areas and exercises. This planner covers the Certified Birth Doula Training only.
Does the planner know other certifying bodies’ rules?
No. It only uses BBU’s own published terms. Check any other organization’s requirements with that organization.
Sources
- Birth & Baby University. The Certified Birth Doula Training information page (linked above). Checked October 9, 2026.
- Birth & Baby University. Certified Doula Trainings page, frequently asked questions (training length and certification). Checked October 9, 2026.