There is a new trend I'm seeing in the world of doula work and I have to say, I don't like it. It's a shift in the mentality that once drew me towards a profession full of support and sister(brother)hood. Doulas are now telling other doulas how to run their businesses. Scathing blogs are being written about how taking births for free is going to ruin the profession. Seasoned doulas are shaming brand new doulas who have decided that offering a birth for a reduced cost or no cost in order to gain experience is a disservice to all doulas everywhere and the clients they serve.

It's packaged neatly in words like "you're worth it!" and "be proud of what you offer!" and "own your worth!". Behind it though, is a fear-based catalyst that these reduced cost doulas will somehow take away the clients from the doulas who charge full fees.

So, let's talk brass tax...

How much should a doula charge?
Whatever the doula wants to. It's not anyone else's business how much or how little that doula charges. The doula will do market research and see what doulas in their area are charging. They will likely scan DoulaMatch.net to see what other doulas with their experience level in their zip code are charging. They will look at their own family situation and decide what it will cost to attend the birth (gas, parking at the hospital, childcare) and they will come up with a reasonable fee. New and seasoned doulas will increase this fee as their experience grows and the market shifts.

Can I do a birth for free?
Sure. Why not? That's up to you. Remember though that no birth is actually free, you will have out of pocket expenses at each birth you attend. Sometimes though, a birth will come along that really speaks to your doula heart. A military mother who's husband is deployed. A lesbian couple who can't afford a full fee doula with queer experience in their zip code due to the mounting costs of fertility treatments they needed to get pregnant. A teen mother who is scared and feels alone. The mother who is placing her child to be raised by adoptive parents and needs someone in her corner for full support. A best friend. A sister. Any of these can ring out and pull at your doula heartstrings and I personally encourage you to listen to your doula heart. Is this a month where your calendar is full of paying clients and you have the space to take this on at a lower fee or free? Will it fill your soul in ways that money doesn't?

Is it worth it TO YOU?

Or is it not?

Do you feel like a business that offers a discount or charitable offerings is not successful? Do you feel like you should be paid for your time regardless of how much experience you have? Then by all means, do not take that low paying client. You will resent them and not be your best self in their birth room.

Clearly, a business that offers services for free isn't a "business", right?
Says who? Lawyers do probono work all the time. Doctors volunteer at clinics. That pizza joint on the corner sponsors the Little League team. The drug store down the street donates a bunch of extra supplies to the homeless shelter.

What about that coffee shop stamp card in your wallet? For every ten coffees they sell you, they give you one for free. So maybe for every ten births I do, I can offer one at a discount. Sure, it's a massive price point difference but let's explore why do they do it...

Advertising!!!!

I have NEVER regretted a free or discounted birth and do you know why? Because I have gained something in return. Sometimes it's simply an experience to add to my list, sometimes it's a tip or a gift. More often than not, it's a repeat client who can afford more next time and in the meantime, shares my information with friends at parent-baby group and I gain 3 more full fee clients. I also get to work with new care providers who learn about me and what I do and I hand them a stack of cards at the end of the birth which results in years of referrals down the road. Marketing our services is HARD and the best way to do it is in the birth room, so get in there!

What about the experience? Is that really worth it?
Absolutely. Your training will give you practical skills but you won't learn how to read a laboring moms movements or hear the intent in her labor song until you are in that room over and over and over again. This is a profession that is studied with experienced-based learning and it's downright cocky and rude for doulas to suggest that they are as knowledgeable as a doula who's seen 50 births when they walk out the door of their training.

Keeping my finger on the pulse of the midwifery community through friends and colleagues has given new insight to this trend as well... they're baffled at many things within this new surge towards doula who claim you can make "executive salaries" if you work like they do. Student midwives have to PAY their preceptors to attend births with them so they can learn and gain experience. OBs spend years as an intern, often paid less than the nurses are. Why do they do this? Because in order to be the best in your profession, you need experience and you need to get that however possible.

In some areas, gaining experience will look like a doula charging a low fee and in rural areas where doula work is unheard of or rare, it might mean free so that you can grow this profession and put your name out there.

A word of caution if you opt to charge the "experienced doula rate" for your area and you do not have that experience level yet: be prepared with a confident answer for your interviews. When a family asks you what your experience level is, they may raise an eyebrow if you say you've only attended 3 births or none at their intended birthplace. Sometimes they will hire your confidence and not your experience, but you also should be ready to have a light workload for awhile and possibly drop your fees in order to get your experience.

Bottom line...

This is a profession that has many many many options. There are industry standards or each city and state, but overall, there are many kinds of doulas with many price points and business practices. Some doulas will never be able to offer a free birth, some will. ALL doulas should be kind to each other and support the many ways that this work can be sustainable for each individual doula. Just like we support the families we serve and help them find their best birth choices, so must we support our doula sisters and brothers while they find their best doula business choices. Informed choice, respect after.

