Doulas who have opted NOT to be certified...

[MomInCalifornia]

I have trained with DONA, but am leaning towards not getting certified.
For Doulas who have gone this route, what led you to your decision not to certify?

[loudmama]

For me, part of it is the paper work. I thought I had all the info for a couple of births, then realized I didn't. Too frustrating for me. Secondly, the little rebel in me doesn't want to. :LOL I believe in contsant training from a variety of organizations, but didn't want to go with a certain organization to certify.

That's just me though.......Feel free to PM me to talk further...

L

[MamaTaraX]

I trainedthrough DONA. Reallythoguht I wanted to go the certification route. Then it dawned onme that I don't. While I realize that people in general are more drawn to peoplewith letters after their names (and Mama Tara CD(DONA) does have a ring to it *grin*) I realized that I don't need those lettersto be good at what I do. ISome of the most awesome doulas I know are not certified and I know awsesome ladies who are. Forme, I just don't want to do it. Part rebel, part paperwork-hater, part myself. It'sjust me. It'sjustlike how I don't wantto go to colleget ogeta degree, I onlywant to go to learn and expand my brainpower. All the things I want to do in life really involve learning through life. That'show I feel about mydoula work.

Namaste, Tara
mama to Doodle (7), Butterfly (2), and Rythm (due at home 1/06)

[nakagain]

I also trained through DONA but I am not certified. Mostly because I don't have time to go through another childbirth class for 6 weeks. Also I had one nurse dock one of my reviews because she said I didn't include the dh enough. Well if she knew the couples background she would have given me the highest review. The guy won't even step foot into a hospital even though his wife was having a baby. I actually got him to the hospital and standing in the room and that was a miracle.

So I am just as good whether or not I'm certified. I guess I too got a little rebellious after that one review.

[Hayes]

Trained through DONA. The paperwork is a bitch. I have 4 small children. And the last thing Iw ant to do is foist paperwork upon new parents and busy OBs and Midwives.

I live in a community with relatively few doulas. No one has ever complained about my not being certified. I am very upfront about it. I tell them how many births I've attended, etc.

[Jilian]

I did the CAPPA training and was working towards getting certified but I think I've changed my mind. What is certification anyway? It's not going to make me a better doula, it's just a little name tag saying I filled out my papers and paid all my fees. I guess the good part of being certified is that you get their free online advertising. But I really don't care about that, I'm not looking to get tons of clients, just a few here and there.

I'm pretty sure that I'm not going to get certified.

[lisamarie]

I began doing births in 1992 after I became a massage therapist. I did continuing education in pregnancy and labor massage, as well as infant massage. Since 1992, I have done numerous births for my clients, family and friends and it wasn't until 2002, that I did "formal" doula training. During my training, I became pregnant w/my dd :D and didn't want to do all the paperwork and the number of births that it took to become certified, with a newborn. So I've never done it. I limit the number of births that I do a year, because I'm a SAHM/WAHM now and my dd is still nursing. This has worked for me and my family and maybe someday, when I decide to want to do more births, I will become certifited. But for now, this works for me and my family.

Warmly~

Lisa:slinggirl

[hippiemom]

I am finishing training to be certified as a childbirth educator, and I know teaching birth classes will lead to my being asked to attend births. I have done childbirth ed informally and attended births through meeting people that way as well. If you are active in the birth community near you I am not sure it matters so much to be certified. I agree that the DONA paper trail is a bit much, and those papers are not always accurate measures of how the doula was (as per the above story here about the dad not being in the room). I will finish the cert to teach class, but will likely not pursue doula certification on top of that. But I will happily attend many births! ;)

[KeysMama]

I became a certified doula in 98. I have fallen out of love with my organization AND certification has never brought me more clients, nor do my clients ask or seem to care if I am . They do care how many births I have attended, what my track record is and what my birth philosophy is. So, I am NOT recertifying (again) when it comes up. Pick up any new age trade rag and you will see that certifications are a dime a dozen (certified angel light healer, etc). It means very little to be certified unless it is a job requirement.
Training, IMO, is still very helpful, as is periodic re-training or updating, ie attending a conference or workshop, keeping up with reading and literature.
:hippie

[Mamajamz]

What led me....I just didn't need it. For me it has been who I know, not the letters after my name. I got hooked up with some busy midwives and the rest is blissful baby history. I also don't do hospitals by choice, but I think it might be different for those who work in hospitals because of what that population may be looking for. OR it could be a benefit to not be certified if the hospital is not savvy to doulas. Then you become just a caring friend. Maybe it would be good to survey those at MDC who have had a doula. I wonder if they would say that certification was important to them in considering a doula. I have a friend that gets referrals through her certifying board though, so that may be helpful if you're trying to build your client base. But really, networking is so much more important. Good luck.

