Student Responses

(This post originated from an assignment submitted by one of our students.  It is reproduced here with her permission. ) The Five Social Structures that Are Missing from Western Culture – How a Doula Can Make a Difference There are … Read More

Community is a key value for New Beginnings, so we would like to see more doulas in the community they serve.  One of the great advantages of the New Beginnings approach to doula training is the required assignments that send … Read More

When I first began my nursing career in labor and delivery, I quickly realized that physiologic birth was not well understood where I worked.  I was looked at strange, and even told I didn’t know how to push with women … Read More

As a part of the course, our students go through a series of mindful birth training.  This is used both as a self-care measure for them, and as a way to help their clients utilize this resource in their own … Read More

This comes from an assignment one of my students turned in about the purpose of labor support.  I felt it was a good description of the roles of doulas. “The purpose of labor support is to provide mothers with a … Read More

(Editor’s Note: This is was an alternative assignment that was accepted for our Doula Foundations Course, Unit 2 Project. Our student, Maira D., lives in the capitol city of Malaysia.)   The project in Unit 2 is marked as incomplete … Read More

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

Annie is a student who began her training earlier this year. She brings to our program a perspective on childbirth that is perhaps a little more hands on than most. Here’s how she introduced herself to us:

Early on in our birth doula training program, we ask students to complete an assignment that asks them create a handout explaining the role of a doula. This in turn allows our students to have piece of marketing material to … Read More

“Chill out girlfriend. Pregnancy is a natural part of life. Our bodies were designed to carry and deliver a baby. Being stressed puts you at risk of preterm labor and having low-birthweight babies.” In the training unit on anxiety, we … Read More