What is the minimum age that you reccomend if one would like to be a postpartum doula? How does one apprentice to a postpartum doula and how young can an individual be?

-- Katherine Sepulveda (jims03@hotmail.com), October 29, 2002

Answers

Hi Katherine,

Although I think each woman who desires to be a postpartum doula should train to become one, I would recommend (personally) that a woman desiring to become a PP doula experience childbirth first. I think when you have that intimate knowledge of childbirth and "early- days" parenting, you can really understand what a new mother is going through and aid her appropriately. That isn't to say that women who haven't had children can't be wonderful PP doulas...I just feel that the inside knowledge gives you an edge in your understanding of the postpartum period.

You can contact PP doulas in your area and ask to shadow them with a client. You can talk to new mothers and ask them about their postpartum period, how they felt, what kind of help they needed, etc. Take a workshop with CAPPA or DONA (www.cappa.net & www.dona.org) to become a PP doula...and read, read, read!!

Hope this helps :-)

Cindy Sauerwein Chesapeake Birth Companions www.ChesapeakeBirthCompanions.com

-- CIndy Sauerwein, CD (DONA) (DoulaCindy@ChesapeakeBirthCompanions.com), January 06, 2003.