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Most Popular Questions
Frequently Ask Questions.
These are the questions we get asked the most about our Doula Programs.
Still have questions? Connect with us directly.
General Questions
These are some general questions we get asked.
A birth doula is a professionally trained childbirth assistant who provides non-medical physical and emotional support during labor and birth and in the hours and early weeks after the baby is born. Birth doulas also usually work with families in late pregnancy to help them prepare for birth by providing education, information and resources.
See our blog: What is a Doula? for a more in-depth answer.
Training to become a birth or postpartum doula usually starts with attending a training workshop, either in-person or online. Attending our birth or postpartum doula workshop satisfies two-steps toward certification with DONA International and will prepare you to launch your doula practice as soon as you finish the workshop.
We offer a variety of training formats to suit different learning styles and schedules:
Birth Doula Training
3-Day Virtual Workshops – Fully online, live via Zoom
4-Day In-Person Hybrid Workshops – Includes 3 days of in-person training at our Sacramento school, plus a virtual childbirth education class (required by DONA International) completed before the workshop
Evening Course Format – Held virtually over 5 weeks, with weekly evening sessions for those who prefer to learn in smaller, more manageable segments
Postpartum Doula Training
Held over 3 days
Offered both in-person at our Sacramento location and live online
Each format is designed to deliver a comprehensive, engaging learning experience while offering flexibility for your lifestyle and needs.
The doula profession is currently not regulated by any regulatory or accreditation system, however this is changing. Many hospitals in our country are now requiring specific training and some are requiring certification to be able to attend births in their hospitals. Many hospitals specifically require DONA certification. Attendance at our training workshops satisfy one step toward full certification with DONA International.
There are also reading assignments to complete and resources to gather in the community you’ll be serving. For our birth doula students, you’ll also need to attend a lactation course and complete a self-assessment questionnaire. For our postpartum students, there’s also an equity in birthwork education requirement to fulfill. We offer all of these classes for you at SDA. You’ll also be required to gain some practical experience after you attend your doula workshop. For birth doulas this means attending a three births as primary labor support and for postpartum doulas, serving three families.
Yes! We offer a simple two-part payment plan for our workshops. You’ll pay half the tuition as a deposit when you enroll, and the remaining balance will be invoiced and due 10 days before the workshop begins.
If you need a different arrangement, feel free to reach out—we’re happy to discuss options.
After you finish your doula training workshop your trainer will have you register your workshop with DONA International. This is done in class at the end of the workshop, with the guidance of your trainer, and only takes a few minutes. Once you register your workshop, your certification packet will be emailed to you. There is no cost for this packet. Here are the requirements for certification, which can be completed in any order and at your own pace, but need to be completed and your application submitted to DONA within 3-years of attending your workshop:
- Attend a DONA-approved birth doula training workshop that’s at least 16-hours, like the one we offer at SCI. The workshop can be held in-person, online, or can be a hybrid workshop.
- Attend a childbirth education class. This must be as a doula student, not for education as a pregnant person. Our birth doula workshops at SCI include this in the curriculum—each training begins with this class.
- Attend a lactation class that’s specifically for perinatal professionals and at least 3-hours in length, like our Essential Breastfeeding Skills for Doulas & Birth Workers class at SCI.
- Complete reading assignments: 4 books + 2 Position Papers.
- Complete a self-assessment questionnaire.
- Create a resource list of providers and services in your community.
- Attend and document 3 births as primary labor support (after you have attended your workshop.)
- Purchase a DONA membership and pay the certification application fee.
- Fill out the application, compile your application paperwork, and submit to DONA for approval. You will receive a confirmation email when your application has been received and another email once it has been given to an application reviewer. Generally this process takes anywhere from 3-8 weeks.
- Celebrate your certification!
A doula is a trained professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to their client before, during and after childbirth. Read the full blog post: “What is a Doula”
Our doula workshops are never recorded, and all classes must be attended live (online or in-person) to receive a certificate of attendance. Missed classes and portions of missed classes cannot be made up. If you miss attending part of a class, or an entire class, you may be dropped from the course and will need to attend a new course in its entirety. If this occurs, you will be given the option to attend the same online workshop at SCI at no additional charge, but you will need to attend the entire workshop and not just the missed portion. (Please note: This policy does not pertain to in-person workshops or classes at SCI. Be sure to read over our Terms & Conditions page.)
Yes, we include the “Intro” class, although at SCI we call this class Childbirth Education for the Birth Professional. Our workshops all begin with this CBE class and are followed by the doula training workshop. This means you’ll leave our birth doula workshop with both certification requirements fulfilled. After you complete the workshop you will be able to begin attending births right away while you work on your other certification requirements with DONA.
