Education | Inspiration | Support
ONLINE
Self-paced Birth & Postnatal Doula Course
BIRTH AND POSTNATAL DOULA TRAINING YOU CAN COMPLETE FROM HOME.
Learn at your own pace with the same core BirthBliss curriculum as our in-person training, with lifetime access, live support from me and the flexibility to fit your learning around work, family and everyday life.
Complete the training and reflective work to receive the BirthBliss Diploma in Birth and Postnatal Doula Support.
£648 IN FULL | OR 6 MONTHLY PAYMENTS OF £108
Lifetime
course access
Live support
from Kicki
Birth and postnatal training
BirthBliss Diploma on completion
Learn in a way that fits
around your life
Online learning gives you the space to study when and where it suits you. You can pause, reflect and return to the material as your understanding grows, rather than having to take everything in over four consecutive days.
You might study for an hour on a quiet evening, complete a lesson while your baby sleeps or take a break when life becomes busy. There is no fixed pace to keep up with and no need to take everything in at once.
You are not learning alone either. Alongside the self- paced course, there are opportunities to join live BirthBliss sessions on Zoom, ask questions and connect with other doulas within the BirthBliss community.
Work, family or caring commitments
Fit your training around your life rather than having to set aside four consecutive days.
Learn at your own pace
Take time to stop, think, make notes and revisit subjects before moving on.
Cannot easily travel
Complete your BirthBliss training wherever you live, in the UK or overseas.
Same core curriculum, greater flexibility
The online and in-person courses follow the same core BirthBliss curriculum and lead to the same Diploma. What changes is how you choose to learn.
What is included
8 learning
modules
A comprehensive programme covering birth, postnatal support, communication, infant feeding, loss, professional practice and starting your doula business.
Lifetime access
Your learning does not disappear when you finish. Return to the course material whenever you want to revisit a subject or refresh your knowledge.
Live Zoom Doula Days
Join live sessions where you can ask questions, explore aspects of doula work and learn alongside other BirthBliss students.
BirthBliss community
Online training does not mean learning on your own. You become part of the wider BirthBliss community, with opportunities for connection, continued learning and support.
The Doula Directory
All BirthBliss graduates receive six months free membership of The Doula Directory, giving you somewhere to begin building your professional presence and helping families find you.
The option to upgrade
If you begin online and later decide you would like to attend the in-person course, you can upgrade by paying the difference in course fees.
£648 or six monthly payments of £108, with no additional charge for paying in instalments.
Online does not mean learning alone
Choosing a self-paced course may give you the flexibility you need, although you may still be wondering who you will turn to when a lesson brings up a question or something needs talking through.
You will work through the course material in your own time, while remaining connected to me and the wider BirthBliss community. Our live Zoom Doula Days give you somewhere to ask questions, explore different aspects of doula work and learn alongside other people who are also beginning their training. Quite often, a question asked by one student opens up a valuable conversation for everybody.
You will also have opportunities to connect with doulas at different stages of their work, hear how others have approached real situations and continue learning through the experiences shared within the community. Some parts of the course may benefit from quiet reflection, while others make more sense when they are discussed. The online course gives you space for both.
How the course works
The course is self-paced, which means you can begin when you are ready and work through the training in a way that fits around your life. There is no fixed deadline and you will have lifetime access to the course material.
1. Begin your course
Once you have enrolled, you can begin exploring the BirthBliss approach and familiarising yourself with the course before moving through the main training.
2. Work through the learning modules
The course contains eight modules and 147 lessons covering birth and postnatal doula support, communication, infant feeding, loss, professional practice and starting your doula business.
3. Pause, practise and reflect
You can stop after a lesson, make notes, try the practical exercises and give yourself time to think about what you have learned before moving on. You can also return to earlier lessons whenever your understanding develops or you want to revisit a subject.
4. Join the live Doula Days
Come along to the live Zoom Doula Days to ask questions, explore the work more deeply and learn alongside other BirthBliss students. You do not need to wait until you have finished the course to take part.
5. Complete your reflective work
The reflective modules help you consider how the learning relates to your own experiences, values and developing understanding of the doula role.
6. 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. You can then begin working with families if you feel ready, with continued community support and the option of Certification as you gain experience.
Can online doula training really prepare me?
It is understandable to wonder whether an online course can prepare you for work that is so practical, relational and centred around being with people.
Doula work is not based on memorising information or performing a fixed set of techniques. It asks you to understand your role, listen closely, communicate clearly and respond to each family without taking over their experience. The online course gives you a thorough foundation in these areas, with time to pause and consider how you might apply the learning in real situations.
Practical subjects are taught through video demonstrations, guided exercises and opportunities to practise in your own space. You will explore massage, movement and positioning for labour, alongside early infant-feeding support, including ways of helping a parent consider positioning and attachment while recognising when more specialist support may be needed. Being able to pause a demonstration, try something and return to it can be especially helpful when learning at home.
Online training cannot reproduce the exact experience of practising with a small group in the same room. It does give you the freedom to revisit practical teaching as often as you need and bring the questions that arise to the live Doula Days.
The course is designed to prepare you to begin. Confidence will continue to develop through reflection, support and experience with families, as it does for every newly trained doula. The BirthBliss community and optional Certification Programme are there if you would like continued support as you put your learning into practice.
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.
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.
Learn with Kicki Hansard
Kicki Hansard has been a doula since 2002 and has been teaching doulas since 2005. She founded The BirthBliss Doula Academy in 2012 and has personally trained more than 1,500 doulas.
She is the author of two books on birth and postnatal support and was named Doula of the Year in 2009.
Her teaching has developed through more than two decades of supporting families, educating doulas and continuing to learn from birth workers, researchers and educators in the UK and internationally.
BirthBliss was created to offer a high standard of doula education while protecting something that can easily become lost when we concentrate only on knowledge and techniques, the quality of the relationship between a doula and the person they are supporting.
The online course makes that training available to people who cannot attend an in-person course or who learn better when they have more time to absorb, revisit and reflect on what they are learning.
What happens after the course?
Completing your course is the beginning of your doula work rather than the end of your learning.
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 our online students say
Kelly Woolhouse
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.
Rowan Stead
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.
Maryam Ghauri
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!
Is This Course Right for You?
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.
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.
You’ll also need:
-
A stable internet connection
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The ability to manage your own time and learning at your own pace
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A quiet space where you can focus, especially during the more reflective or emotional topics
If you’re unsure whether this course is right for you, feel free to get in touch. We’re happy to help.
Questions you may have
Ready to begin?
The complete online BirthBliss course is £648. You can pay in full or spread the cost across six monthly payments of £108, with no additional charge for paying in instalments.
Your course fee includes the complete training programme, lifetime access to your course material, live learning opportunities, the BirthBliss community, your Diploma when you complete the course requirements and six months’ free membership of The Doula Directory.
Still researching your options?
Read our Complete Guide to Becoming a Doula in the UK for a clear explanation of training, qualifications, certification, costs and starting your doula business.