Everyone else in my area is DONA trained...

[jessadoula]

Does that mean I should go with DONA too? I'm beginning to think so. I should explan that at this point, as an aspiring doula, I'm not yet sure what I plan to do with my training. I may certify and go on to start my own business, I may volunteer for a little while, do some casual doula-ing, and get experience in order to go on to midwifery school in a few years when money and time permit. But when I do my training, I want to make sure that I a) get a lot out of it from an education level, and b) end up with a recognized training certification in case I want to go into business.
I am drawn to CAPPA because it offers lots of different courses and I am very intersted in childbirth ed as well, and CBI gets great reviews on this board and would be very convenient considering we have a new baby on the way in March, and ALACE also gets raves, but if I look around, everyone in my area is DONA certified, it seems. I know a few years back when I was pg and looking into doulas, DONA was the only name I'd ever heard of. So it seems like it would be the best choice.
I'd really appreciate thoughts on this. As far as I can tell, the price is pretty much comparable for all of them...
Thank you!

[earthgirl]

I think that DONA is the oldest organization, so there may be more trained DONA doulas in general. However, times are changing and other organizations are becoming better recognized, and I think that will be even more so in the future as more doulas train and become certified with different organizations. You could also think of it as maybe you have a little something different to offer the clients than everyone else in your area.
I happened to have trained with CAPPA (and more recently ALACE) because when I did a search CAPPA is what came up first. I only heard of DONA afterward. So I would just follow your heart and go with which organization resonates with you, not the one you think you should train with. Just my Goodluck

[DoulaDani]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jessadoula Does that mean I should go with DONA too? I'm beginning to think so. I should explan that at this point, as an aspiring doula, I'm not yet sure what I plan to do with my training. I may certify and go on to start my own business, I may volunteer for a little while, do some casual doula-ing, and get experience in order to go on to midwifery school in a few years when money and time permit. But when I do my training, I want to make sure that I a) get a lot out of it from an education level, and b) end up with a recognized training certification in case I want to go into business. I am drawn to CAPPA because it offers lots of different courses and I am very intersted in childbirth ed as well, and CBI gets great reviews on this board and would be very convenient considering we have a new baby on the way in March, and ALACE also gets raves, but if I look around, everyone in my area is DONA certified, it seems. I know a few years back when I was pg and looking into doulas, DONA was the only name I'd ever heard of. So it seems like it would be the best choice. I'd really appreciate thoughts on this. As far as I can tell, the price is pretty much comparable for all of them... Thank you!

Okay, so I may be a little biased here, but here it goes...

You can look at this one of two ways, it could work in your favor to go with a unique organization or it could work against you.

As a DONA Certified Doula, I wouldn't trade my DONA referrals for anything. I get lots of great referrals from them. They're very well known and well respected, and are the best known in my area. There's many times that I get potential clients that have only stumbled across the DONA website, and aren't aware of any other certifying body or our local birth network.

The DONA International Scope of Practice and Code of Ethics are standards that I'm proud to uphold. It tells the parents and medical professionals that I work with that I have some accountability for my actions in the birthing room and with how I interact with my clients and fellow doulas.

Going with a unique organization can be tricky, because many of the parents and medical professionals in your area may already associate DONA with Doula (brand recognition... I've even been called a "DONA" instead of a doula before) and you may have to "prove yourself" or it may be a total non-issue. On the positive side, if your (alternate) certifying body did a spectacular job with marketing and advertising, it could mean your name was the only one a new parent stumbled across.

Personally, I'd prefer that the stumble across my name along with multiple others, as I feel it lends credibility. Most people who find my name on DONA seem to do a group email to all of us anyway, and I feel pretty confident that if I'm meant to be the one chosen I will be. And when I'm not, I feel I've lost out honorably, because the other DONA doulas in my area are spectacular.

Regarding CBE certification, I've told my story on here before so I won't repeat it (you could do a search if you cared to read it), but after some real investigation I felt like Lamaze through PFB was the best choice for me. I didn't get my certification as quickly as I might have, but I have no doubt that I was properly prepared to teach in a wide variety of settigns and it had a philosophy that matched my own.

[Matrescence]

Most of the doulas here are too. I originally went with DONA because of the area I live in and the fact that it was a recognized name. I liked the fact that they had the 'dear colleague' letter for other professionals, the studies and other handouts readily available for me to take on interviews and talks with the local HCP's. Now that most of the ground work is done I am leaning more toward CAPPA for the simplicity of having all of my training/certifications under one organization, the free conference and the customer service (that's not the phrase I'm looking for but my brain locked up on me, lol... they're down home gals and are always available to answer questions which for me is a huge plus). IMHO the area you live in has a part to play in your decision but the bigger part is which organization (and there are many) if any you feel most at home with.

[jessa_bee]

I haven't found that folks looking for doula services really care about which organization hosted the training I attended. Rather, they like that I have training and they don't really care much about certification.

In retrospect, I wish I'd done more research about what the different organizations/trainers offer in their trainings. I think it's more about what you're looking to learn.

[MothertheMother]

I think you just have to figure out which organization is right for you based on the organization...not what everyone else is doing. If we did what everyone else was doing we wouldn't even be doulas, right!
Read through the philosophies, missions etc and just go with what feels right to you.

[jessadoula]

This is great input everyone, thanks very much! I am still mulling over my options but I really appreciate the good advice.

