Doulas are traditionally pregnant parents’ advocates and support throughout the entire pregnancy and beyond. They help provide some education and help to answer the many questions parents have as they work through the many complexities pregnancy can bring.
Many clients know that regularly visiting a doctor is just a checkup with minimal educational purposes and can leave them with more questions than answers. While doctors provide amazing medical care, a doula is a fantastic resource to help pick up where the doctor’s appointment ends.
A doula is extremely knowledgeable in many areas of support, and providing childbirth education is one way to take your doula client partnership one step further. There are just some things parents may not learn while in a hospital-based childbirth class. Providing evidence-based childbirth education combined with the skills and emotional support can elevate the childbirth learning experience. Here are a few reasons why you should teach a childbirth class.
- You can offer a more tailored education to your individual client’s needs – Traditional birthing classes have a rigid educational schedule, and the birthing knowledge they provide may not work for every parent. You know your client best as a doula. You can provide the education and tailor each parent’s educational content and labor processes.
- The hours can be more flexible with the scheduling for the time and location – Being flexible with your client’s schedules can help ensure they can attend the birthing class without any roadblocks. Some doulas provide classes within their client’s homes.
- You can provide smaller, more personalized classes – Hospital-based classes are often packed and can be stressful for many people who prefer to avoid a crowd. Providing smaller classes can help you focus more on the parents and help them feel like they have your attention when they need it.
- You may earn more clients – If you decide to teach childbirth education as a doula, not everyone who attends your smaller classes will be your client. When you provide the education they need plus the emotional support and guidance through your class, parents are more likely to see the benefit of having you along for the journey and hire you as their doula.
- You can teach without being bound by hospital protocol – Many birthing classes offered in hospitals teach you how to be a good patient, but your clients have rights, and they need to know their options when things present themselves to be a problem. You can also teach your clients based on evidence versus what the hospital believes and teach them how to navigate restrictive and often unnecessary interventions.
You can provide a service to your client that can boost their confidence in their ability to cope with labor and give birth safely. Learning childbirth education from someone they know and trust can help lower the fears and anxieties and increase the odds of a healthy birth.
If you want to provide childbirth education to offer comprehensive services to your clients or your potential clients, let us help you become a childbirth educator. Find more information here!
Christine Herrera helps people become amazing birth professionals.
