The Importance of Being Seen: Trans Day of Visibility & Pink Shirt Day   When I was a kid, we were taught that not seeing differences, or being “colour-blind” was the right way to be “tolerant” and “accepting” of diversity. We hear echoes of this sentiment when we hear “They can do whatever they want behind closed doors, but why do they have to flaunt it in our faces?” March 31 was Trans Day of Visibility and April 10 was International Day of Pink. Both observances attest to the importance of being seen as an integral dimension of human rights and inclusion. People who can only be the ..read more

I loved one-sided “conversations” with my son when he was an infant and it’s one of my favorite things about postpartum visits now. I refer to all my clients by their first names, however, when I’m providing postpartum support to clients I know identify with terms like “woman”, “mother”, and “mom”, I often find myself talking to Baby about how wonderful their mama is and what a great job she’s doing, especially when they get to the stage where their eyes follow her around the room lovingly.  This often sparks a conversation with the client, especially if no one else is there. That’s par ..read more

Doula School alumni will often ask “what’s the best way to get new clients?” and our answer is almost always the same – email. It’s the most effective way to connect with people and become a regular part of their lives. On a social media platforms like Instagram or Tik Tok, you’re competing with hundreds if not thousands of accounts – all vying for someone’s limited attention. Conversely, once you get into an email inbox, you go right to the top each time . There are several ways to build your email list. It can include past clients, freebies (like guides or offers), advertising on Googl ..read more

Anarcha, Betsy, and Lucy’s gynecological advancements have undoubtedly saved and improved countless lives. Yet they are not celebrated in most textbooks on gynecology or its history. Lucy, Betsy, and Anarcha were not medical researchers. Their ingenuity was a matter of survival. They were among the enslaved Black women that physician Marion Simms tortured and butchered by experimenting on them without anesthesia in the name of medical research. Marion Simms is regarded as the “Father of Gynecology”. Not only is he remembered in the textbooks, but there is also a statue in his honour in his h ..read more

A river may be so still that you can see your reflection, but its current is always in motion. This year has been a time of great change for Doula Canada as we have welcomed renewal in the form of new leadership. We have taken advantage of this transition to reflect on revitalizing our commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion at DC and in the birth sphere. Our goal is to ensure that Doula Canada alumni have the necessary tools and frameworks to meet the diverse spectrum of birthing people, families, and communities with compassion, affirmation, and allyship. In the coming year, we will ..read more

We are thrilled to announce a huge win in our movement for better access to doula care in Canada. Effective immediately, Sun Life has approved that Doula Training Canada certified doulas are on the list of approved providers whose clients can use their benefits for coverage IF they have that coverage in their plan! This will make it easier for thousands of people to afford the cost of this life-changing support. Doula Canada is so proud to be considered a leading certification organization for doulas in Canada and find itself listed alongside the two other largest organizations internationall ..read more

Dear Doula Canada Alumni, We’re excited to share a significant update with you! Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we swiftly transitioned to online learning, ensuring our students maintained access to programs and certifications. Understanding the preference for in-person learning, we introduced “booster classes” – periodic, in-person sessions allowing you to enhance hands-on skills at no extra cost while navigating self-directed courses. As we move beyond the pandemic, we’ve adapted our approach. Booster classes remain, now offered as engaging 100% live and virtual sessions every 3 months. E ..read more

That horrible day in 2017 when for no reason other than hate a 6 Muslim Canadians were killed at a Mosque in Quebec is still haunting. In a society that claims to love peace, equality, and freedom, the level of hate that spawned this horrific attack should never have been able to arise. What’s almost as haunting is that in the intervening 7 years, we’ve learned very little about the thinly veiled hate that is clearly pervasive in this country because we haven’t learned how to have an ongoing, brave discussion about it. This year, Holocaust Remembrance Day (Jan. 25) and National Day of Action ..read more

I vividly remember “The Greatest Canadian”, a 13-part  competitive series produced by CBC in 2004. Each week, a biographical documentary on individuals who have made a great contribution to Canada aired, including Terry Fox, David Suzuki, and Tommy Douglas. Viewers got to vote on who the greatest Canadian of all time was. Tommy Douglas, recognized as the father of publicly funded health care in Canada, emerged victorious.  Douglas’ win says a lot about the value we attach to our healthcare system and the national pride we take in making sure that every Canadian has access to the ca ..read more

As birth workers, we often see things or hear things from our clients that should not have happened. It could be an ultrasound tech sharing an interpretation that is later contradicted by their primary care provider, causing the patient confusion and anxiety. It could be membrane sweeps, AROMs, or episiotomies performed without the client’s consent. Or nurses disclosing information to family members while the client is unconscious, leaving the patient to receive a broken telephone story from their family later.    These incidents range from irritations to serious breaches of practi ..read more