Postnatal was never the afterthought I can’t point to the moment it happened, but somewhere along the way we ‘forgot’ about the postnatal period. Not the immediate first days, but those early weeks that support a parent to lean into their instincts or to simply allow themselves to be, rest and recover. If you’re thinking...
Same Syllabus, Different Doula Training Two courses can have almost the same syllabus. Physiology of birth. Postnatal support. Infant feeding. Loss. Business. On paper they look identical. In the room they are nothing alike. Let me tell you why it makes a difference for anti-racist doula training The difference is the framework: the lens every...
Do I need to be a birth doula before I train as a postnatal doula? No, you don’t. You don’t need to have supported a single birth. You need to want to walk with families through those early weeks after birth, and you need the right training to do it well. Postnatal doulaing is...
Doula training isn’t neutral: Here’s what it means for Black women in the UK If you are a Black woman in the UK looking for doula training, you are not just choosing a course. You are choosing whether the room you learn in will hold you or use you. That sounds dramatic. It isn’t. The...
What Doula UK Approval Doesn’t Tell You Abuela Doulas is not a Doula UK approved course and I get asked about that more than almost anything else. It feels easier to answer it here than simply in an FAQ What approval actually measures A Doula UK approved course follows the Doula UK Core Curriculum. It’s...
The 2015 government pledge to halve maternal and neonatal deaths by 2030 is unmet. There have been reports before this one, with essential actions before these ones, and the racialised mortality gap has not closed. We are not saying nothing changes. We are saying it has not changed enough, and this report does not explain...
The language has changed. The awareness has increased. The figures have not moved in proportion. Knowing the problem exists is not the same as fixing it. Saying the right words at conferences is not the same as changing what happens in the birth room, in the postnatal ward, in the moment when a Black woman...
The intersectionality embedded in the curriculum: disability, sexuality, gender identity, body size is not a separate module. It is present throughout. Because inclusive practice is not a topic. It is a way of working.
When people ask whether doula training is worth the cost, they are usually asking something more specific: will I get clients? Will I be able to build a practice? Will this change anything?
The Abuela Doulas newsletter.
What’s happening in birth, what the reports aren’t saying loudly enough, and when the next cohorts open.
Abuela Doulas recognises that as well as doing the work, they need to support the work of others. With that in mind, here are some links to support not only us, but other organisations that we are involved in.
