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We know doulas. As a leader in the doula field for over 25 years, DONA International is your trusted authority for evidence-based information and resources for the doula profession.
From families considering hiring a doula to the thousands of doulas worldwide who support them, so many people want to learn more about doulas. Here on the blog, we provide evidence-based information specifically for professional doulas and the families we serve. Doulas play a unique role in the lives of the families we support and need specialized resources to grow and thrive as professionals. Stay up to date and informed with the organization that put doulas on the map!
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Research Update: ACOG Advises No Longer Laboring Down and Support of Family-Centered Cesareans
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, LCE Introduction Just about two years ago, the DONA Doula Chronicles blog shared about the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) […]
Read More...Series: Doula Me This #6 – I Have No Backup Doula!
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE Today is the sixth post in the occasional series, “Doula Me This!” Each post in the series provides a common scenario that […]
Read More...Book Review: The Heart of the Doula: Essentials for Practice and Life
Amy Gilliland, Ph.D., Adv/BDT(DONA), CSE (AASECT) believes that doulas have the potential to change the world through connection and caring for another person, and this book is one way that […]
Read More...The Duchess and the Doula
By Ann Grauer, AdvCD/BDT(DONA), AdvPCD/PDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, IBCLC Meghan Markle hired a doula for her upcoming birth (and, hopefully, postpartum). We are delighted that she is making DOULA the word […]
Read More...WE’RE LIVE! Introducing DONA International’s New Online Data Collection System
By Sarah Hodin, MPH, CD(DONA), LCCE Introducing DONA International online data collection forms As the largest doula training, certification, and membership organization in the world, DONA International is uniquely positioned […]
Read More...Five Ways Doulas Help Their Laboring Clients Increase Oxytocin – The Love Hormone
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE Doulas know the importance of oxytocin in labor. Oxytocin is often called the “love hormone” but in labor and during feeding, […]
Read More...Parting Gift to Your Clients? Yay or Nay?
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE Many doulas have a practice of gifting their clients something as they end their time together. Others don’t do this at […]
Read More...What Is Natural Birth Anyway?
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE It has become clear to me in the past few years that there has been a shift in the meaning of […]
Read More...The Doula and the Thank You Note
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE I recently read a great article in The New York Times: “You Should Actually Send That Thank You Note You’ve Been Meaning […]
Read More...Five Things You Can Be Doing Now for Business Success in 2019
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE The end of the year and the start of a fresh one is a great time to assess what has worked for […]
Read More...Great News! Preventing Maternal Deaths Act Signed into Law!
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE In the United States, there is some very good news with lots of reasons to celebrate as 2018 comes to a […]
Read More...Seven Things I Learned While Serving as President of DONA International 2018
By Ana Paula Markel, CD/BDT(DONA), ICCE, IAT As the year comes to an end and my term as DONA International President comes to a close, I find myself reflecting, as […]
Read More...Lights, Camera, Action – Doulas Doulaing!
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE Where have I been the past two years? Under a rock? How did I just discover Romper’s The Doula Diaries video series? […]
Read More...There’s an App for That! – Creative Solutions for Running Your Doula Business: Full Term Contraction Timer
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE It is time for another post in the occasional series called “There’s an App for That!” This series allows me to share […]
Read More...The Sweet Relief of Being Off Call
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE I have been a birth doula for 15 years. Like many of you, I jumped right in after training and soon […]
Read More...DONA International Certifies Their 13,000th Doula!
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE There are many reasons that I am proud to be a DONA certified doula. DONA’s history, the vision of the five […]
Read More...Did Your Client Birth Prematurely? Nine Tips to Help You Help Them!
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE November is Prematurity Awareness Month. November 17 will be recognized around the globe as the fourth annual World Prematurity Day. More […]
Read More...There’s an App for That! – Creative Solutions for Running Your Doula Business: MileIQ
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE Today I start a new occasional series called “There’s an App for That!” From time to time, I will share an app […]
Read More...Meet DONA International’s Newest Board Members & an Invitation for YOU!
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE Today is election day in the United States, where citizens go to the polls to vote on local and state level candidates […]
Read More...A Pregnant Belly Makes the Best Halloween Costume!
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE Halloween is observed in the United States and other places around the world today. Now that my children are young adults, we […]
Read More...How a Doula Helps Clients to Receive Respectful Care
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE Research indicates that between one-quarter to one-third of birthing people describe their labor and birth experience as traumatic. Lived experiences or a […]
Read More...Is Attending an Unassisted Birth within DONA International’s Scope of Practice?
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE Last week’s Doula Me This! post asked birth doulas to consider what they would do if a contracted client shared that […]
Read More...Series: Doula Me This #5 – Clients Are Planning an Unassisted Birth
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE Today is the fifth post in the occasional series, “Doula Me This!” Each post in the series provides a common scenario that […]
Read More...Expert Tips for a Smooth Recertification Process
By Uta Mattox, AdvCD(DONA), CD(DONA) Today’s post is the third and final post in a short series focusing on tips from the experts on birth and postpartum certification and recertification. […]
Read More...California Parents Speak Up About Doulas! Results from Listening to Mothers in California Survey
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, LCE 2018 Listening to Mothers in California survey results were released earlier this month and the information shared is immensely interesting. This is the […]
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