So Kate, now that I've enrolled, what can I expect to learn at this training workshop?

This weekend workshop will fully equip you to begin your work as a doula. You will not leave the weekend with a certification in hand, but you will have the skills to support mothers in birth. We cover the following: 

• What is Birth Arts international and what the heck was in that koolaid you just drank?(kidding... sort of)
• The physiology, stage and phases of pregnancy, labor and birth.
• History of birth support. What it means and doesn't mean to be a doula. What is your scope of practice?
• Attending a birth- labor positions and coping skills, holding space and counseling families
• Hippo Socks- What are they? When do you wear them? (not kidding in the least)
• Building and growing your practice. How will YOU succeed?
• So. Much. More.  This is an exhaustive weekend with long days and lots of breaks. You will bond with your fellow students and leave inspired and ready to walk this path!

Is there anything I can do while I wait for my training to begin? I'm eager to get going!

YES! With your registration confirmation email from Kate, you will get the book list for certification and that is an excellent place to begin!  You will need to read 9 of the books on the list and having that base knowledge before you take your training will give you a deeper understanding of what this work can mean as we explore it. 

You can also find a childbirth education course to audit before your training and contact your trainer for documentation forms if you do!  This is especially helpful if you have never taken a childbirth education course before or haven't given birth yourself. 

What else is required for certification?
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The requirements for Birth Doula certification break down into three basic categories: Experience, Business Success, Study & Grow. 

Experience:

• Attend a training or enroll in the online classroom. 
• Observe Childbirth Education class(es) in your area
• Tour two hospital birthing units (one can be a midwifery birthing center)
• Attend and document five births.

Business Success:

• Create your intake forms and client contract
• Put together your birth bag of supplies
• Create Client handouts and a resource list
• Submit a business plan and create your marketing materials.

Study and grow:

• Write the essays and assignments listed in the BAI manual (you will get this at your training)
• Complete the introspective assignments (surprise! We do a few at the training!)
• Interview mothers about their birth experiences (we do some of these too!)
• Read and report on 9 books from the list. 

That's it!  It might seem overwhelming at first but these all serve a purpose: To help guide you to be the best doula you can be and to truly find YOUR best business practices. Spoiler alert: they will likely look different than every other student in your class. Just like birth preferences are unique to the mother, so will your doula heart be unique to you. 

What makes Birth Arts different from other organizations?

So here's the thing... Birth Arts International believes firmly that our organizational standards of excellence speak for themselves. We believe that there is a perfect doula organization for every aspiring doula. Birth Arts may be right for you but I encourage you to look at the other organizations to see which one fits your doula style and heart. Here is a brief overview of why *I* feel that Birth Arts should be at the top of the list:

• Birth Arts is one of the oldest and most successful doula training organizations in the world. Born in 2000, it has trained over 20,000 birth workers and is growing rapidly!
• Demetria Clark Honestly, yall... she's the reason Birth Arts is as amazing as it is. Her mission is to offer Doula Trainings at a low cost so it is accessible to more people and to offer a certification pathway with realistic and attainable requirements that prepare you not only for the heart of this work but also to run a successful business. 
• Those realistic certification requirements?  What do I mean by that? I mean that when you complete your required births for certification and are looking at getting your evaluations filled out... who should be completing the evaluation of your work?  The nurse? The doctor or midwife? No. Birth Arts wants the family you served to review your work. Asking a healthcare professional if your work was adequate could be conflict of interest and honestly, while their opinion of you matters in regards to your reputation and success in your community, the opinion of the family you served matters for your certification. The requirements set forth by Demetria and BAI are realistic. 
• I've mentioned before that Birth Arts has the most comprehensive program out there and I can explain that a bit further... our book list is longer, we require more births and we require our doulas to complete about two dozen "introspective assignments" to really challenge themselves intellectually as they journey down this path. 
• Setting up a sustainable business matters to Birth Arts. We don't simply want to fill our trainings and then send you out the door with a pat on the head and a packet to fill out. We want our doulas working in their community and our certification sets them up for success. We require a business plan, marketing materials, client forms and contracts and we help you find your best path towards completing those. 
• Certification never expires. Never. Why don't we require CEUs or recertification?  What is the mission behind that unorthodox move?  It's very simple. The mission of Birth Arts is to have as many certified doulas as possible in rural and low income areas. Often, that means that the doulas themselves are low income and don't have access or funds for multiple trainings and continuing education. We trust that in order for a Birth Arts doula to remain successful in their community, they will take these classes if they have access to them and they will keep up to speed on the latest information in the world of birth. 
• The online classroom. Wow. Seriously... I can't even describe the wealth of knowledge at your fingertips when you log into the classroom. You have access to all of Demetrias lectures and webinars. You can continue to learn and re=learn at your own pace while you complete your certification requirements. This is supported by Facebook groups full of other Birth Arts students as well as all of the trainers... whom you can connect with and reach out to for support as you grow. 

