Love all things birth & babies? Why becoming a doula could change your life
I have adored working with pregnant women during their pregnancy, labour, birth and postpartum period and sharing my knowledge, experience and putting to use all my years and years of training…Being a doula isn’t just about being present at a woman’s birth – there is so much more to it…
Being a doula is about listening to a mother, so you hear and acknowledge her hopes, fears and doubts…
It’s about encouraging autonomy, alternatives and choices when planning her labour and birth…
It is building a rapport with her and her partner so that they trust you, and supporting their decisions.
Vicki Hobbs, Doula and Founder of The Doula Training Academy
Vicki Hobbs lives and breathes all things childbirth. She is a passionate independent childbirth educator, Hypnobirthing Australia™ practitioner, birth & postpartum doula, and the creator of The Doula Training Academy.
What is a doula’s role?
Doulas are non-medical professionals trained to provide continuous physical, emotional and informational support to a woman and her partner before, during and after childbirth. This can apply to a woman planning any type of birth.
A doula’s presence can provide comfort, confidence and connection for the birthing woman.
This in no way is meant to replace the role of the partner, who is also there to love, support and protect the mother. In fact, a doula’s supportive role extends to both the mother and partner.
Doulas do not provide any type of medical care; however, they do provide evidence-based information and research to help their clients gain a better understanding of medical procedures and encourage the couple to ask all the right questions to ensure they are making the right choices for their birth.
Obstetricians, midwives and nurses are responsible for monitoring labour, assessing the medical condition of the mother and baby and treating complications when they arise; but birth is also an emotional, energetic and spiritual experience with a long-term impact on a woman’s personal wellbeing.
Research shows that doulas help to increase satisfaction with the birthing experience, while also lowering caesarean and intervention rates because they are completely focused on the needs of the mum.
Vicki says that while partners are often resistant to hiring a doula, these concerns usually turn into a sense of relief that the whole family was supported through the birthing process.
Here is what one of Vicki’s clients said about having a doula at their birth:
My first thought of having a doula be a part of the birth of our second child I wasn’t really a fan, but due to the birth of our first child going only the way the obstetricians wanted it to,
I was open to any ideas the Mrs wanted to try to educate ourselves to have the birth she was wanting if all health aspects were taken into consideration.
After agreeing with my wife on going with a doula I was bloody glad we did as from the very first meeting with Vicki til the day our little girl was born I felt informed and up to speed with all things to do with birth.
Because my wife gave birth to our son via caesarean I had no clue on what to expect with a natural birth except what I had seen in movies.
Having Vicki there to give us all the information we needed or point us in the right direction on where to find the information and to give us the latest research was great and stress free.
And on “D Day” which started in the early hours of the morning, well I could rave on forever at how glad I was Vicki was there to help my wife through the contractions and to also determine when it was the right time to make the dash to the hospital.
At the hospital it was even better as all the support for my wife was available, from massage and reminding her to breathe, drink, move and so on, and her reminders for me on what I should be doing at times was just so welcome.
I highly recommend to anyone considering having a doula to make that a part of their birth journey.
Matt, 2017
A new era of doula training
It is ultimately Vicki’s love for ensuring women receive the best care that led her to create a new doula training academy.
Vicki recognised that some doula training didn’t seem to provide the thorough evidence-based information that is required, or the grounding in professional reflection that is required, to sustain someone in such a highly energetic field for the long term.
A huge part of the academy is also about building a support network for the next generation of doulas…
I really believe that education around how to support a pregnant women during labour, birth and beyond is important, but just as important is how to nurture the nurturer and my whole career since I started my own business in 2004, has been about nurturing others and providing them with education on how to live well and achieve more.
Becoming a doula
If you love birth, babies and most importantly supporting women, becoming a doula may be your calling! Supporting a family through their journey of pregnancy, birth and beyond is incredibly rewarding and deeply fulfilling.
Imagine showing up for ‘work’ where your role involved teaching others life-changing information, cuddling babies and no boss dictating your schedule!
Training with Vicki means you are receiving platinum-level training.
Vicki is an award-winning leader in the field, and her academy has the “Platinum Training Provider” status with a “Seal of Excellence” through the International Institute for Complementary Therapist (IICT).
This course is an investment of 14 days of face-to-face training or you can also go at your own pace with online training which covers 17 modules including:
- Module 1 – Your Business Mindset
- Module 2 – Business Savvy Doula
- Module 3 – Childbirth Education – Back to Basics Birthing
- Module 4 – Rights of Childbearing Women
- Module 5 – Hypnobirthing Australia Supportive Caregiver Training
- Module 6 – Your Doula Toolkit
- Module 7 – Pelvic Pathways Optimal Positioning
- Module 8 – Physiological Birth versus Inductions
- Module 9 – Variations of Birth
- Module 10 – Interventions
- Module 11 – Supporting Caesarean Birth
- Module 12 – Supporting VBAC Birth
- Module 13 – Stillbirth & Bereaved Parents
- Module 14 – Managing Trauma & Self-Care
- Module 15 – Breastfeeding Support
- Module 16 – Postpartum Support
- Module 17 – Mother Blessings, Rituals & Cultural Appropriation
If you would like more information about the course please head to the Doula Training Academy website.
Reading all of this and thinking ‘I’m not sure I want to become a doula but I love the sound of hiring one!’?
Vicki still works as a doula and you can find out more about her services HERE.
This post was sponsored by The Doula Training Academy.
