Looking for comprehensive birth doula training and certification?
The Professional Doula Program offers over 60 hours of direct instruction over 8 weeks, combining virtual and in person training to equip you with the skills & knowledge you need to be successful.
This course will help you focus your passion into a fulfilling career, provide you with resources and information you’ll need, and nurture you as you grow into the unique doula you will become.
The Professional Doula Program combines online training, community, & in person skills to prepare you for an exciting career as a Professional Doula!
The Professional Doula Program includes:
Online Learning
The online portion of the program includes eight self-paced learning modules complemented by weekly interactive online (live) training sessions. The modules include resources to enrich your learning and enhance your skills. You will have access to the online learning portal for one year.
Community
The structure of this workshop helps you build community from the very first day with group discussions, independent activities you’ll complete with your classmates, and a private online discussion group. When you have completed your training course, you will be added to the online Alumni community.
In Person
This program also includes a robust printed training manual and a full day hands-on skills session held in the Denver metro area (required for program graduation). Skill Day is scheduled in the final two weeks of the program.
Certification is offered at no additional charge in a self-paced doula certification process. Students can complete certification by the end of the course or shortly afterward.
You are preparing for a career that requires a nurturing heart, strong birth support skills, and business savvy.
Training with Rocky Mountain Doula will connect your nurturing heart to the skills and knowledge you’ll need to be successful as a Professional Doula.
The Professional Doula Program teaches you:
Strong Foundations
Are you concerned you may not have the needed pre-requisites for doula training? The Professional Doula Program includes a complete childbirth education class as well as a complete breastfeeding education class. Each module also contains extensive resource links to jumpstart your learning process and enrich your training experience.
Professionalism
A Professional Doula must follow a clear standard of ethical practice. This training guides you as you develop business practices and standards with integrity. Learn how to model and teach positive communication and self-advocacy to your clients, how to foster a healthy team atmosphere with medical/midwifery professionals, and use effective strategies to reinforce your client’s autonomy and rights.
Comprehensive Labor Support
Labor support is more than just knowing how to assist a client with a “natural birth”. This training provides comprehensive guidance on supporting physiologic labor and birth as well as how to provide effective support in a wide variety of medically involved or unexpected situations.
You will learn how to support clients through inductions, pain medication options, and cesarean birth. You will gain an understanding of common procedures in birth, practice proven comfort measures and labor support techniques, and learn how to provide sensitive emotional support.
This training places a strong emphasis on supporting informed decision making and client autonomy while fostering a respectful team atmosphere in the birth place.
Client Support
An effective doula knows how to use prenatal preparation to streamline birth support. This training will prepare you to provide effective prenatal preparation with clients, tailored to their unique needs and values. You will also learn the birth doula’s vital role in the early postpartum period, as well as how to provide excellent breastfeeding support.
Business Success
Being a doula most often includes being a business owner. This training provides complete guidance on business development and launch, how to market yourself effectively, and designing a practice that is uniquely your own. The program also provides contract and fee structure guidance, form templates for your practice, and practice with the interview process. Begin your doula career with confidence!
Who is your doula training instructor? My name is Ana Hill. I love seeing new doulas find their unique gifts as birth professionals, as well as helping them get a strong start on the most fulfilling career imaginable.
I’ve been a Professional Doula since 1998, began training doulas and writing training curriculum in 2005, and have been mentoring doula training instructors since 2009. I love sharing not only the wisdom I’ve learned, but also the funny moments, the mistakes I’ve made, and all the amazing resources I’ve gathered.
I became active in the birth community soon after starting my doula career, both in Colorado and internationally. I have spoken at regional and national conferences on such topics as breastfeeding support, induction, perinatal mood disorder, standards of practice for doulas, and creating effective change in the birth community. I served as the President of the Colorado Doulas Association and as Executive Director of Labor Doula Programs for CAPPA, an international doula certifying company, from 2009 until board positions were eliminated in 2017. I have since expanded the mission and scope of Rocky Mountain Doula to include accessible and affordable certification for birth doulas, and comprehensive training that teaches the timeless wisdom of birth support while addressing current issues in maternity care such as patient autonomy and rights, obstetric abuse issues, birthing during a pandemic, and providing virtual support to doula clients.
I love seeing new doulas grow and thrive, connect and bond, find fulfillment and empowerment in this wonderful career.
Ready to join us in The Professional Doula Program?