That all sounds great, but $450 is a lot of money... is there any kind of discount?

Is it?  Really?  Sure to some families, $450 is a month of rent or food... but I challenge you to find any other career that can be started and certified for that price. $450 isn't all you might need to spend to launch your full successful business though, so let's break it down:

• $450 for training and certification
• $80 for books (or free if you have access to a library)
• $200 for supplies for your birth bag, marketing materials and printing 
• $150 for website fees and design costs 
• $50-$200 for a childbirth education course if you need to pay for it

This feels like a lot, but consider that a newly trained doula can earn anywhere from $300-$600 on average for their fist few births and you can recoup your ENTIRE investment in the first few months. There is literally no way that you can afford NOT to take this training. Especially when compared to the training costs, fees and annual dues of other certification organizations. 

There are limited scholarships available but they are limited to special scenarios and you do need to consider the full investment into this. You are looking at maybe around $1,000 for a complete start up into a business that can earn you $30-$80k in the future. My first year as a doula, I made $7,000 and that wasn't even full time and I charged way less than new doulas do now. 

Wait, so I can charge money for my certification births?

Hell yeah you can. You should!  Birth Arts does not limit what you charge for your births, nor do they require that you charge. You can be free if you want but consider this: no birth is free. Every birth will cost you gas, parking, supplies and potentially childcare. Charge money for your certification births, even if it simply covers your estimated costs. 

Down the road, you can raise your fees and even set the high enough that you are able to offer your services completely free to those clients who speak to your heart... do you have a passion for serving teens? Single or military mothers? Mothers relinquishing their babies for adoption? Women of color?  Mothers experiencing loss?  Keep your heart work in mind while you grow!

You mentioned childcare... and I feel totally stuck. How do I manage that?

Network. Community. The Village. Childcare options may feel overwhelming but you have so many options:

• Another doula who is in the same boat - swap childcare with them or better yet, start a partnership with shared call and watch each others children while one of you is at a birth.
• A local stay at home mother who is happy to earn some pocket money for random childcare during the week
• Family and friends that are local. Especially if they are free, this is a good way to start your business until you are earning enough to pay someone.
• Hire a nanny. Share a nanny. 
• Drop in childcare centers in your area

I have been a doula as a married mother of two children (one of whom was still nursing), and as a single mother of three children (again, the youngest was nursing) and as a re-married mother of 5 blended children. I have had other doulas on call for me at night for a flat rate, I have had a long list of "potential sitters" that I worked down as the labor call came in and now I have JulieTheSuperNanny who literally steps into my minivan when I step out to a birth and runs my house like the badass she is. The bottom line being: try out options for childcare and don't be afraid to explore every area to find the perfect situation. I found JulieTheSuperNanny through a neighboring Buy Nothing group on facebook!  Be creative!

What about your partner?  Are they supportive? 

Ah. Yes, the partner. If you are a single person looking to be a doula, you face a different set of struggles that I'll address later. If you are partnered, you need to have a serious and open conversation with your partner about what this will mean for you and your family:

• Do we believe that this investment will be worth it? How can we make room in our budget for the startup costs of my business?
• Can we make our lives work around what the on call life will bring? What will happen when I miss a birthday party or holiday? Can you carry our children through that?
  • OR - do I want to start this from a place where I don't take clients during the months of important family obligations and holidays?
• Will you be able to handle our family's needs if I am gone for two days? Bedtime, night feedings, getting the children off to school?
• Will you help me coordinate the childcare and shuttle the children to school or the sitter's house before you go to work?
• How can you help support our children emotionally when I am gone for a long period of time and they miss me?
• What will you do if my work interrupts or intimate times?  Sex? Date nights? Will you eventually get used to a labor being a priority for me?
• This last one doesn't apply to every family, but it can sneak up on many marriages:
  • How can you reframe any jealousy over how much I love my job? Will you be able to support me without bitterness as I find financial success with my passion while you slave away at your steady work that supports our family?
• Well... maybe make this one the last question: What are we going to do in a few years when we have an extra $20-$50k income???  (yeah.... end with that... that's a fun one)

I swear we need to offer a support group for the partners of doulas and midwives... they have many tales of interrupted sex and they know the best pizza places that deliver dinner fast!  They also know that the joy they see in us when we walk in the door with amniotic fluid on our pants and vernix on our elbow.... and the way that our work sets an example for our children about following your passion and being a proud business owner... it is worth it.

Are you ready?  Click HERE to take the next step!