Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Check!

Elizabeth Baer, CD(DONA)

Eleven months after I bought my DONA Birth Doula Certification packet, my DONA certification is done. I'm now a DONA-certified Birth Doula.

In case you were wondering, to become a DONA Doula, I had to:
  • Pay for DONA membership
  • Pay the certification application processing fee
  • Fill out the application
  • Read The Birth Doula's Contribution to Modern Maternity Care; The Doula Book; The Birth Partner; Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn; Ina May's Guide to Childbirth and The Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers
  • Attend a childbirth class (where I wasn't a pregnant participant)
  • Complete the course at http://www.breastfeedingbasics.org/
  • Attend a DONA birth doula workshop
  • Attend three births and submit three evaluations from mothers, three from caregivers, an essay about each one, DONA Birth Record sheets for each one
  • A resource list with resources from 30 different categories
  • Write an essay on the value of labor support
  • Sign Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice
  • Take multiple choice quiz
To some people it sounds like a lot. Some people think that DONA certification is super-easy. I think that DONA Certification is a starting point, not an ending. It's an introduction into learning the things that one needs to know to serve families as a doula. I'm going to continue to learn as much as I can about pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding and working with women.

My next project (that I've already started working on) is the BirthWorks Childbirth Educator certification.

1 comment:

  1. Great job! It is quite an accomplishment. I agree, it is a beginning. :)

    ReplyDelete