[anonymommy]

I have trained with DONA, but am leaning towards not getting certified.
For Doulas who have gone this route, what led you to your decision not to certify?

It is expensive (I don't charge) and time consuming and for right now, when my babies are small, I want to put my energies into helping people with the skills I already possess.

[TurboClaudia]

Initially I chose not to get certified because the organization I trained with and would certify with was only local and it wouldn't hold much stead with clients. I have chosen not to pursue certification with a larger and national or international organization now because I hope to become a midwife in the future and the scope of practice and ethical guidelines of most of the certifying organizations would limit my training practice for midwifery, i.e. like taking vitals, doing exams, etc.

warmly,
claudia

[Dwmama]

I am so glad I found this thread. I have been to 6 births and taking a break from it. It's been 2 years since I took the class and only about half way done with the paperwork. Honestly the paperwork stressed me out so much. I was always thinking about how I would get it. Then at the last birth I attend I got frustrated. The birth was pretty short, about 2-3 hours. When I asked the nurse to fill it out she said, "Well you weren't there that long" :rolleyes: Personally I think it is kind of silly, especially if you are trying to get the paperwork from nurses and OB's that don't even want you there ya know?

I am happy to know I am not the only one that can't stand the paperwork.

[muslima0midwife]

Here it is....
My LATE post
But i just wanted to say:
THANKYOU ALL!
I was gettin ready to go get a stupid certification... because ONE person made me feel like it was soooooo necessary to have it.... this was NOT a client of mine or anything ... jus someone trying to give me advice! ANd i have NEVER had a bad report from any of my clients. I sooooo agree with most of you, about the paper work, and the money, and how it just means very little to most women.
Thank u all for restoring my confidence in what was already in my heart! :love

[saritabeth]

I started my doula journey thru DONA. I started the cert process but became pregnant with my first after 2 births and I didn't want to rush into attending births just to get the 3rd one in. They have an extension, I thought about it, but it was too soon still. I am pregnant with my second and will be taking a break from births again.

In New England, I think the cert can be helpful because people seem to really care about titles here. Truthfully, my training was great, I continue to read and learn but I do not feel that DONA really offers me anything by being cert. by them except in the case of the title preferences in NE.

I am not a career doula. I do charge because I feel that doula's should be paid for the important services provided. Additionally, I need to cover the cost of missed/rescheduled massage clients and child care. I am pretty selective about the births I attend....I only work when there is a real connection and it fits with my life . Anyway, training is great, reading is great, there isn't anything wrong with Certification, but it doesn't make the doula, yk?

[cathicog]

Got my training thru ALACE, and have never finished the paperwork, but have had way more than enough clients to qualify! i finished a BS instead, and midwifery assistant training, and now people are contacting me for births, but I also have more freedom to attend now, which I didn't have when i was working a 9-5....

[NavelgazingMidwife]

It's funny reading everyone's reasons for not certifying. I always thought I was 1) lazy 2) cheap 3) really lazy and that was why I didn't.

What I Did (and what I didn't) Do:

ALACE training and certification as a CBE and Labor Assistant (eons ago) - yes, certs.

CBE training through Red Cross - eons ago - yes, certs.

Midwifery license I never used (1993).

ALACE/DONA re-training without certification for several reasons including limitations, money, different career thoughts, and a waffling about how I felt about certification in the first (and last) place.

La Leche League leader certification that took about 7 years to complete (and I utilized for a decade).

Midwifery License and Certified Professional Midwife license *obtained*! (and very happy about it, too, in most ways)

When women ask if they should or should not pursue certification, I encourage these thoughts:

- Will certification augment any aspect of what I want to do? (advertising on their website; being able to attend births in certain locations that require certification; allow me to charge the prices the community will bear; etc.)

