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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Doula

💰 $ - $

HealthcarePerinatal CareDoula

🎯 Role Definition

We are seeking a compassionate, evidence-based Doula to provide continuous emotional, physical, and informational support to families during pregnancy, labor, birth, and the postpartum period. The ideal candidate partners with clients, their partners, and clinical teams to enhance birth satisfaction, facilitate informed decision-making, and support early parent-infant bonding. This role emphasizes trauma-informed care, cultural humility, breastfeeding and newborn care coaching, and strong collaboration with healthcare providers.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Childbirth Educator or Prenatal Workshop Facilitator
  • Community Health Worker or Home Visitor
  • Labor & Delivery Nurse Assistant or Maternity Support Worker

Advancement To:

  • Lead or Senior Doula / Doula Team Lead
  • Doula Trainer or Educator (DONA, CAPPA, ICEA instructor)
  • Perinatal Program Coordinator or Birth Center Staff
  • Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) or Midwifery Pathway

Lateral Moves:

  • Lactation Consultant / Breastfeeding Counselor
  • Community Outreach Coordinator or Public Health Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Provide continuous, evidence-based labor support in hospital, birthing center, and home settings, offering non-medical comfort measures (breathing techniques, position changes, counter-pressure, massage, hydrotherapy guidance, and heat/cold application) tailored to each client's birth plan and preferences.
  • Conduct comprehensive prenatal intake visits to assess medical history, emotional needs, cultural preferences, birth goals, and postpartum expectations; co-create a personalized birth plan and review it with the client and their support person(s).
  • Attend births as the primary bedside support, remaining present for active labor, coaching through contractions, advocating for the client's informed consent, clarifying interventions, and facilitating communication between the client and clinical providers.
  • Offer postpartum home or virtual visits to assess maternal recovery, newborn feeding and weight gain, infant sleep and soothing techniques, and family adjustment; provide tailored education and practical hands-on assistance to build parental confidence.
  • Deliver lactation and breastfeeding support during immediate postpartum and follow-up visits: latch assessment, positioning, troubleshooting common concerns (sore nipples, low milk supply, engorgement), and referral to IBCLCs when necessary.
  • Provide culturally-responsive and trauma-informed emotional support, actively listening to client concerns, validating experiences, and practicing de-escalation and grounding techniques as needed during labor and postpartum.
  • Educate clients and partners about stages of labor, common interventions (induction, augmentation, epidural, cesarean), risks/benefits, and alternatives—empowering informed decision-making without providing medical advice.
  • Facilitate partner support and coaching, teaching effective comfort measures, positioning assistance, and language to advocate for the birthing person during clinical interactions.
  • Screen clients for perinatal mental health risks and social determinants of health; provide crisis support when needed and make timely referrals to mental health providers, social services, or medical teams.
  • Coordinate closely with obstetric providers, midwives, nurses, lactation consultants, and pediatricians to ensure consistent care plans, preserve client preferences, and escalate clinical concerns appropriately.
  • Support clients planning VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) or cesarean births with tailored education, preparation strategies, and advocacy during operative and scheduled birth situations.
  • Maintain accurate and timely client documentation (intake forms, visit notes, birth narratives, postpartum follow-ups) in paper or electronic systems, ensuring confidentiality and compliance with organizational policies.
  • Provide immediate newborn care coaching: safe sleep guidance, bathing basics, umbilical cord care, soothing, and early parent-infant bonding practices (skin-to-skin contact, kangaroo care).
  • Promote evidence-based comfort modalities such as acupressure, TENS, counter-pressure, aromatherapy (where permitted), and movement, adapting techniques to client preference and available setting.
  • Manage on-call scheduling responsibilities to provide dependable coverage for labor support, including timely responses and appropriate handoffs among doula team members.
  • Provide grief-sensitive support and bereavement care for pregnancy loss, stillbirth, or traumatic birth experiences, coordinating with clinical teams and community resources for long-term support.
  • Teach and facilitate prenatal or postpartum group classes (childbirth education, newborn care, breastfeeding basics, sibling preparation) both in-person and online to scale perinatal education.
  • Assist clients with practical postpartum planning: baby care essentials, feeding schedules, family role adjustments, postpartum recovery expectations, and community resource referral lists.
  • Perform client follow-up and outcome tracking, gather testimonials and satisfaction data for quality improvement, and use feedback to refine service delivery and client materials.
  • Maintain a professional doula kit and supplies (sheets, massage tools, birthing balls, heat packs, rebozos) and ensure clean, safe, and accessible materials during home or birth center visits.
  • Participate in team debriefs and case reviews for continuous improvement, share insights on complex births, and contribute to the development of organizational clinical protocols affecting perinatal care.
  • Provide triage guidance in non-urgent situations—helping clients decide when to contact healthcare providers, when to go to the hospital, and when to use home comfort strategies—while always deferring medical concerns to licensed clinicians.
  • Advocate for equitable care and coordinate referrals for clients with barriers to care (transportation, insurance, language), building partnerships with community organizations to address social needs.

