Education | Inspiration | Support
ONLINE · SELF-PACED
Online Birth & Postnatal Doula Course
Prepare to support women and families through pregnancy, birth and the early weeks of parenthood with teaching from Kicki Hansard, a doula since 2002 and doula educator since 2005.
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Learn about birth, practical support, infant feeding, communication and starting your doula business. Study in your own time with lifetime access, live Zoom Doula Days and the BirthBliss community alongside you.
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Complete the course requirements and reflective work to receive your BirthBliss Diploma in Birth and Postnatal Doula Support.
£648 in full or six monthly payments of £108. Total payable: £648.
No previous maternity-care experience is needed. You can begin learning after enrolment with either payment option.
Experienced teaching
Doula since 2002
Teaching doulas since 2005
Recognised training
FEDANT accredited
Recognised by The Doula Association of Ireland
Flexible learning
Lifetime access
No completion deadline
Continued support
Live Zoom Doula Days · BirthBliss community
FLEXIBLE LEARNING
Doula training that fits around your life
You may be considering a change of work, returning after having children or exploring something that has interested you for years.
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The online course lets you begin without travelling or arranging four consecutive days away. Work through the video teaching, written materials, practical exercises and reflection at a pace you can manage.
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You can pause, revisit a subject and return to the teaching as your experience grows. The course follows the same core curriculum as our in-person training and leads to the same BirthBliss Diploma.
YOUR COURSE
What is included
Everything you need to begin, with people beside you while you do.
8 MODULES · 149 LESSONS
The full doula training
Birth, postnatal support, communication, infant feeding, loss, professional practice and starting your doula business.
YOURS TO KEEP
Lifetime access
The course stays with you. Come back to any lesson whenever you want to refresh a subject or see it with fresh eyes.
LIVE ON ZOOM
Doula Days with me
​Join scheduled live Zoom Doula Days with Kicki to ask questions and discuss your learning. You can attend while completing the course.
ONGOING
BirthBliss community
Stay connected with BirthBliss doulas to share questions, experiences and learning as you begin working with families.
SIX MONTHS FREE
The Doula Directory
Your own listing when you graduate, so families looking for a doula can find you from the start.
ADD IN-PERSON LEARNING
The option to upgrade
If you would like to train in-person later, you can add an in-person course by paying the difference. You keep your online access too, so you have both.
£648 or six monthly payments of £108, with no additional charge for paying in instalments.
The online course leads to the same BirthBliss Diploma as our in-person training.
It is FEDANT accredited and recognised by The Doula Association of Ireland.
What our online graduates say
I can’t recommend this online course highly enough! After spending a long time researching different training providers, I chose BirthBliss because their ethos and values seemed a perfect fit for me and it turned out to be the best decision. The course offers an incredible depth of content, all delivered in a clear, accessible way. Now that I’ve completed the training, I feel confident and well equipped to build my doula business. The ongoing support from Kicki and the wider BirthBliss doula community is amazing, it’s so reassuring to know I’m part of such a supportive network.
Kelly Woolhouse
​The Online training course is a brilliant foundation for doula students. I found the content very informative and in-depth. The course itself was very well designed and allowed me to digest the information in my own time. I love that I am able to revisit the course content to refresh myself. The course gave me lots of inspiration for further learning and fuelled my passion to help families.
Rowan Stead
Thank you Kicki and BirthBliss! The online course was so full of valuable information and I keep going back to the Modules for reference. I especially appreciate the constant reminders from Kicki that I am already capable and knowledgeable and should focus on being myself and staying genuine! I am very much enjoying every step of setting up my business and know that I will have all the support and guidance I need from Kicki and BirthBliss! Thank you!
Maryam Ghauri
Support while you learn
Questions often arise when you begin thinking about how the teaching applies to real families.
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Our scheduled live Zoom Doula Days give you time to bring those questions, discuss different situations and learn with others. You can join while working through the course.
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You will also have access to the BirthBliss community, where you can connect with doulas at different stages of their work.
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Doula Days take place once a month on Zoom and the dates are in the course calendar. They aren't recorded, so you'll need to join live.
STEP BY STEP
From enrolment to your Diploma
Begin when you are ready and work through it in a way that fits around your life. There is no deadline and the course is yours for life.
01
Enrol and begin learning
Choose payment in full or six monthly instalments. You can begin learning after enrolment with either option.
02
Work through the course
Complete eight modules containing video teaching, written materials, practical exercises and reflective learning. Join live Zoom Doula Days along the way and return to lessons whenever you need.
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Complete your requirements
Receive your BirthBliss Diploma in Birth and Postnatal Doula Support once you have completed the course requirements, reflective work and payment of the full course fee.
