What is a DTI Doula?
dou·la: (do͞olə/) noun
a nonmedical woman who is trained to assist another woman during childbirth and who may provide support to the family after the baby is born.
DTI believes in the transformative power and impact that doulas have on all women and families around the world.
DTI Doulas exhibit the following:
They are human rights advocates. Our doulas understand the current birth climate and acknowledge birth as a human rights issue. They are critically thinking and up to date on evidence-based research. DTI doulas are informed about reproductive rights and options as a birthing woman. We support you with asking questions and finding out more about what is offered to women and families in order to make informed decisions about birth.
They are supporters of all women, taking part in a tribe where barriers are eliminated and women can be represented regardless of race, class and sexual orientation. DTI is aware of how power and socio-economics operates in limiting choices and access to care for women. For this reason, DTI is committed to raising awareness and taking steps toward lowering disparities in maternal and infant health through our scholarship program for birth workers of color.
They practice and are skilled in our Slow Doula Movement. They have the tools necessary to navigate today’s birth climate and have a deep understanding of what it means to offer unconditional support. DTI modern doulas help shift the culture in a birthing room to meet the needs of her clients and facilitate meaningful conversations with the obstetrician and/or midwives, and nurses.
They are autonomous and support women to be autonomous in making their own informed choices. DTI doulas understand that doulas do not need to save women from birth. DTI is rooted in a woman-centered model of continuous care. After all, we’re modern doulas with roots in the timeless tradition of women supporting women. We trust the professional integrity of our doulas in the same way that we trust birthing women. We believe women’s bodies are designed to do this!
They are birth and postpartum experts. They have an incredible knowledge of the process of pregnancy, birth, labor and the postpartum period. The benefits of doula care are well known and well documented. Doulas have a positive impact on birth outcomes and are no longer a luxury, but a necessity. Doulas are a specially trained healthcare provider, without clinical training, that understand the anatomy and physiology of birth, and the emotional and physical aspects of the postpartum and newborn period.
They are entrepreneurs. As mentors, we support our doulas to dream BIG! We know that becoming a doula also means a business entrepreneur is born! Our doulas have the support from over 12 years of us working as career doulas and owning our doula practices. We feel that when you become a doula, you also become an entrepreneur and we think the possibilities are endless! We have built into our curriculum business and marketing skills with advance trainings during the 9-month period, including mastermind classes and break-out sessions with other DTI doulas.
They are fierce. At DTI, we embrace and own the power of our role as doulas. We support you in having ownership over your own birth process and ownership of your own autonomy as a doula.
They honor sisterhood. We know doulas need doulas to thrive. Issues about competition in our field are addressed during our program. Our doulas create strong and lasting relationships with each other. They love being part of our DTI tribe and honor the power of women supporting women.
They are healers. Today’s modern doula has a wealth of knowledge and experience. We encourage our doulas to practice in an integrative and holistic way if they are certified through other healing modalities such as essential oils, reiki, and massage to name a few.
They are professional and are seen in high regard from other professionals in their community. DTI doulas have a clear understanding of what their scope of practice is and what it is not. Our robust 9-month program addresses our scope of practice in-depth. Our doulas feel very prepared to practice on their own after the completion of our program.
DTI believes that doulas are at the forefront of changing the culture of birth and we’re thrilled to offer a birth and postpartum doula certification program created by doulas for doulas. Our program includes these tenets because we feel passionately about doulas prospering and sustaining themselves on this fulfilling and rewarding path.