Editorial Note: This essay is a candid discussion of the author’s personal experience with Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders, including postpartum depression, and possible postpartum psychosis. It is a harsh lens into the realities of experiencing perinatal mood disorders and anxiety disorders. It includes harsh language including profanity. It is an important lens into the scary and dark place where too many new parents find themselves during the childbearing years.  If you or someone you know are experiencing perinatal or postpartum depression and/or other mood disorders, please co ..read more

By Melissa Harley, ADVCD/BDT(DONA), CLC, LCCE, FACCE 2022 Conference Coordinator The 2022 DONA International Summit is just around the corner and will be one of our largest virtual conferences ever, with over 25 contact hours available. DONA International was founded in October 1992, and this year marks our 30th anniversary. The conference will be an opportunity for members to come together to learn, grow and celebrate this milestone year! Over the years, DONA International has had considerable growth; a dream that started with our five founders as a goal to educate and certify 100 doulas has ..read more

By: Hillary Melchiors PhD, MPH, CD(DONA) LCC The structure and function of DONA International should be important to you as a doula.  If you’ve spent any time looking around at different doula organizations, this post is specifically for you.  There are many different ways these doula organizations work, and understanding the DONA difference honestly made me proud to be a part of this. You don’t have to be all the way on the inside of DONA to get it though. Here are my three reasons why the structure and function of DONA International is important to me: DONA International is classi ..read more

Muchas veces nos toca acompañar ahí, en ese océano en el cuál se sumerge la mujer recién parida. En ese puerperio abrumador, donde su identidad queda confundida y aplastada por el derrumbe que originó el ingreso a la maternidad. Y entonces se nos plantea otra vez el interrogante: qué es acompañar? Acompañar es estar junto a ella. Algo tan simple y tan difícil a la vez, porque para hacerlo bien debemos trabajar mucho en nosotras mismas y en nuestra historia. Es imprescindible que nos comprometamos a ahondar en nuestra biografía para que no empañemos la lente cuando miramos y estamos frente a el ..read more

Once you complete your DONA International doula training you’ll have all of the knowledge and skills you need to get out there and start serving pregnant people and new families. Then It’s time to find those first three certifying families to support! It can be challenging,  so here are some tips on how to get started. FRIENDS & FAMILY  Start with the people who know you and your doula heart best; your family and friends. Reach out to people who know you well and who know that you’ll be an amazing, nurturing, and supportive doula.  Tell your friends and family about your n ..read more

This past year has been a tumultuous one for most people. The emergence of COVID-19 turned our world upside down as our loved ones fell ill, our children schooled from home and our employment changed in major ways. It was, and still is, a time of drastic adjustment, shifting priorities, and emotional upheaval.  In March 2020, when our schools and daycares shut down, my husband and I decided that I would leave my job as a registered nurse in a family practice to stay home with our children. What other option did we have? Although I was reluctant to drop an income, I was relieved to be quar ..read more

In early 2020, when COVID-19 began to spread across the world, and most hospitals and birth centers revised their visitor policies, many doulas scrambled to offer their clients the best support they could over the phone via FaceTime, or through a webcam set up in their birthing space. While this support may have felt harried and second-best at the time, some doulas have found that they, and the families they serve, appreciate the unique benefits of well-provided virtual support. Why Practice Virtually? While many birthing spaces are now allowing doulas back into the room, and many are excited ..read more

I became a birth doula because I thought birth was beautiful – and it certainly can be. But I’ll never forget the first birth I attended that forced me to see the dark side of birth. The side that makes your heart ache and brings tears to your eyes. Unfortunately, the pandemic has brought out the dark sides of birth for many of us and our clients.  The dark side of birth is heavy with grief and loss. It’s when birth becomes scary, lonely, or out of control. It’s when things don’t go as we want or expect them to. Grief often feels this way and, usually, we don’t know what to do about it.&n ..read more

While most of us know we should prioritize “self-care,” we tend to put it at the bottom of our to-do list. We sometimes believe we’ll get around to it when we have time and sometimes even feel guilty about taking time for ourselves when there are so many other people we need to take care of. Failing to prioritize self-care, or feeling guilty about it, can lead us to disregard our personal needs, run ourselves ragged, and fray our mental health. So, instead of calling it “self-care” let’s consider calling it “required maintenance.”  In order to protect your mental health as a birth profess ..read more

Dear Friends, In recent weeks, a petition calling for doula education and certification organizations to stop providing Rebozo training has circulated throughout the worldwide birth community. We have heard from those within the Indigenous Mexican birth community, as well as many others who hold this issue in high regard, and we agree that it deserves much care and consideration. We have also been in touch with the petition authors and hope to speak with them at length this week to find common ground and pursue mutual understanding – especially at a time in our world when unity is paramount ..read more