Childbirth and Postpartum Doula Training & Certification

A Doula is a trained, non-medical, emotional, and physical labour support person who assists families during their labour, birth, and the postpartum period. 

A Doula offers emotional, physical, and informational support for their clients. A midwife offers many of these same qualities, however, it is the midwife that will deliver the baby and perform the necessary medical examinations throughout pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum. A Doula does not do any medical checks or procedures (such as fetal heartbeat checks, blood pressure checks, vaginal exams, etc). 

Doulas are not regulated in Canada. Our training meets and in most areas exceeds the minimum requirements for membership with the Association of Ontario Doulas and Doula liability coverage. 

You don't need a medical degree or years of previous experience to start your doula training journey with us. 

If you have a passion for supporting birth and families, are in touch with your instincts, and are a compassionate person with a drive to help others, you will thrive as a doula! 

We’ll help you develop the professional skills to balance being a guide while still following your clients’ lead. We’ll also explore what it means to provide truly unbiased, inclusive care. At the heart of it, the best doulas are loving, grounded, and ready to help people through one of the most important transitions of their lives.

Our Doula Certification training takes place over two weekends - Friday afternoon and all day Saturday and Sunday. 

The first weekend is about pregnancy and birth. The second training weekend is on infant feeding and postpartum. 

Our program covers both birth and postpartum, so that even if you plan on only focusing on one area of support in your Doula practice, you can better answer clients' questions and support them through the other stages of the perinatal period. 

Our training weekends are in-person, in a central Waterloo location. Doula work is predominantly in person, so the main bulk of the training is in person, so you can learn and practice important hands-on skills. 

We only take 12 student doulas per training registration. This allows us to ensure we can mentor and support all of our students while they complete their requirements. 

We have designed our program so that you should be able to complete all requirements within one year of your training. We include a sample schedule in your welcome packet to help you stay on track. We also offer mentoring support to help you complete everything.

ALL STREAMS:

• Attend both Birth and Postpartum training weekends (42 hours of in-person instruction).
• Watch our Business of Being a Doula webinar and complete the accompanying business planning form.
• Obtain a sole proprietorship number.
• Record and submit your personal doula elevator pitch. 
• Establish a professional online presence.
• Complete First Aid certification, including infant and child CPR and choking response.
• Complete Communicable Disease Prevention/IPAC course.
• Read and reflect on our assigned paper on the history of gynecology and doula work.
• Create a list of client connection text prompts.
• Complete a Community Research Project.
• Required reading titles to help prepare for client support and doula career. 
• Develop a local resource list.

BIRTH STREAM

• Complete a hospital checklist for each hospital where you will provide doula support.
• Attend 3 in-person births
• Provide a minimum of 1 postpartum follow-up appointment for each of your 3 birth clients.
• Submit a birth report form for each birth attended.
• Ensure each client completes a satisfaction survey evaluating your doula support
• Successfully pass the final exam with a minimum average of 80%.

POSTPARTUM STREAM

• Complete a Food Safety Handling Training and Certification.
• Research and prepare information on popular baby and postpartum products
• Provide postpartum doula support for 3 families
• Submit a postpartum report form for each family supported
• Ensure each client completes a satisfaction survey evaluating your support (positive feedback required for credit)
• Successfully pass the final exam with a minimum average of 80%.

We offer checklists, monthly Zoom meetings and additional support to help you work through your requirements and find clients to support. 

Our program is designed so you don’t feel like you’re doing this alone. After every birth or end of postpartum care for a client, you’ll meet with an instructor to debrief and process. You’ll also have support for client cases that feel tricky.

You’ll have access to your instructors by email, regular monthly group Zoom calls, and a cohort group chat that connects you with both peers and faculty.

If you require additional support, one-to-one mentorship appointments can be booked for a fee.

Our mentorship ensures that you always have guidance, encouragement, and feedback as you build your skills and confidence.

Our Pricing is an Amazing Value: 

• No hidden fees — what you see is what you pay
• No additional costs for breastfeeding training or business skills
• No ongoing membership dues 
• No processing fee if you complete your requirements within the first year

Program and Training Cost: $1500.00 plus HST

We offer flexible payment plans to help with your fees. 

Join our email waitlist HERE to receive more information and updates when training dates are released. 

You can register for any of our 2026 training dates HERE

We only accept the first 12 participants.

When you sign up, you will fill in your student agreement, select your payment plan and pay the initial deposit of $500 plus HST.

Once everything has been processed, we will send your Welcome Packet that includes all the details you need and the next steps to take. 

Once you sign up, you will receive a welcome packet with links to help you start and finalize your certification requirements, along with sample timelines and checklists to help you complete within one year.

You can start working on some of your requirements before you attend your first in-person weekend. 

You can also join your group co-hort chat group and get to know your fellow students.