I don't even know where to start on this one. I am currently taking a training (not related to birth) and while in the training I met a woman who told me she was a doula. We got to talking and she was telling me about her training and how she was certified by x organization, etc. As we talked I thought it was very strange that her certification requirements were so different from mine even though we were both in the same organization. Through some investigating her and I together found out some interesting things and she is just heart broken by this information. First of all the woman who held her training is a) not even a trainer with this organization and b) she told them once they finished with the training (which lasted several months) that they were all certified. We went to the website for the organization she is supposed to be certified through and low and behold her name is not there, and she was shocked to see what the true requirements were. It seems that there is someone out there claiming to be certifying doulas by a certain organization when in reality she isn't affiliated with that organization and she is telling them they are certified when in fact they have only attended her training and attended three births in which the family filled out an evaluation form provided by this instructor and not an official form for the certifying body.
This makes me so sad!! (She does plan on reporting this to the organization as soon as she returns home)
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