Our birth doula training workshops do not include the breastfeeding class in the curriculum– you will need to attend a separate class to fulfill that requirement. We offer that class with our 3-hour Essential Breastfeeding Skills for Doulas & Birth Workers class. This class is currently only offered in-person at our school in Sacramento, but we’re happy to provide you with resources for online breastfeeding classes. The breastfeeding class is included in the curriculum of our postpartum doula training workshops.
$650-$850, depending on the training workshop you choose.
Yes. You’ll be emailed a certificate of attendance after attending the entire online doula workshop. If you attend our birth doula workshop, you’ll also receive a certificate of attendance for the childbirth education portion of your training. If you attend our postpartum doula workshop, you’ll also receive a certificate of attendance for the breastfeeding portion of your training.
- Complete a DONA-approved postpartum doula training workshop like ours.
- You can choose to attend an in-person or an online doula workshop.
- Become a member of DONA International.
- Fulfill a lactation support education requirement, which are included in the workshops at SCI.
- Fulfill the equity in birth education requirement, which is included in the workshops at SCI.
- Complete a self-assessment check-list and read 6 books.
- Complete a resource & referral list for your community.
- After attending a workshop, support 3 postpartum families and document those experiences.
- Pay the certification application fee, complete your application, and compile your certification packet materials and submit to DONA.
- Celebrate!
- Make sure you have a quiet, undisturbed environment where you’re not preoccupied or distracted by driving, riding in a car, walking, interacting with others, etc. If you have small children, please have a care person to attend to them to avoid distractions.
- You’ll need to have a reliable Internet connection for the duration of the entire online course. Be sure to keep your video on at all times while the classes are in session so you’re visible on camera. Missing any portion of the live virtual workshop may result in forfeiting your certificate of attendance.
- Please use a laptop or desktop for the best experience. If you try to use an iPad or phone you will not see all group participants and may miss interactive elements like videos and small group activities. You can sign up for a free Zoom account at www.zoom.us
After you finish your doula training workshop your trainer will have you register your workshop with DONA International. This is done in class at the end of the workshop, with the guidance of your trainer, and only takes a few minutes. Once you register your workshop, your certification packet will be emailed to you. There is no cost for this packet. Here are the requirements for certification, which can be completed in any order and at your own pace, but need to be completed and your application submitted to DONA within 3-years of attending your workshop:
- Attend a DONA-approved birth doula training workshop that’s at least 16-hours, like the one we offer at SCI. The workshop can be held in-person, online, or can be a hybrid workshop.
- Attend a childbirth education class. This must be as a doula student, not for education as a pregnant person. Our birth doula workshops at SCI include this in the curriculum—each training begins with this class.
- Attend a lactation class that’s specifically for perinatal professionals and at least 3-hours in length, like our Essential Breastfeeding Skills for Doulas & Birth Workers class at SCI.
- Complete reading assignments: 4 books + 2 Position Papers.
- Complete a self-assessment questionnaire.
- Create a resource list of providers and services in your community.
- Attend and document 3 births as primary labor support (after you have attended your workshop.)
- Purchase a DONA membership and pay the certification application fee.
- Fill out the application, compile your application paperwork, and submit to DONA for approval. You will receive a confirmation email when your application has been received and another email once it has been given to an application reviewer. Generally this process takes anywhere from 3-8 weeks.
- Celebrate your certification!
A doula is a trained professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to their client before, during and after childbirth. Read the full blog post: “What is a Doula”
Our doula workshops are never recorded, and all classes must be attended live (online or in-person) to receive a certificate of attendance. Missed classes and portions of missed classes cannot be made up. If you miss attending part of a class, or an entire class, you may be dropped from the course and will need to attend a new course in its entirety. If this occurs, you will be given the option to attend the same online workshop at SCI at no additional charge, but you will need to attend the entire workshop and not just the missed portion. (Please note: This policy does not pertain to in-person workshops or classes at SCI. Be sure to read over our Terms & Conditions page.)
Yes, we include the “Intro” class, although at SCI we call this class Childbirth Education for the Birth Professional. Our workshops all begin with this CBE class and are followed by the doula training workshop. This means you’ll leave our birth doula workshop with both certification requirements fulfilled. After you complete the workshop you will be able to begin attending births right away while you work on your other certification requirements with DONA.
Our birth doula training workshops do not include the breastfeeding class in the curriculum– you will need to attend a separate class to fulfill that requirement. We offer that class with our 3-hour Essential Breastfeeding Skills for Doulas & Birth Workers class. This class is currently only offered in-person at our school in Sacramento, but we’re happy to provide you with resources for online breastfeeding classes. The breastfeeding class is included in the curriculum of our postpartum doula training workshops.
$650-$850, depending on the training workshop you choose.
Yes. You’ll be emailed a certificate of attendance after attending the entire online doula workshop. If you attend our birth doula workshop, you’ll also receive a certificate of attendance for the childbirth education portion of your training. If you attend our postpartum doula workshop, you’ll also receive a certificate of attendance for the breastfeeding portion of your training.
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