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Your reflective work is made up of a pre-course module, a post-course module and a short assessment. You send these to me and I review them myself before your Diploma is issued.
THE CURRICULUM
What you will learn
Doula training is about much more than learning what happens during labour.​ You are learning how to be alongside a woman and her family during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period without taking over their experience or making decisions for them.
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Throughout the course, you will explore practical doula support alongside communication, listening, boundaries, reflection and the relationships that sit at the heart of this work.​The course covers both birth and postnatal doula support, giving you a broad foundation from which to begin working with families.​
01
Understanding Doula Support
Explore the role of the doula, professional boundaries and the principles of emotional, practical and informational support.
02
The Birth Journey
Develop your understanding of labour and birth, the physiology of birth and the doula's role throughout the birth journey.
03
Comfort, Pain and Support During Labour
Explore practical comfort measures, movement and positioning alongside ways of remaining supportive when birth takes an unexpected direction.
04
Postnatal Support
Learn about recovery after birth, emotional wellbeing, practical support and the transition into parenthood.
05
Infant Feeding
Develop a sound foundation in infant feeding, early feeding support and understanding when additional or specialist support may be needed.
06
Communication
Explore listening, language, difficult conversations, working with partners and professionals and communicating in ways that respect another person's choices.
07
Supporting Families Through Loss
Approach pregnancy loss, stillbirth and the death of a baby with sensitivity while understanding the doula's role, appropriate boundaries and the importance of specialist support.
08
Starting Your Doula Business
Explore consultations, finding clients, agreements, fees, boundaries and the practical foundations of beginning your work as a doula.
Learning practical doula skills online
Video demonstrations and guided exercises help you explore comfort measures, massage, movement, positioning and early infant-feeding support.
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Pause the teaching, practise and revisit it as needed. Bring questions to the live Doula Days and discuss how you might respond to different situations.
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If you later want to join an in-person course, you can upgrade by paying the difference between the course fees and keep your online access.
YOUR TEACHER
Learn with Kicki Hansard
I’ve been a doula since 2002 and started teaching doulas in 2005. I founded The BirthBliss Doula Academy in 2012 and have trained more than 1,500 doulas since then.
I’ve written two books on birth and postnatal support and was named Doula of the Year in 2009. I’m still learning, from the families I’ve supported and from birth workers, researchers and educators here and abroad.
I started BirthBliss because I could see how easily something gets lost when training focuses only on knowledge and techniques. The relationship between a doula and the person she supports is what families remember, so it sits at the centre of everything I teach.
When people train with me, I’m not looking for perfect answers. I’m interested in how you listen, what you notice and what you bring of yourself. You are welcome to get things wrong here. That’s how most of us learn.
I made the online course for people who can’t come to an in-person course, or who simply learn better with time to absorb, revisit and reflect.
What happens after the course?
Completing your course is the beginning of your doula work rather than the end of your learning.
The question most newly trained doulas carry is whether anyone will actually book them. You won’t be finding that out on your own.
The business module covers consultations, fees and finding clients. Your Doula Directory listing helps families find you from the start. When your first enquiry arrives, the community is there to talk it through.
Receive your Diploma
Once you have completed the course requirements and reflective work, you will receive the BirthBliss Diploma in Birth and Postnatal Doula Support.
Begin working as a doula
Start putting your learning into practice, finding clients and building experience with families.
Six months on The Doula Directory
All BirthBliss graduates receive six months free membership of The Doula Directory, helping you begin creating a professional presence and making it easier for families to find you.
Choose Certification if you want it
If you would like structured support as you begin working with families, you can continue through the optional BirthBliss Certification Programme.
What you need to take part
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This online course is best completed on a computer or laptop, rather than a phone or tablet. You’ll need to be comfortable using basic computer functions, like logging in, navigating websites, playing videos, downloading PDFs and typing up your reflections.
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The course is delivered in English, both written and spoken, so you’ll need to be able to read and understand English to fully take part.
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If you’re unsure whether this course is right for you, feel free to get in touch. We’re happy to help.​​
You’ll also need
✓ A stable internet connection
✓ The ability to manage your own time and learning at your own pace
✓ A quiet space where you can focus, especially during the more reflective or emotional topics
Questions you may have
Begin your BirthBliss doula training
Learn with Kicki Hansard and develop your understanding of birth and postnatal support, communication and beginning your doula business.
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Your course includes eight modules, lifetime access, live Zoom Doula Days, the BirthBliss community and six months’ free membership of The Doula Directory when you graduate.
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Receive your BirthBliss Diploma in Birth and Postnatal Doula Support after completing the course requirements, reflective work and payment of the full fee.
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£648 in full or six monthly payments of £108. Total payable: £648.
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Next, you'll create your account and choose how to pay.