NOVEMBER: 9, 10, 16, 17, 23 and 24 November, online, 6pm to 8.30pm. Facilitator: Mars Lord. Book November
DECEMBER: 8, 9, 10, 11, in person, North London, 10am to 4pm. Facilitator: Nikita Akilapa. Book December
MARCH 2027: 16, 17, 18, 19, in person, East London, 10am to 4pm. Facilitator Thando Zwane. Book March
£1,600. Pay in full, or spread it over 5 payments
A doula preparation course is just what it says… a course that prepares you to become a doula.
Once you have completed the Abuela Doula Preparation course, you will be able to begin to work as a doula. However, this is just the beginning as we emphasise the importance of extended study after the course. This can be undertaken in your own time, but in order to be the best doula that you can be, we recommend that each year you do some form of additional training/study. These can be workshops, full courses, webinars, whatever you choose to do.
Most doula courses add a module on inclusion. Here, justice is the framework every session runs through.
Black and Brown birthing people in the UK are still dying at rates white birthing people are not. That is why this training exists. You’ll learn to walk into a birth room knowing that, and knowing what to do about it.
We believe that inclusion transcends a short module in a course and is integral to all aspects of our training and your lives.
You will receive a pre course module to begin, and hopefully complete, before we meet together. You will also receive a reading list, which includes a few podcasts to listen to and videos to watch.
You will be expected to complete a post course project before your final assessment date.
What a doula does, what a doula doesn't do. Where the boundaries sit: consent, safeguarding, documentation.
How birth works and how to support it, drawing on traditions from across cultures without leaning into narrow stereotypes.
Informed choice, calm escalation, and knowing what Black and Brown and marginalised families are up against.
What families actually need after birth, how to nurture and nourish them. Knowing when to signpost.
How to hold grief, and how to look after yourself when you carry other people's.
A business masterclass and regular business hours with our marketing and business specialist. Mentoring both group and 1:1
Your certificate as an official Abuela Doula! (Everyone loves a certificate)
Lifetime listing on our Abuela Doulas Directory. So that families can find you
Ready-to-use client tools:comfort menu, advocacy scripts, postnatal plan, debrief frame and client pathway and DoulaOne: The calm workspace for a birth practice. Clients, appointments, care notes and payments, together from the first hello to postpartum.
A solid understanding of inclusive and loving doula care. The skills needed to support birthing people and families during labour and birth, and how to support the postpartum period.
WhatsApp group with your facilitators, and lifetime access to the Abuela Doula community.
Tote Bag. A beautiful teal-green Abuela Doulas tote bag, that you can use to carry your course materials.
A beautiful Abuela Doula Notebook. To make notes on your thoughts, reflections and aha moments throughout the course.
A Workbook. To collate all of your learning.
Promotional Templates. With A series of fully customisable templates to promote your business.
WhatsApp Support. Two weeks in a WhatsApp group with your course facilitators to help get you started.
The Abuela Doulas birth course will equip you with the tools you need to provide compassionate, effective, and inclusive support to birthing people and their families during one of the most transformative and vulnerable times in their lives.
"Mars is 100% dedicated to the vision of seeing the next generation of birthworkers of colour rise. She has been such an inspiration and champion of my practice and learning. Doula-ing the doula. I’ve been completely held, heard and supported to find my own way through - with lashings of practical tips and wise perspective from years of rich experience. I’ve come away from each session more fortified in my mission with actionable next steps, clarity and confidence.”
"I signed up because I could see that Mars genuinely wanted to see doulas rise together collectively, that it wasn't about your ego but about helping us to the be the best that we could be so that we could support ALL families in their journey to parenthood."
"One thing I loved about the course was the depth of cultural knowledge, learning about our own historic and current day, cultural traditions, as well as those of other cultures. The course also looked at the race divide within the health sector and challenged us as new doulas to look at some of the ways we could close that gap. For me is also filtered through into other areas, such as disability, sexuality, and gender identity allowing me to see where I could improve my own practices in these areas, to be more aware, more knowledgeable and more accessible."
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.
