Education | Inspiration | Support
COURSE CURRICULUM
What will I actually learn on a doula course?
The BirthBliss Doula Academy course brings birth and postnatal doula training together in one programme.
You will learn about birth physiology, postnatal recovery, infant feeding, communication, trauma awareness and professional practice. Alongside that, we spend time looking at something that is harder to put into a syllabus, how you are with people.
Because knowing what to do matters. Knowing when to listen, when to offer something and when to leave space matters too.
Both our in-person and online courses follow the same core curriculum and lead to the BirthBliss Diploma in Birth and Postnatal Doula Support.
BIRTH + POSTNATAL
One course covering both areas of doula support.
SAME CORE CURRICULUM
Choose to learn in person or online.
DIPLOMA
BirthBliss Diploma in Birth and Postnatal Doula Support on completion.
A course built from experience
BirthBliss was founded by Kicki Hansard who has worked as a doula since 2002 and has been teaching doulas since 2005.
The course has developed through more than two decades of work with families, doulas, maternity professionals and educators. More than 1,500 doulas have now trained with Kicki.
FEDANT accredited
Recognised by The Doula Association of Ireland
Member of the European Doula Network
What you will explore
The course brings birth and postnatal doula training together in one programme, giving you a broad foundation from which to begin supporting families.
01
UNDERSTANDING DOULA SUPPORT
Explore the history and evidence behind doula support, the boundaries of the role and how to work respectfully alongside maternity professionals while recognising what sits within and outside a doula’s responsibilities.
05
INFANT FEEDING
Develop a sound foundation in breast anatomy, lactation and milk production, positioning and attachment, feeding difficulties, breastfeeding and bottle-feeding support while recognising when specialist help may be needed.
02
PREGNANCY, LABOUR AND BIRTH
Develop your understanding of birth physiology and anatomy, hormones, the stages of labour, birth settings, the third stage and the first hours after birth so you can support families with greater knowledge and awareness.
06
COMMUNICATION, RELATIONSHIPS AND TRAUMA AWARENESS
Explore listening, language, difficult conversations and relationships while developing an awareness of how previous experiences may affect someone and how to offer support without fixing, directing or taking over.
03
COMFORT, PAIN AND WHEN BIRTH CHANGES
Explore labour pain, comfort measures, pain-management options, epidural support and caesarean birth while considering how to remain calm and supportive when labour takes an unexpected direction.
07
LOSS AND DIFFICULT EXPERIENCES
Learn how to approach pregnancy loss, stillbirth, neonatal loss and difficult diagnoses with sensitivity while understanding the boundaries of doula support and when specialist care may be needed.
04
POSTNATAL DOULA SUPPORT
Learn about recovery and wellbeing during the early weeks, newborn care and the practical and emotional support a doula can offer to parents, partners and the wider family.
08
BEGINNING YOUR DOULA BUSINESS
Explore self-employment, fees and packages, contracts, insurance, DBS checks, record-keeping, on-call arrangements, back-up support and finding clients so you can begin building a doula practice that works for you.
How the four days are structured
Whether you train in-person or online, you cover the same subjects. This is how they are laid out across the four in-person days, from Monday to Thursday. If you are studying online, you work through the same material in your own time, with Live Zoom Doula Days along the way.
DAY ONE
Understanding birth
We begin with the foundations of doula work and an understanding of what is happening during labour and birth.
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The history of doulas
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Birth completion session
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Birth physiology and anatomy
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The path to birth
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Recognising labour and progress
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Arriving at hospital or the midwife arrives at home
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The third stage of labour
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Immediately after birth
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Communicating with healthcare professionals
DAY TWO
Supporting birth and the postnatal period
Day Two moves further into the practical and emotional aspects of doula support, including pain, caesarean birth and the transition into the postnatal period.
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Understanding pain and contractions
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Pharmaceutical and non pharmaceutical pain management
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Challenging situations and the role of the doula
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Caesarean birth
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Enabling self sufficiency in parents
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The postnatal period and fourth trimester
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Perinatal and postnatal illness
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Listening and communication skills
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Working as a postnatal doula
DAY THREE
Infant feeding
Day Three focuses on infant feeding and gives you a foundation for supporting families through the early days and weeks.
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The role of hormones in lactation
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Breast anatomy and early priming
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The different stages of lactation
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The impact of formula
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Positioning and attachment
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Effective and ineffective attachment
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Barriers to breastfeeding
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Insufficient milk intake and production
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How companies market infant feeding products
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Preparing formula safely
DAY FOUR
Working as a doula
On Day Four we bring the learning into the practical world of beginning to work as a doula.
