Doula Workshops for Birth and Postpartum
Comprehensive. Insightful. Transformative.
Are you passionate about supporting people in your community through pregnancy, birth, or postpartum? Are you curious about the role of a birth doula, postpartum doula, and/or community-based doula? Are you ready to jump into a rewarding new career as a professional doula?
Our acclaimed, high-quality workshops are offered in small group settings because mentorship and connection are important to us. You can choose live, online or in-person classes, and weekend intensives or extended weekday workshops, whichever better suits your preferred learning environment and schedule. Because we feel all doulas should understand both birth and postpartum, workshops are frequently offered as a birth and postpartum combination course. Both birth doula workshops and postpartum doula worksshops are also offered separately.
Ready to sign up? 
"Teri is an INCREDIBLE teacher, and so knowledgable in all aspects of pregnancy, birth, postpartum, breastfeeding, and so much more! I feel very well prepared and am confident in knowing I will be an excellent doula. So grateful for this training!" - Corinne
For over a decade, Harmony Doula Mentoring has been dedicated to training doulas who are compassionate, knowledgable, and highly skilled at providing physical and emotional support, evidence-based information, and advocacy. Our birth and postpartum doula workshops are presented with a lens of trauma-informed care and racial equity and inequity, intersectionality and inclusivity. We strive to maintain an affirming and welcoming environment for all birthworkers. The course is approved for certification with DONA International and for the doula training required of midwifery students at the Midwives College of Utah.
Birth Doula Workshop
Advocating. Witnessing. Empowering.
Our birth doula training workshop will prepare you to support your client's journey toward birth with confidence.
- Childbirth education, including the anatomy and physiology of labor and the biomechanics of the pelvis
- Interventions and augmentations available in integrative medicine, and their associated benefits and risks
- Theories of pain perception and the potentials consequences of fear in labor
- Physical and emotional "toolkit strategies" for improving the hormonal cocktail of labor, using pelvic floor releases and movements to open the pelvis and optimize space for baby, reducing fear and anxiety to increase comfort and coping, including massage, bodywork and positioning, movement, acupressure, TENS units, herbs, aromatherapy, and more
- Discussion of culturally and ethically responsible use of tools, such as the rebozo
- The role of a doula as an advocate working with members of the care provider team and the benefits of a doula
- A holistic approach to pregnancy and birth, including nutrition and physical and emotional wellness.
- Strategies and skills for supporting emotional wellbeing and healthy physical recovery, including practicing trauma-informed care
- Basic lactation support education and newborn feeding skills
- Critical thinking skills for assessing research and evidence
- Effective communication, active listening, conflict resolution, and advocacy skills
- Marketing and business organizational skills, including how to register as a Medicaid provider (for California participants)
Postpartum Doula Workshop
Nurturing. Educating. Supporting.
Our postpartum doula training workshop will prepare you to support your client to thrive during their postpartum recovery and transition into parenthood.
- Information on perinatal and postpartum emotional, mood, and anxiety disorders
- Healthy sleep practices and newborn care skills that set up clients for success in early parenting
- Physical and emotional "toolkit strategies" for improving the postpartum recovery
- Discussion of culturally and ethically responsible use of tools, such as the rebozo, belly binding, and bone closing ceremonies
- The role of a doula as an advocate working with members of the care provider team and the benefits of a doula
- A holistic approach to postpartum, including nutrition and physical and emotional wellness, and birth story processing.
- Strategies and skills for supporting emotional wellbeing and healthy physical recovery, including practicing trauma-informed care
- Basic lactation support education and newborn feeding skills
- Critical thinking skills for assessing research and evidence
- Effective communication, active listening, conflict resolution, partner support, and advocacy skills
- Marketing and business organizational skills, including how to register as a Medicaid provider (for California participants)
Are you a doula for whom birth or postpartum work has ignited a passion, but you don't know where to start? Or are you a doula whose flame is starting to burn out and you need a little help to tend that spark? Or you a group of doulas looking to get a new practice off to a great start?
Whether you are looking for a mentor, an accountability buddy, or a business coach, I'm happy to help. As an experienced solo- and group-practice doula and successful business owner, I know how to help you get known in your community, build a client base, create passive revenue streams, and have financial security. Book your mentoring session now!
