Certificate in Doula Studies Fanshawe College - London Campus, Canada

This program emphasizes the dynamic role of the Doula within communities to prepare graduates for a rewarding career collaborating with health care teams to honour and advocate for expectant families throughout the full spectrum of their reproductive journey. The curriculum captures the specialized evidence-informed knowledge, skills, and experience relating to anatomy, physiology, and the emotional, physical, and cultural aspects of pregnancy and birth required by Doulas to provide families with information and support during pregnancy, childbirth, newborn care, and including loss. In addition, students are introduced to business management/entrepreneurship concepts and strategies, including business ethics, contracts, marketing and sales techniques, and personal financial management.

Learning Outcomes

• Assist with the delivery of family-centred maternity care in collaboration with members of the health care team.
• Examine the historical, political, and cultural aspects of the provision of maternity care both locally and globally and identify how they shape the experiences of contemporary mothering to meet the needs of clients.
• Apply knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of a woman during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum to address the concerns and needs of clients.
•  Provide evidence-informed physical, emotional, physiological, and psychosexual support to enhance the comfort, health, and well-being of individuals and families as they negotiate the various transitions associated with pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.
• Provide families with community and online resources related to the childbearing years to empower clients to make evidence-informed choices regarding pregnancy and birth options and newborn care, including infant and newborn nutrition.
• Describe diagnostic testing procedures and medical interventions routinely used during pregnancy, labour, birth, and the postpartum period, and recognize the normal ranges and parameters for those test results.
• Identify early signs of maternal physical and mental health concerns, and refer clients to appropriate community resources in a timely manner.
• Foster professional relationships with clients, family members, caregivers, and other doulas.
• Establish and maintain a professional doula business in accordance with professional, legal, and ethical guidelines.
• Identify and support clients’ needs based on the theories of diverse social determinants of health, cultural humility, and intersectionality and the principle of harm reduction.