Extension and Doula Education

About SMS
Midwifery Education Program
 Extension and Doula Education
California Challenge Process
Library and Information Services
News and Events
Marketplace
Research/Advocacy
Job Announcements
 Search
Contact Us

Labor Support Course for Birth DoulasClick Here to Register


Background
Course Description
Course Texts
Instructors

Background

Seattle Midwifery School provides one of the highest quality doula training courses in the country.  Internationally renowned author and childbirth educator Penny Simkin created and taught our Labor Support Course beginning in 1988.  Since then, more than 3,000 women and men have come to SMS to discover the doula in themselves under the nurturing guidance of our instructors.

Our early graduates founded the Pacific Association for Labor Support (PALS), a professional organization providing peer support, continuing education, doula certification, and referrals. Following PALS’ success, doulas around the country joined together to found Doulas of North America (now DONA International). SMS was one of the first organizations to be granted DONA institutional approval for our curriculum and faculty.

SMS’s Labor Support Course is approved as one step toward PALS or DONA certification.  Students who are interested in becoming a certified doula through PALS or DONA must fulfill additional experiential requirements, including attending and receiving evaluations for at least three births after completing the Labor Support Course.  For more information on doula certification, contact PALS (206-325-1419) or DONA (888-788-3662).  Visit PALS to learn about Pathway to Births, a birth doula apprenticeship program. 

TOP

Course Description

The Labor Support Course is a 4-day course.  The curriculum includes:

  • anatomy and physiology of pregnancy, fetal development, labor, postpartum, and breastfeeding
  • components of prenatal care and the midwifery model of care
  • emotions of pregnancy
  • pain management techniques
  • medical procedures used in labor
  • labor variations and complications, including Cesarean birth
  • communication and listening skills
  • the emotional and psychological aspects of giving birth and its significance in women’s lives
  • the doula’s role, professional ethics, standards of practice, and certification
  • emotional support and physical comfort measures
  • support for difficult labors, Cesarean birth, and vaginal birth after Cesarean
  • newborn care and breastfeeding support
  • values clarification and cultural sensitivity

Two DONA-certified doula trainers lead each Labor Support Course.  Guest lecturers are invited to speak on their areas of expertise.  Pregnant women and midwives join each class to demonstrate a prenatal visit, and the mothers-to-be participate in a discussion of the emotional aspects of pregnancy.  The course provides ample time for hands-on practice of labor support techniques.

This course is very popular; register early to ensure your space.

NOTE: Completion of SMS’s Labor Support Course, or another DONA-approved labor support course, is a prerequisite for SMS’s Midwifery Education Program.

TOP

"Because of our doula, both my husband and I felt we participated more fully in the natural non-medicated birth of our second baby.  Our doula made it possible through her knowledgeable support of us prior to labor and during the labor and birth.  She listened to what we envisioned for the birth and helped keep us on track."
Lynn van Deventer, doula client

"Your wisdom about such a powerful part of life will be with me forever.  I feel a great responsibility to my community to share this!  I have been working in Infant Mortality Prevention since 1998.  I feel now I may actually have a piece of the puzzle that has been missing in the life of African American women for at least three generations, especially here in the northwest.  I will never forget these four days."
Katie Mitchell, course participant, 2003


Patti Ramos Photography

Required Texts

Click here for information on where to obtain texts.

Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn (4th edition, 2001) by Penny Simkin, Janet Whalley, and Ann Keppler (must be read prior to class)

The Birth Partner, Third Edition: A Complete Guide to Childbirth for Dads, Doulas, and All Other Labor Companions (3rd edition, 2008) by Penny Simkin

The Doula Book: How a Trained Labor Companion Can Help You Have a Shorter, Easier, and Healthier Birth (2002) by Marshall Klaus, Phyllis Klaus, and John Kennell

The following required text is included in the course manual you will receive at the start of class:

Beyond the Birth: What No One Ever Talks About (3rd edition, 1999) by Dawn Gruen & Rex Gentry

Recommended Texts

The Labor Progress Handbook: Early Interventions to Prevent and Treat Dystocia (2nd edition, 2005) by Penny Simkin, Ruth S. Ancheta and Suzy Myers

TOP

 

Instructors

Penny Simkin, PT, CCE, CD (DONA), is the creator of the Labor Support Course.  She is the founder of DONA, a birth doula, doula trainer, internationally known author, speaker, and childbirth educator.

Sharon Muza, CD, CCE, is a birth doula, doula trainer and childbirth educator.

Carrie Kenner, CD (DONA) is a birth doula, DONA-approved birth doula trainer and childbirth, lactation, postpartum, and parenting educator.

Sandy Szalay, ARNP, CCE, CD (DONA), is a birth doula, birth and postpartum doula trainer, childbirth educator, and nurse practitioner.

sms logos

TOP

Class Schedule and Fees >>
Registration Policies >>
Registration Form (PDF)>>