Advanced Classes and Workshops
Confident. Committed. Skilled.
Advanced classes are open to doulas, nurses, midwives, other birth workers, therapists, and anyone else who might interested. Instruction assumes some experience and knowledge of the birth process at a more than fundamental level. Continuing Education Contact Hours (CH) approved by DONA International are available for most classes.
- Doula Tool Kit: Acupressure skills for Pregnancy, Birth, & Postpartum (2 CH)
- Doula Tool Kit: TENS Unit (1 CH)
- Doula Tool Kit: Teaching Infant Massage to Clients (1 CH)
- Intro to Understanding Fetal Monitoring for Doulas (1 CH)
- Understanding Labor Patterns & Optimal Fetal/Maternal Positioning (2 CH)
- Inlets & Outlets: Biomechanics of the Pelvis, and optimizing through Pelvic Floor through Bodywork for a Better Labor (2 CH)
- Trauma-informed Care for Birth & Postpartum Workers: Working with Surivors of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) & Birth Trauma (4 CH)
- Mindfulness Practice for Doulas (2 CH)
- Understanding Self-Hypnosis Modalities for Childbirth (2 CH)
- Writing Great Guided Meditations (1 CH)
- Supporting VBAC Clients: From Evidence-Based Facts to Panic Attacks (2 CH)
- Essential Oil Safety in Pregnancy, Labor and Delivery, & Postpartum (2 CH)
- Business Building: Creating a Team or Group Practice (2 CH)
- Childbirth Education for Doulas
- Lactation Support Education for Doulas and Perinatal Professionals
Interested in scheduling a workshop for your local doula community? Teri is available to teach online or to travel for in-person workshops throughout the US and internationally.
5 Traits of Successful Doulas
Active listener
Really listen to your clients. Meet them where they are at. What do they want? What do they need? What are their hopes and expectations?
Watchful
In watching your client, what is their body languages telling you? Are they open? Are they safe? Are they grounded? Are they trying to reposition their baby through movement?
Instinctive
Trust yourself. Follow your instincts. Be compassionate and nurturing. Do what you’re moved to do. Say what you’re moved to say. Be authentic.
Patient
Being on-call, waiting for a labor to start, then waiting on a baby to come can take a long time. You have to be able to sit in the waiting without getting bored, discouraged, or impatient.
Reliable
Be available, be present, be consistant, be impecible with your word. When you commit to attend a birth or assist a new family, it's important to follow through and be at your best. Always have a back-up in case you cannot do that.
Common Myths about Doulas
Myth: You have to have given birth yourself
False. There are many wonderful and effective doulas who have never given birth or parented a child.
Myth: You have to identify as female
False. A doula can be anyone who cares about and understands the needs of birthing and postpartum people.
Myth: You have to be "crunchy"
False. Every person deserves the doula that is right for them. The only commonality between all doulas is their commitment to supporting people in their journey through pregnancy, birth, or postpartum.
Myth: Doulas only support unmedicated births or don't support cesareans
False. Doulas support birth. Birth is a full spectrum of experiences. Doulas advocate for people being an active decision-maker on their care team and to choose the path that feels the most right to them, whatever that might be. Some doulas may choose the kind of client they prefer to work with or have an ideal client, but if the client's preferred birth plans change, the doula continues to support them.
Myth: You can't make a living as a doula
As an individual, you will decide how you run your business: if you want to volunteer (some doulas do), if you want to offer low or reduced rates (some doulas do), if you want to price yourself at the top of the scale (most doulas don't, but some do), how often you want to work (many doulas work part-time, others work full-time). If you want being a doula to be your primary source of income and you're willing to put in the effort it takes to be a successful business person, then you will.
Myth? You have to fight the system
This one is true. All birthwork is political. You have to care about birthing and postpartum people and how they are
treated. You have to be aware of whether or not they are being heard and understood, and advocate for them when they are not. Being in an environment where this might not be
true is hard on doulas.
The Harmony Doula Mentoring team offers regular mentoring and peer review sessions to doulas who train with us in order that they
feel supported in the work they are doing.