[missilla]

that is my advice. dont go with everyone else. follow your gut. i started with DONA and changed to ALACE because my heart and mind were telling me too. even though I was so close to being finished with DONA I still changed.

follow your gut!!

[Alicia79]

I'm struggling with this decision too. Especially since DONA is the only org that has it's conference in my area. But, I think I will end up going with whichever organization best matches my birthing philosophies. Good luck to you and let us know what you decide!!

[MaternityWise]

Some considerations I would say to keep in mind are:

Do they teach you how to run your business AFTER you've paid them to certify you?

How about support? Which organizations are providing you with 24/7 on-call support?

And of course, a major one is philosophy. Does the organization you're looking at have a philosophy that empowers you, or restricts you?

Those were some major thinking points for me.

Blessings,
Chris Anne

[naturalbirther]

I haven't read all the other posts yet b/c of time (my 3 mo old is sleeping...Lord knows how long that'll last!) but let me just say this:
I went with DONA b/c it's what popped up first in a search, they've been around the longest, and they were the most affordable. I, too, thought that they'd be best as far as people knowing the name DONA. I am NOT sorry that I am going through DONA (one more birth!), but I do think that I want a 2nd cert. Not for the letters behind my name, but because, on an educational level, I felt they have been easy....too easy. I can honestly say that they only thing I've learned, besides stats about doulas attending births (and even then, it was only a handful of studies), from DONA was how to use a rebozo from a lady at my training and how GREAT Mai Tei carries are from another lady who attended (Piper...she's an member, too and teaches baby wearing). I was very upset with the workshop b/c I felt it was a waste of time other than the two things I just mentioned. I really love that it has allowed me to do my cert quickly w/o much study, but I feel like it didn't push me the way I feel we should be pushed. If we "just" want to lend physical support, we could learn that in a day (which was also a huge bummer about my workshop...they taught 4 things that most of us already knew how to do)....but to learn the educational aspect that our clients expect from us, (ya know...."doulas provide physical, emotional, AND EDUCATIONAL support".....) I feel like there should be more "studying" to complete. Please don't think I'm dogging DONA! That's not it....I just had higher expectations (mostly for the training) and felt I wasted $500 and 4 days (I had to travel 6 1/2 hrs to it) going to a workshop and staying in a hotel and then didn't get any new info that i didn't already know. Granted, it may have been the instructor for that weekend....BUT! That is also why I want to certify to instruct....I want to make sure that others don't feel the way I felt after their trainings
Just my

[naturalbirther]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AppleValleyDoula That's why I went with DONA. The hospital I volunteer with only takes doulas that are DONA trained. I'm not sure I'll certify with them but...if it were up to me, I think I would have gone with CBI.

I've heard that this is not uncommon....I, personally, think it's strange...

[megananna22]

I went with DONA for cost, certification process, and name recognition. I would consider certifying with another organization in the future, but it would probably be to get my name on another referral list. I had the same feelings about the training, but blamed it on the fact that I did my Lamaze teacher training first which was incredibly comprehensive. The training did teach me a LOT about professional issues - running the business, how to maintain a professional relationship, how to avoid burnout, how to deal with dr's or nurses who are not doula-friendly (and hopefully convert them), etc - which were not applicable to my Lamaze training. And also because their website is very professional. I live in an area that wants certification, and if I told potential clients my certifying organization and then they looked it up online, I wanted them to find a very professional looking website to instill confidence. Especially if they were already familiar with DONA and I introduced them to another, it would stink if they went to look up this other organization that they've never heard of before and the website looked less professional than DONA's. As far as the educational value... I figure I can learn anything I want to on my own, anything I feel is lacking in my knowledge I can do my own research... but with my Lamaze background I feel totally set.

Megan

[naturalbirther]

Quote:

Originally Posted by megananna22 The training did teach me a LOT about professional issues - running the business, how to maintain a professional relationship, how to avoid burnout, how to deal with dr's or nurses who are not doula-friendly (and hopefully convert them), etc - which were not applicable to my Lamaze training. Megan

We had none of this at our training...this is one of my biggest complaints...when I asked the trainer any business questions, she almost implied that it would be out of our leagues for any of us to have an acutal business, though many of us had already supported more than 1 woman during a birth and three or four of us already had a business going...it was like she thought we were all there simply to support a friend, sister, or daughter who was having a baby soon Granted, a good 1/3 of the 23 women were there for that reason but at least 3/4 of those who attended the training were wanting to cert , but almost all of them said that they eventually wanted to either have a business or donate their time as a volunteer doula. I'm beginning to think that it was just my training that was the way i previously described, and I hope this is the case!

[jessadoula]

As I've been mulling this over and talking about it with my very supportive partner, I've come to the conclusion that at this point I'm more in this for the learning and to get a better sense of whether or not I want to pursue midwifery. I currently have a full time 9-5 job and am the main breadwinner for our family, so doula-ing and doula training for now is going to need to be a very part time thing. And on this basis, and after reading the websites and thinking about finances, I am leaning heavily towards CBI. There is a DONA workshop led by Susan Martensen in my area in February which I think I will likely attend (unless it conflicts with our own prenatal class for dc2 who is due at the end of March!), but pursuing their certification feels like a commitment that I'm not necessarily ready for, esp. given that I'm not sure I'm going to be pursuing this as a full time business, more as a volunteer & part-time thing.