Our Doula Certification Training. 1

Doula Certification Program

An education centered around traditional medicine practices and ancestral wisdom.

Original Instructions School is proud to now be offering our comprehensive and well rounded Doula Certification Program which offers certification for Birth and Postpartum Doulas!

Our impeccably thorough Doula Certification program is designed with a commitment to equipping our students with an expansive knowledge of both the biological and medical process of birth as well as with an active connection to the wisdom of grandmothers past regarding women's reproductive health.

Our Original Instructions Doula certification program involves both in-person workshop-style learning as well as long-distance projects and mentorship. In addition to completing all in person and long distance classroom hours, students receiving one of our OIS Doula certifications must be signed off on their required reading and hands-on skills by our instructors.

Why is Herbalism training an integral part of our Original Instructions Doula Certification program?

Original Instructions educator Brittany Jade Gelinas along with other guest instructors will train and inform attendees how to support and advocate for mothers and their families during

-Pregnancy

- Birth

- Postpartum period

- Lactation

Students receiving their Original Instructions Doula Certification are also taught to

- Practice herbal medicine and make medicinal spritzers, balms, baths, remedies and more

- Process placentas (including encapsulation)

- Address and care for a history of sexual trauma with clients

- Support women experiencing a miscarriage or stillbirth

- Advocate for the reproductive rights of clients

- Provide lactation support and resources

We offer our Doula certification program in two modules:

Module 1:

Doula Certification for Pregnancy, Labor, Birth, and Delivery

Module 2:

Doula Certification for the Postpartum Period and Lactation

Why two modules? We understand that modern-day Doulas are currently stepping up to fill a role that was (and still is in parts of the world) previously occupied by grandmothers, aunties and a tightly woven community of neighbors. In modern westernized cultures the threads that make up the tapestry of our community can be woven so far apart that mothers are often left feeling isolated and overwhelmed. The job one modern-day Doula was originally created by many community members working together and therefore the training of a Doula must be extensive and not separate from developing a sufficient skill set for working with the postpartum period and lactation.

Because we believe in the power of education we did not want to limit the number of training hours our students receive and at the same time, we aim to keep our 2-day long certification workshops accessible to people who may have other time commitments.

Our two module design also gives our students the freedom to choose if they would like to expand their fields of certification to the postpartum period and lactation by attending module 2 or if they prefer to focus on their certification as a birth Doula from the completion of module 1.

These two modules are designed to be attended as part one and two of our incredibly comprehensive Doula Certification. However, if you have extensive previous experience working with pregnancy and birth or the postpartum period and lactation and wish to attend only module 1 or module 2 that can be arranged upon confirmation of your work background relevant to the field of practice.