FAQs about the workshops, the instructor, and certification with DONA International
What is the Mission and Vision of Harmony Doula Mentoring? Teri Nava-Anderson and Harmony Doula have been committed to training and mentoring community-based doulas to serve the members of their own community for over a decade. It is our mission to increase access to doula care for every member of our community and increase knowledge of the unique health disparities facing pregnant people in the our location in the California Central Valley in particular, as well as across the globe, thereby leading to greater equity and better birth and postpartum outcomes for all.
Does this course include certification with DONA International? Students who complete the DONA approved Birth Doula Workshop, Postpartum Doula Workshop, or Combined Birth and Postpartum (also Community-Centered) workshop have the option to apply for certification with DONA International.
What are the steps for become a certified doula with DONA International? Applying for certification requires a few steps beyond taking the introductory training workshop. You will need to complete some paperwork, which we will start during the workshop, and work with at least three clients after the workshop. You can find an overview of the application requirements for birth doulas here and for Postpartum Doulas here.
Is all the coursework required for certification included in the workshop?
Can an experienced doula take the workshop for continuing education or for the Alternative Pathway for DONA Certification? Yes. DONA allows for birth doulas to take a postpartum workshop for continuing education contact hours. DONA also allows experienced doulas, whether previously certified with DONA or trained elsewhere, to use the workshop for the Alternative Pathway. We also occasionally host a class just for folks planning to use the Alternative Pathway that goes deeper on the required topics. Use our Contact Form if you have questions about the Alternative Pathway. Yes, unless otherwise specified, the workshops do include all the required coursework. Birth workshops include the childbirth education and lactation education requirements for DONA International. The Postpartum workshops include the lactation education requirements for DONA International.
What is DONA International? DONA International was founded in 1992 as a professional membership and training organization for doulas. Early members were traditional birthworkers, researchers, public health policy experts, advocates, childbirth educators, lactation consultants, labor and delivery nurses, doctors in perinatal and pediatric fields, postpartum suspport professionals, and more. It is the first and largest doula certifying organization, the only 501c6 non-profit doula organization, a respected leader, and a strong advocate for all doulas, regardless of training organization or certification, within the perinatal industry.
What is DONA International doing to address systemic racism in healthcare? You can read DONA International's Call to Action here.
What involvement has the primary instructor/facilitator, Teri Nava-Anderson, had at DONA International? Teri has been a volunteer with DONA International since 2016. Teri has served as the California Ambassador (formerly SPAR), the Regional Membership Chair, and the Director of Membership, as well as on the LGBTQ Committee in the DEI Department and helped facilitate the IMPACT Program. Teri serves as the Chair of the Continuing Education Committee and as the Director of Certification. In those roles, Teri has been focused on increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) education for doulas; improving access to online continuing education for doulas; removing barriers to certification especially for doulas in rural areas and maternity deserts and neurodiverse doulas; and in policy changes that improve the evolution, function, and focus of the organization, whose mission is "A doula for every person who wants one".
Is the primary instructor/facilitator, Teri Nava-Anderson, a working doula? Yes! Teri has been supporting people through birth and pregnancy professionally for almost two decades and takes clients as a birth and postpartum doula, childbirth educator, and lactation educator. Teri occasionally has spare time and enjoys working on history projects, volunteering on other perinatal and doula projects, parenting two teenagers, traveling, and hitting the gym with the whole family.
Is the course welcoming to queer, non-binary, and transgender people? You betcha! DONA International is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, trauma awareness, and antiracism in the organization, our work, and our language. DONA membership represents the diversity that exists among all individuals, including but not limited to sex, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender and gender identity, family structure, geographical location, physical and functional ability, neurology, religious and spiritual beliefs, age and socio-economic status. This course embraces, celebrates, and welcomes this diversity and strives to ensure that the perspectives and experiences of all people are seen, heard, represented, and respected. This course and DONA International, therefore, use gender neutral language as the default in order that no one be excluded. Folks unfamiliar with gender neutral language in the perinatal space are also welcome to come learn.
Is the course political? This course includes learning to advocate for your client, so yes even that at its most basic is political.