Secondary Functions

  • Maintain and update client-facing educational materials, templates for birth plans, postpartum checklists, and breastfeeding handouts to reflect current evidence and organizational branding.
  • Support administrative duties including scheduling, billing support, contract management, consent forms, and intake processing for new clients.
  • Conduct community outreach and relationship-building with maternity clinics, pediatric practices, prenatal classes, and community partners to grow referral networks.
  • Participate in marketing efforts: social media content creation, blog posts, testimonials collection, and local event attendance to raise awareness about doula services.
  • Track continuing education credits, attend advanced workshops (VBAC, perinatal mood disorders, neonatal resuscitation basics), and maintain certification renewals.
  • Assist with program development for group prenatal care, postpartum circles, and parent support groups, including content planning and facilitation.
  • Collaborate with researchers or program evaluators on perinatal outcomes projects, data collection for quality metrics, and grant-funded community initiatives.
  • Provide mentorship for trainee doulas and support supervision sessions for junior team members, including feedback on birth narratives and client communication.
  • Ensure compliance with privacy policies, informed consent procedures, and organizational risk management protocols related to perinatal service delivery.
  • Support emergency preparedness for home visits and transport coordination when clinical escalation is required, maintaining awareness of local emergency resources.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Certified doula training through recognized organizations (DONA International, CAPPA, ICEA) or equivalent perinatal education.
  • Hands-on mastery of labor comfort techniques: massage, counter-pressure, position coaching, hydrotherapy facilitation, and use of birthing equipment (balls, rebozo, stools).
  • Breastfeeding and lactation support skills: latch assessment, hand expression, basic troubleshooting, and ability to refer to IBCLC when indicated.
  • Knowledge of perinatal physiology, common obstetric interventions, and newborn basics to provide evidence-based information while deferring clinical decisions to licensed providers.
  • Perinatal mental health screening competency (e.g., Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale) and familiarity with referral pathways for mood disorders.
  • Basic newborn care training including safe sleep, cord care, bathing, and early neonatal feeding support.
  • CPR, Neonatal Resuscitation Programme basics or equivalent infant CPR certification; up-to-date First Aid certification.
  • Client documentation and electronic health record basics: intake forms, progress notes, and confidentiality best practices.
  • Ability to facilitate group classes and prenatal/postpartum workshops using adult-learning principles and virtual platforms (Zoom, Google Meet).
  • Familiarity with community resources and referral systems: WIC, home visiting programs, lactation clinics, mental health providers, social services.

Soft Skills

  • Empathetic, nonjudgmental presence with strong active listening and motivational interviewing techniques.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills for client education, birth planning, and professional collaboration with healthcare teams.
  • High emotional resilience, adaptability, and the ability to remain calm under pressure during long labors and unexpected situations.
  • Cultural humility and linguistic sensitivity; ability to work effectively with diverse families and respect varied birth traditions and beliefs.
  • Strong advocacy skills balanced with diplomacy—able to represent client preferences while collaborating constructively with clinical staff.
  • Superior time management and organizational skills for on-call shifts, multi-client scheduling, and timely documentation.
  • Confidentiality and professional boundaries management with sensitivity to privacy and trauma.
  • Problem-solving mindset to adapt comfort strategies to each labor’s progression and environment constraints.
  • Coaching and teaching aptitude to empower partners and family members to participate in labor and infant care.
  • Teamwork orientation with a willingness to mentor junior doulas and coordinate care across interdisciplinary teams.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or equivalent; completion of an accredited doula training program.

Preferred Education:

  • Certification from DONA International, CAPPA, ICEA, or equivalent; current CPR/First Aid certification.
  • Additional training or coursework in lactation education, perinatal mental health, or newborn care.
  • Associate degree or higher in Nursing, Midwifery, Social Work, Public Health, Human Development, or related field is a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Nursing or Midwifery
  • Social Work or Counseling
  • Public Health or Community Health
  • Human Development, Psychology, or Education
  • Lactation Education

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • Entry-level: 0–1 year (recently certified doulas with supervised births)
  • Standard: 1–5 years (mid-level doulas with multiple birth and postpartum clients)
  • Senior: 5+ years (lead doulas, trainers, or doulas with specialty populations)

Preferred:

  • 2+ years of doula practice with documented attendance at 10–50+ births (combination of volunteer, trainee, and paid support accepted).
  • Experience supporting a range of birth scenarios including spontaneous vaginal births, inductions, epidurals, VBACs, and scheduled or unexpected cesareans.
  • Demonstrated postpartum support experience, breastfeeding assistance, and community resource navigation.
  • Prior work in interdisciplinary teams (hospitals, birth centers, home-visiting programs) and experience with culturally diverse client populations.
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