- Will certification hinder aspects of my practice? (limiting more hands-on care if a client asks for it; limiting requests from potential clients that aren't comfortable with standardized certifications; limit the ability to offer services for less-than-market-price; etc.)

- Will I learn more from the certification process than I already know? Is there a way to gain that knowledge elsewhere?

- Do I want to learn "that" way? Or do I want to learn through doing?

- Do I learn better with guidance and structure? Or without boundaries and limitations?

- Does the organization have the support I might want/need in the future?

- Am I a joiner? A follower? Or a leader? (I am sooooooooo a joiner and certainly *belong* to a lot of the organizations without actually being certified by them.)

- Do I believe in the organization and its mission as well as its integrity?

I hope these thoughts help, too.

Glad to know I am not the only one out there thinking these thoughts!

Barb Herrera

[vermontana]

A lot of the previously posted reasons apply to me...money, paperwork, time constraints. Also, I don't want people to choose my services because of letters behind my name, or because I am affiliated with a certain organization or another. I want them to choose me because I am who I am, because we click, because I can give them the attention and care they are looking for. I don't think certification is a bad thing, but I sometimes wonder why we need to be *certified* to do some things that, to me, are just second nature for most women anyway, esp when it comes to being a doula. Sure, it helps to have some concrete background knowledge about the physiology of birth, etc, but what it really comes down to (for me, at least), is being that woman's support. Do we need to be certified to know how to wipe a woman's brow, to whisper encouragement, to lift her spirits, to help her find her strength? Doulas do what mothers, grandmothers, sisters, friends have done throughout time, without paying hundreds of dollars for training and certification and without a governing body directing their care. I love being a doula, but similar to what someone else said in another thread, I wish there was no need for professional doulas in the first place. The doula movement has been great for a lot of women, but it says a lot about our birth culture when we have classes and organizations devoted to doing the things that the family and community wise women would have done, before birth moved out of the home and into the hospital.

[muslima0midwife]

[B]U Said It Sista![QUOTE]

[carebear1779]

The reason i chose not to be cert even after I had all the paper work done was that I didn't want to be held to the scope of practise that the cert required. Sometimes things are not black and white and I wanted to bae able to float in the grey area a little. I also didn't want to have to keep a certain number of clients. I have taken the last year off while preganant adn with a newborn and am just now getting back into it.

[havecutekids]

I too did not want to be bound by the scope of practice.

Stacey
Doula in Ohio

[hethir]

I trained through DONA, attended the # of births for cert. but the paper work....getting the signitures was HELL. Getting graded by the OB or nurse. I can't stand it. Some times I jsut skipped the sigs because the OB?nurse were rude to the mothers..... I dont know if I will end up doing it. I do like the titles for proffessional reasons. I like the long list behind my name. I know ego but that is the only ego that is in this calling:wink

[Shell_Ell]

I'm debating whether to certify right now. I am taking a DONA training to further my education, and the next logical step would be certification. I have alot of the work already done for it. But like others have said, the paperwork seems totally ridiculous to me at the moment. I'm just not sure I'll go through with it.

I totally agree with the notion that it doesn't matter how many letters are after your name. If you are good at what you do, it's not something that comes from having a title. Its something that comes from within you. I know of a wonderful doula who has been practicing upwards of twenty years and has never been certified. She just never had a reason to. I also know of some crummy doulas who are certified in just about everything you can be certified in, but have terrible bedside manner when it comes to working with people. It just doesn't mean much.

IMO if people are concerned with a credential after your name, they really don't get what a doula is all about.

[mandib50]

i'm not entirely sure what i will do. because i live in a really small town it will help to have the letters behind my name ... maybe. i will play it by ear. i don't think it is necessary to be certified to be a wonderful doula.

[onlyboys]

I took the training, argued with the trainer the whole time, and then decided that being a doula was too limiting for me. I simply in good conscience watch procedures happen to an unconsenting woman and say nothing. I got all the paperwork, attended my births, and never filled anything out. If you knew me, this would not be shocking, but while laziness enters into it, that's not all of it. I just really think that it means little! :)

I'm happy to attend births as a doula. But, I make it clear the things I cannot be party to; so far, no one has said anything about those things. As it is, hospital birth fairly skeeves me out--I'll attend a hospital birth as long as it's best for the mama, and sometimes it is. Sometimes it's not.