Summer 2023 Course + Mentoring Session
Course begins Monday, June 19, 2023
Online meetings Fridays 1:30 – 3:30 pm, Skill Day 8/9/23
Registration: $1,795
Payment plans & scholarships available!
More questions? Check out the FAQs below!
This course will not ony teach you SO MUCH but also lift you up as a person! I have never felt an environment so inclusive and empowered!
– Malorie Kokes
This was one of the most comprehensive and engaging trainings I have taken. I would highly recommend it!
– Anastasia Hale
Frequently Asked Questions
How is this different from an in-person training?
In-person workshops provide 16-18 hours of instruction; the Professional Doula Program provides you 60 hours of instruction! Teaching doula training in this format provides an opportunity to expand on the course material in ways that are impossible within the time constraints of an in-person training workshop. Time is spent going in depth into topics which are necessarily short in an in-person training workshop.
Additionally, we have designed this program to engage a variety of learning styles as well as encourage interaction and active learning. We’ve taken all the best parts of in-person training and brought them into the 21st century so you can learn the way you learn best, at your pace!
Is this just video of an in-person training?
Am I going to just be in front of a screen the whole time?
What kind of technology do I need to complete the program?
You can access the training platform and the live online meetings with an up to date smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer. You will need a Facebook account and access to either Google Docs or Microsoft Word.
Tell me about the in-person component?
An important part of the Professional Doula Program is the in-person Skills Day.
This is a day-long required workshop in which we practice hands-on labor support skills as well as other key skills for the birth doula to master. Skills Day is held in the Denver metro area and lunch is catered .
On a space-available basis, you can participate in Skills Day more than once, as well, returning to master specific skills and to enjoy a day of community with new doulas!
What if I miss an online meeting or Skills Day?
Live meetings are recorded for later viewing, but may not include instructional video portions due to copyright and licensing restrictions. Alternate video suggestions may be requested. Recordings of meetings will be posted in the student Facebook group, where you can view them and add any questions you have to the comment section. This will fulfill your requirement.
Missing Skills Day may be more complicated as Skills Day is only scheduled a few times per year. Students who miss Skills Day will need to attend a later Skills day, and will need to arrange attendance in advance.
How long will it take me to finish the Professional Doula Program?
The guided portion of the program is eight weeks long. You have access to the student online group and all the online portions of the program for a year. The optional certification program is self-paced and can be completed alongside the course.
What is required for graduation?
Graduation from the Professional Doula Program requires that you complete all the online modules of the program and that you attend the in-person Skills Day.
How is certification with Rocky Mountain Doula different from other programs?
- Rocky Mountain Doula certification is permanent.
- The certification program is included in the course fee. The only additional fee is for a blood borne pathogen class (under $50), paid directly to the agency teaching the course (two options are offered and others can be approved). You may wish to purchase books from the Required Reading list; this is optional.
- No ongoing costs or membership fees
- No changing rules or arbitrary requirements
- No evaluations to obtain from professionals who are not doulas and may not understand the profession.
Do you offer scholarships or payment plans?
Shouldn’t I take the cheapest training I can find?
In a word, no. First of all, your career and YOU are worth more!
Also, do you remember the saying “You get what you pay for”?
A cheaper training is not going to be as complete, and will not include all of the skills you need. If you’ve done some research, you’ve seen online boards and groups where doulas discuss aspects of their work. Look for boards or pages not owned by any particular certifying body and check out what these professionals say about what has been most important about their training.
Does it matter who is teaching the workshop?
Definitely! Look for instructors who have a great deal of experience both in the field and as instructors.
I worked actively as a doula from 1998 to 2015 (when a car accident and back surgery ended my hands-on practice), and I’ve been teaching doula training workshops for since 2005. I have been designing and updating doula training curriculum for an evolving profession and changing times since 2005, as well as mentoring and training new doula training instructors. Extensive experience in an instructor really matters when you are launching your doula practice. Begin YOUR practice with confidence!
How is this different from an in-person training?
In-person workshops provide 16-18 hours of instruction; the Professional Doula Program provides you 50 hours of instruction! Teaching doula training in this format provides an opportunity to expand on the course material in ways that are impossible within the time constraints of an in-person training workshop. Time is spent going in depth into topics which are necessarily short in an in-person training workshop.
Additionally, we have designed this program to engage a variety of learning styles as well as encourage interaction and active learning. We’ve taken all the best parts of in-person training and brought them into the 21st century so you can learn the way you learn best, at your pace!
Is this just video of an in-person training?
Am I going to just be in front of a screen the whole time?
What kind of technology do I need to complete the program?
