The Story Behind Our Full Spectrum Doula Training

The Power of Coming Together

I try to explain this on our trips, but it never really makes sense until you’re in it. There is something so special about coming together as a group of birthworkers. When I started Wombs of the World back in 2018 and 2019, I was a very new doula. I was a very experienced traveler and entrepreneur, and all of it flowed perfectly into my life story. There were so many full-circle moments. But I was shaped by the fellow doulas and midwives and labor and delivery nurses that I had the honor of spending eleven consecutive days with.

I am currently on the twenty-seventh Wombs of the World trip. That is almost three hundred days of geeking out with birthworkers. On top of that, I have witnessed hundreds of births in Tanzania, and I have worked as a doula and perinatal social worker in Colorado, supporting hundreds of families there as well.

How This Training Was Born

Doulas of all experience levels join us on trips. Sometimes they are brand new and sometimes they have thirty years of experience. It is from all of their wisdom and insight that this course has been building itself in my head and in my notes app for years and years. I wanted to create a course that made birthwork accessible and that met people where they are, no matter where they live. A birthworker in East Africa and a birthworker in Tennessee are going to have very different approaches to this work. But what is really cool is that it all comes back to our tagline: Culture is dynamic and birth is universal.

The World Needs More Birthworkers

I have heard what worked in their trainings. I have heard what didn’t. I have heard all the stories about imposter syndrome and feeling like they needed yet another training before they could get to work. And through all of this, my life mission has only become clearer. I truly believe I was put on this planet to energize the world to better care for mothers. I call it a revolution because that is what it feels like, but ultimately I just want more birthworkers in the world. Thanks to the input and feedback, both conscious and unconscious, from hundreds of birthworkers and thousands of hours of conversation, this course was born.

Birthwork Through a Justice Lens

If you have been following our work for a while, you know that social justice is always part of the lens because health disparities are real. As birthworkers, we become a bridge within the system. I say this all the time because I believe it wholeheartedly. The role of the doula is to be a bridge. A bridge between the hypermedical landscape that birth now finds itself in and the sacred and ceremonial and spiritual aspects of childbirth. A bridge between personal care and community care. A bridge between intuition and evidence. A bridge that lets women feel held and cared for and truly seen throughout their perinatal period.

This course is my love letter to the world. I know it will grow and evolve over the years, which is one of the best parts about it being online. As information shifts, as the world shifts, as policy shifts, this course can shift with it. But what has been created right now and what we are offering you is truly incredible.

What This Training Offers

The journey into birthwork begins with our first course, the Foundations of Global Birthwork. I want us to zoom out so we understand the foundations we are standing on, and then zoom in to see how we can best serve our own communities.

Course One: The Foundations of Global Birthwork

In this course we will cover scope of practice, the role of a doula, and our philosophy around certification. We will paint a global picture of birth and establish the groundwork for understanding cultural humility and trauma informed care. You will learn the history of the mother going back six thousand years to today. You will get a global snapshot of birth cultures and policies around the world. I want you to walk away from this course thinking, I had no idea. I want to paint the bigger picture of birth and invite you into the journey that unites us all because every single person is born.

Course Two: Pregnancy and Birth

From there, we go into pregnancy and birth. I want you to understand anatomy, physiology, and spirituality. It is not within your scope of practice to diagnose anything, but it is important to understand what your clients might be experiencing. We will talk through the conditions, the jargon, the interventions, and how to support clients through them. I remember when I was getting started and a client told me they had gestational diabetes. I immediately had to look it up so I knew how to help them. We have you covered.

We will talk about what birth can look like, how you show up in the space, and what it means to remain the dominant limbic system. How you stay grounded. How you become the anchor. How you become the calm in the storm so your clients know they can lean on you. We will look at cultural practices, we will explore how to be a bridge between the sacred and the medical, and we will talk about how to work within systems because many hospitals and policies around the world still do not welcome doulas, even though our presence is supported by almost every gynecological governing body.

Course Three: Postpartum and Loss

The third course explores all things postpartum. You will learn what a postpartum doula does, how to support perinatal mood disorders, partner relationships, matrescence, infant care, breastfeeding, and something incredibly important, how to support loss. Life and death are opposite sides of the same coin. I hope you never have to support a family through loss, but the truth is that you will, because loss is as much a part of this world as birth.

This module will also explore self care because this work can be heavy- and we want you to have a long and beautiful career. To do so, you must know how to nurture yourself as well (and professional care people are often the worst at receiving support!).

Course Four: Beyond Birth

The fourth course is called Beyond Birth and it is one of my favorites. This is the social justice lens. This is the mezzo level, the community level. We will talk about how to support clients from many different walks of life. You will expand your understanding of the different kinds of families that exist, including queer families, single parents, adoptive parents, neurodivergent parents, and families who might be expecting a child with a disability.

You do not need to understand every nuance to show up with compassion and curiosity. What you need is willingness, humility, and awareness. This course also explores what it means to support families within the diaspora and what cultural humility truly looks like. We reinforce trauma informed care and teach you how to become the social justice advocate your community needs.

Birth is deeply personal and it is also deeply political because of the systems surrounding it. We want you to feel confident using your voice to help improve birth outcomes. Mothers and families around the world need to understand what they are up against and how to rise. Because when mothers rise, we all rise.

Course Five: Entrepreneurialism for Birthworkers

The fifth and final course is Entrepreneurialism for Birthworkers. This is something I love about birthwork. It is entrepreneurial. You can get out of it what you put into it, but you need tools and support. So many birthworkers get stuck. They get stuck on marketing or websites or pricing or prenatals. I do not want you stuck. I want you working.

This module is full of resources. Client intake forms. A complete website template. Step by step support for getting recognized by insurance. Marketing guidance. Business foundations. Social media support. Templates for everything. I want you to value yourself and make a comfortable living supporting your community because this work matters. And honestly, this module is helpful far beyond birthwork. You can share this information with friends and family too.

A Year of Mentorship and the Heart of Certification

Beyond these five courses, we are offering a full year of online mentorship. This is the global village coming together. This is community. I love facilitating on Zoom and I bring a lot of energy to every session. You will meet people, ask questions, and build relationships that will support you long after you finish the course.

Then we tackle certification. Traditional doula certifications often require signatures from providers or mothers and a checklist of births. I see how this holds people back. They start but never finish. I want you working. What I want to see from certification is understanding, growth, reflection, ambition, and a genuine desire to step into this work. If you are ready to do that, we are ready to certify you.

Your certification project is simply your plan for stepping into this work. Your website. Your offerings. Your pricing. A flyer you plan to hang at your grocery store. A pitch to your hospital to recognize doulas. A plan for community mama circles if doula work is new where you live. Whatever it is, show us how you intend to serve and we will be honored to certify you.

This knowledge belongs to all of us. Doula work is non medical, which means there are many approaches to this field. Your job is to support ethically, avoid contributing to harm, and understand the systems you are walking into. You are part of a team. Sometimes that means working within policies and remembering that your agenda cannot override the client’s. What matters is helping them have the best possible experience.

An Invitation to Begin

This journey is going to be transformative. Transformative is the number one word we hear in our feedback forms. I am bringing the knowledge and wisdom from all of our trips and all of these birthworkers to you.

I welcome you on this journey.