[sbailey1]

I am a certified doula, and before I decided to go ahead with my certification, I was thinking of not doing it, but found that alot of people that might be clients would rather have someone certified then not certified. That is what made me go ahead with it. I have also noticed with potential clients now, they want to know if you are certified. How many clients does a doula that is not certified get, and when asked, what do you tell them and the reason for not getting certified? I am just curious on this.

Stacie Bailey CLD

[Midwife Kris]

I chose ALACE starting out because IMNSHO they are the best. I also liked that my reviews were reported by ME and the person who mattered most, the MOTHER. Of course I could've asked the nurse what she thought, but who was she?

I slacked off on my certification when I got the midwifery degree/cert/license but still hold ALACE above all.

[Waterbaby020805]

Oh I am so glad I read this thread now! I am an aspiring doula and I just realized that I really don't want to be certified for the reasons everyone listed.
I have some questions about this. For those that got training from DONA: Can I just go to the DONA doula workshop in my area for my training? Will they allow that even if I have not attended a childbirth class while not pregnant? (I attended one during my pregnancy, but I read on their website that doesn't count.)
Are there any prerequisites for doing this without the certification? Or can I just go sit in on the workshop?
eta: will I still need to pay? (how much is it?)

[Dwmama]

I went to the workshop first before I did anything else....:)

[Waterbaby020805]

Okay, it looks like I'll be going to the workshop either later this month or middle of next.
I also found a doula/Bradley Instructor that I will be apprenticing under when she goes to births!! (who is also an uncertified doula) :) I'm so excited!

[Tuwamare]

I did DONA training in 1994. Did some births... did some paperwork. Never did get certified. It has been a long road getting clients in this area... eventually I stopped trying. Now I feel a bit differently... I have more skills to offer, and am thinking of offering labor assistance again with the addition of reiki. I still am not keen on getting certified. I was studying midwifery for awhile a few years ago as well. Gave it up when all my books were locked up in storage for a couple years in another state. I'm also toying with the idea of starting that up again... also uncertified. Luckily, midwives are allowed the option of practicing in this state without certification. The midwife we are currently using for this pregnancy is uncertified, and I love her to pieces. I would wish to be a midwife like her if I ever get to that point.

[Lizzo]

I went through DONA to be certified...and then "dropped out". When I went to the training there was some shit talking of ALACE and wehat they do and I talked ot other DONA doulas and they said the same. And I felt it was wrong. So DONA turned me off.
Also, my doula for my birth was a DONA doula and she sucked to be completely blunt. I feel that DONA has sold out and really likes to please the docs,CNMs and hopsitals more than the mamas and I feel that is wrong.
A huge part of my DONA training was how to be nice to and talk with the hospital staff. It's like how does that benefit a laboring mama?
I also don't want to be bound to a certification and have some higher power in a sense tell me how to doula. Like a set of letters behind my name hangs over my head. I suppose I am a radical, but to me,t his is my truth and my experience.
I am a midwifery apprentice and I now am techincally a monitrice, not a doula. I am happy that if a womyn wants me to check their cervix, I can do it. And if...goddess forbid, I have to catch a baby (b/c yes, it does happen) I know how. I know this is contraversial, but from my personal experience and realationships with different clients, I have found it beneficial and quite apporpriate at times.
I LOVE being with womyn and being there supporting a womyn and once I gave up the idea of being certified, I felt freed. Having the nurses fill out evaluations of my "performance" was a bit degrading. they were ruthless bc they didn't like who I was and what I stood for. Also, I got all wrappe dup in how long the birth was, b/c to be certified you need X amount of hours and it's like these people, this birth is not a number. They are people who deserve me to be there for them, 100%. Now...maybe that aspect of certification only applies to me and it was a fault of my own, but giving up certification released me and let me give myself to my clients, the way it should be.
And I feel that what does certification prove, truly? Nothing. You can do 3 births and be certified. And you can be so experienced and have no letters behind your name. It can be vice versa as well, but that's the point, it means nothing.
Anyway, that all said, I believe everyone must do what is right for them and their situation and the womyn and familes they choose to serve and to let that be what leads you. for me, not certifying was the best, for someone else it may be just the opposite. Good luck in whatever you choose!

