I attended the Labor Support Course at Seattle Midwifery School in 2004. Retrospectively I do not feel that this course equipped me with the skills necessary to become a doula. For a six day (8 hours a day course) I am suprised now to remember how few hands on skills were taught and that there was little to no time dedicated to running a doula business. Much time was spent on the philosophical aspects of childbirth and theoretical learning. The instructors were both very experienced doulas but conveyed little enthusiasm and did not seem focused on positive reinforcement of the class attendees. It is possible that the course content and design has changed since the time that I took this course but according to my experience I would not recommend this training to anyone if there were other options available.

Thanks for your review emmabella!

I took this training in September 2008 and I think it was great! Sure, I'm a little green still, but I think your experience greatly depends on who your instructors are. I had Carrie Kenner and Penny Simkin and I thought it was fabulous... I do think I've learned a lot from my experiences as well, but the class served the purpose of what it was supposed to do... be a springboard for us to get launched into doula world!