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Registering as self employed with HMRC
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Doula charges and packages
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On call, backup, shared care and collectives
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Advertising
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Social media and websites
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DBS checks and insurance
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Contracts and record keeping
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Good business practice and working safely
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The interview and antenatal preparation
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FEDANT
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The BirthBliss Doula Academy Certification Programme
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Practical techniques for labour and birth
Can a doula course really prepare me to begin?
It is a fair question.
A doula course cannot teach you everything you will ever encounter. We would be wary of any course that suggested it could.
What good training can do is give you a strong foundation. It can help you understand birth and the postnatal period, recognise the boundaries of your role, practise listening and communication and begin to understand how you respond when things do not go to plan.
It can also help you notice yourself.
Your assumptions, your reactions, the urge to fix something or offer an answer when perhaps what is needed is time, information or someone who is prepared to stay alongside.
That is why BirthBliss training combines knowledge with practical learning, discussion and reflection.
You are not being taught a script for how to be a doula. You are developing the understanding to begin finding your own way of doing this work.
Do I need to know any of this before I begin?
No. You do not need a medical background, maternity qualifications, previous birth experience or children of your own. The course is where that learning begins.
People come to BirthBliss from many different backgrounds. Some are changing direction after years in another career, some have personal experiences of pregnancy or birth that have drawn them towards this work and others are beginning with curiosity and a sense that supporting families may be right for them.
You will bring your own life experience to the course, alongside your questions and the things you have yet to learn. At the beginning, the qualities that matter most are a willingness to listen, reflect, remain curious and develop an honest understanding of the responsibilities and boundaries of the doula role.
Learning what to do is only part of becoming a doula.
Doula work involves knowledge of pregnancy, birth, the postnatal period and the practical ways we can support families. It also asks us to consider how we are with someone when they are experiencing something personal, uncertain or life-changing.
Throughout the course, we return to seven qualities that influence how we support another person: curiosity, openness, mindfulness, presence, awareness, self-reflection and support. Together, these qualities form the BirthBliss Compass.
The Compass gives us a way of noticing what is happening within ourselves as well as what may be happening for the person we are supporting. We explore our assumptions, our reactions and the urge to fix something or offer an answer when what may be needed is time, information or somebody who is prepared to stay alongside.
These qualities are woven through the practical learning, discussions and reflective work. They help you think about how you listen, how you communicate and how you use your knowledge while respecting that each woman and family will have their own needs, experiences and decisions.
The Compass is not a script for how to be a doula. It is something you can return to as you begin finding your own way of doing this work.
From course to diploma
TRAINING
Complete the BirthBliss birth and postnatal doula curriculum.
REFLECTION
Complete the required course and reflective work.
DIPLOMA
Receive the BirthBliss Diploma in Birth and Postnatal Doula Support.
BEGIN WORKING
Start building experience and finding clients when you feel ready.
OPTIONAL CERTIFICATION
Continue into the optional BirthBliss Certification Programme as you gain experience, complete your certification portfolio and reflect on your developing practice.
Also included with your BirthBliss training
Live Zoom Doula Days
Bi-monthly opportunities to continue learning, discuss different aspects of doula work and bring your questions.
Doula the Doula Sessions
Monthly live Zoom sessions exploring subjects connected with birth, postnatal support and doula practice.
30 minute one-to-one session
An individual session with Kicki to discuss your learning, questions or next steps.
BirthBliss community and Portal
Ongoing access to the BirthBliss community, resources and information.
Six months free on The Doula Directory
Create your professional profile and begin making yourself visible to families looking for doula support.
The curriculum is the same. The way you experience it is different.
IN-PERSON
✓ Four days of learning with a small group (max. 8)
✓ Discussion and practical exercises
✓ Hands-on practice with comfort measures
✓ Group reflection and questions as they arise
✓ Printed course manual and notebook
✓ Doula Starter Kit
✓ Access to the online course afterwards
ONLINE
✓ Work through the same curriculum in your own time
✓ 147 lessons using video and written teaching
✓ Practical learning and reflective exercises
✓ Pause and revisit lessons
✓ Lifetime access
✓ Live Zoom Doula Days
✓ BirthBliss community
Here’s what you can expect
Our in-person course runs from Monday to Thursday, 9am to 5pm. The days are full and there is plenty of time for discussion, practical learning, questions and reflection. We want you to understand the knowledge behind doula support while also having opportunities to explore what that support can look and feel like in practice.
There is some learning to complete before the course and a post course module afterwards, giving you time to reflect on what you have learned and bring everything together.
If you have questions before deciding, have a look through our Ultimate Guide to becoming a doula or book a call with me. I’m happy to talk things through with you and help you work out whether BirthBliss feels right for you.
Could you see yourself doing this work?
You do not need to decide everything today.
Have a look at the two ways you can complete your BirthBliss training and choose the one that fits the way you learn and the life you already have.
Still unsure? Join a free taster session