Student Responses

Here’s another student response to the question: What does labor support mean to you?

Student Response by Cara Koehlerth (Editor Note: This was first submitted as an assignment in our program. This student’s response is reprinted here with her permission.) There are many different types of birthing classes & theories designed to explain labor … Read More

Again from the student files, here is one student’s observations about different approaches to breathing during labor from a client interview. I find the idea of birth breathing very interesting. I have had 3 babies; my first was an epidural … Read More

As doulas, it is important that we understand why women make the decisions they do.  Understanding how women make decisions during labor and birth helps us to move away from our own biases during birth, and move into the world … Read More

Among many relaxation techniques employed to soothe the mind and body, music is an age-old mixture of genius and comfort for the senses. Whether the music is a simple folk song being strummed on a guitar around a campfire, or a heart-thrilling orchestral Bach suite, the wonderful mind-calming … Read More

(Editor Note: Jessica C. of Indiana submitted the following response to one of our first unit assignments.) I appreciate when my midwife and nurses don’t assume the worst because I am overweight. All of my pregnancies have been healthy and … Read More

In one of our assignment in the main doula course, we ask our students to take into consideration the medical diagnosis of their patient while developing a personalized birth plan.  What follows is the response that we got from one … Read More

How to Support Birth Choices: A Student Explains Different Modes of Decision Making Bias: A personal and sometimes unreasoned judgment. Worldview:  The definition of a worldview is an overall way of looking at the world. Most people will agree that … Read More

In this post we are featuring an assignment from one of our most-recently certified doulas, Holly from Louisiana. This particular assignment (assignment 1.1 from unit 1 in the main course) addresses the difference between the two predominant models of  care … Read More

As a part of my course, I have my students write about the theories in hypnobirthing and then interview someone who has used it. I have seen great births with this method, though most rarely will call it completely pain … Read More