You can access the training platform and the live online meetings with an up to date smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer. You will need a Facebook account and access to either Google Docs or Microsoft Word.
Tell me about the in-person component?
An important part of the Professional Doula Program is the in-person Skills Day.
This is a day-long required workshop in which we practice hands-on labor support skills as well as other key skills for the birth doula to master. Skills Day is held in the Denver metro area and lunch is catered .
On a space-available basis, you can participate in Skills Day more than once, as well, returning to master specific skills and to enjoy a day of community with new doulas!
What if I miss an online meeting or Skills Day?
Missing Skills Day may be more complicated as Skills Day is only scheduled a few times per year. Students who miss Skills Day will need to attend a later Skills day, and will need to arrange attendance in advance.
How long will it take me to finish the Professional Doula Program?
The guided portion of the program runs about seven weeks. You have access to the student online group and all the online portions of the program for a year. The optional certification program is self-paced and can be completed alongside the course.
What is required for graduation?
Graduation from the Professional Doula Program requires that you complete all the online modules of the program and that you attend the in-person Skills Day.
How is certification with Rocky Mountain Doula different from other programs?
- Rocky Mountain Doula certification is permanent.
- The certification program is included in the course fee. The only additional fee is for a blood borne pathogen class (under $50), paid directly to the agency teaching the course (two options are offered and others can be approved). You may wish to purchase books from the Required Reading list; this is optional.
- No ongoing costs or membership fees
- No changing rules or arbitrary requirements
- No evaluations to obtain from professionals who are not doulas and may not understand the profession.
Do you offer scholarships or payment plans?
Shouldn’t I take the cheapest training I can find?
In a word, no. First of all, your career and YOU are worth more!
Also, do you remember the saying “You get what you pay for”?
A cheaper training is not going to be as complete, and will not include all of the skills you need. If you’ve done some research, you’ve seen online boards and groups where doulas discuss aspects of their work. Look for boards or pages not owned by any particular certifying body and check out what these professionals say about what has been most important about their training.
Does it matter who is teaching the workshop?
Definitely! Look for instructors who have a great deal of experience both in the field and as instructors.
I worked actively as a doula from 1998 to 2015 (when a car accident and back surgery ended my hands-on practice), and I’ve been teaching doula training workshops for since 2005. I have been designing and updating doula training curriculum for an evolving profession and changing times since 2005, as well as mentoring and training new doula training instructors. Extensive experience in an instructor really matters when you are launching your doula practice. Begin YOUR practice with confidence!
My decision to attend birth doula training happened quite quickly and I am so grateful to have found Ana Hill and Rocky Mountain Doula. Ana’s course was both thorough and practical, leaving me fully prepared to begin my doula practice. Thank you, Ana, for your personal attention before, during, and after certification!
– Ann Campbell PD
Middle Space Wellness
I am so grateful I chose to train with Ana! Not only does she teach the skills you need to effectively support others during birth and postpartum, but she also teaches you how to confidently start and maintain a successful Doula business.
Her training really doesn’t end after the course is complete. She treats her students more like family and is a mentor to the birth community, continuously offering advice, referrals, and resources.
I am so blessed to know Ana and be a part of the Rocky Mountain Doula family!
– Jamin Cutler PD
Organa Birth
Ready to join us in The Professional Doula Program?
Summer 2023 Course + Mentoring Session
Course begins Monday, June 19, 2023
Online meetings Fridays 1:30 – 3:30 pm, Skill Day 8/9/23
Registration: $1,795
Payment plans & scholarships available!
More questions? Check out the FAQs below!
After training with Ana, I felt so much more prepared and comfortable with supporting families through their pregnancy and birth!
Ana is a great teacher; she makes the class so interactive and enjoyable, while providing a vast amount of knowledge and wisdom. Now, after training with Ana, I am positive I made the right choice! I never imagined I would walk away feeling so fully supported by my team, and so confident in my skills and education!
This training was worth so much more than what is charged! Thank you, Ana, for an excellent experience!
– Jodi Schultz, CLD
Peaceful Beginnings Doula Services
I took Ana Hill’s Doula training in the summer of 2012 in Denver. I was already a certified doula and former midwifery student with quite a lot of experience and academic training, but I learned much more about doula techniques and scope of practice issues.
Even more importantly to me, Ana projects such a sense of calm and demonstrates extraordinary communication skills that I was keen to emulate them in my birth and training businesses–successfully!
– Terri A. Woods, CLD
Blessed Childbirth