[Waterbaby020805]

Wow, well said Lizzo! I completely agree with you and have heard some pretty crappy stuff about DONA lately. :( Disappointing.

[teachinmaof3]

I also don't want to be bound to a certification and have some higher power in a sense tell me how to doula. Like a set of letters behind my name hangs over my head. I suppose I am a radical, but to me,t his is my truth and my experience.
I am a midwifery apprentice and I now am techincally a monitrice, not a doula. I am happy that if a womyn wants me to check their cervix, I can do it. And if...goddess forbid, I have to catch a baby (b/c yes, it does happen) I know how. I know this is contraversial, but from my personal experience and realationships with different clients, I have found it beneficial and quite apporpriate at times.

I have recently been tossing the "to certify or not" thougths around again. That is EXACTLY what I have been feeling in my heart about it all.

I also want to do monitrice work eventually.


If you aren't certified, do you use LD behind your name to identify what you do on business cards or other things??

[Lizzo]

I have recently been tossing the "to certify or not" thougths around again. That is EXACTLY what I have been feeling in my heart about it all.

I also want to do monitrice work eventually.


If you aren't certified, do you use LD behind your name to identify what you do on business cards or other things??
My buisness cards just have my name on one line and then it says Birth doula(although I really do need to put monitrice...but I have like 5 million cards, so who cares!), Belly casting and kits, Blessingway Planning.
I don't need anything behind my name. And if a person would rather have a doula with letters behind her name, then that is what she needs and I am not it.

[teachinmaof3]

I don't need anything behind my name. And if a person would rather have a doula with letters behind her name, then that is what she needs and I am not it.
That is not at all what I meant to imply. I just meant in terms to identify what you do as your profession.

[tinyshoes]

this is a very interesting and timely thread.

I have always championed the importance of a woman's empowered birth experience, I know tons and tons about birth and always enjoy a little doula "shop talk" with certified doulas, I educate any knocked-up friend that comes my way and wants to listen, and now I've served as doula at two births, and I have 2-3 more upcoming births on my radar.

I thought of certification, thinking that then people would take me seriously.

I thought about how I don't want to follow the DONA creed but my own sensibilities, yet I know doula training would have so much information to offer and would be worth the time and fees.

I am also not ready to "go public" with my skills, and offer them in exchange for pay.

Am I a doula? Am I someone who just does doula work? I hate labels. If I had DONA certification, what would that really mean? And I know some doulas certified by DONA, and I don't know if those letters convince me of their skillset.

For those of you that aren't certified, and who may not even attend a ton of births & have "real jobs" or are at-home moms, do you walk around calling yourself a doula?

[Joyce in the mts.]

Far as I know..."doula" was a word in another language loooooong before any certifying organizations. I hope that fact takes root eventually.

I hate to repeat myself, but seems the point bears repeating.(that is not to naysay certification or joining an organization...I'm just addressing the word)

So if you are a doula, you're a doula and no one else can truly "certify" you than those you serve. It's that simple.

'Nuff said... J.

[Lizzo]

That is not at all what I meant to imply. I just meant in terms to identify what you do as your profession.
Oh godess! I am so sorry if that came off like it did! I totally meant...well...I didn't mean it in a snotty way! Sorry mama!
I totally get what you meant and I guess I was still on my soapbox when I didn't mean to be/didn't need to.
I guess I said it like that to say that some womyn hiring a doula (and I have come across this) need the letters behind the name to hire.
Yeah...I suppose I never even though of using letters. Maybe I will someday have CPM, or TM or M(for monitrice)...but I made soooo many buidness cards I can't possibly rewrite it all. I just say what i am afterwards. Like the whole word, usually on a line under my name.
Sorry!!! :innocent

[teachinmaof3]

No no...I didn't think you were being snarky or anything!! I knew when I wrote my first post that it would probably come across like the letters mattered to me. :o I just didn't know what uncertified ladies used..if anything.

I recently got my cards done up too. But for now they just say "CAPPA Trained Labor Doula and Childbirth Educator" and that will do until I get my CBE cert. done. Then I can just have "birth doula" put on. :)

[nurnur]

NACD will go on my card(not a certified doula!!!) just kidding!