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Birth DoulaDiploma Course

Support and empower expectant mothers during one of life’s most transformative experiences.
This Birth Doula Course offers a holistic introduction to the compassionate, non-clinical role of a birth doula—helping you build the confidence, emotional awareness, and practical knowledge to support birthing individuals and their families throughout pregnancy, labour, and the early postnatal period.

Course overview:

Certified

Accredited

10 Modules

Study Group Access

Earn reward points

What Will You Learn?

Embark on a transformative learning journey with our Birth Doula Diploma Course—designed to provide foundational knowledge of the doula’s role, the history of birth support, and the principles of ethical, non-clinical care. You’ll explore the stages of pregnancy, female reproductive anatomy, and fetal development, giving you a comprehensive understanding of labour and childbirth from a doula’s supportive perspective.

Learn how to empower expectant parents through informed choices, birth planning, and emotional reassurance. You’ll gain practical insight into comfort measures that can be used alongside clinical care, such as breathwork, positioning, and supportive communication during labour.

The course also addresses the importance of involving and supporting the wider birth team, including partners and family members, and includes strategies for clear communication, advocacy, and navigating potential emotional dynamics during birth.

Explore how doulas can offer non-medical support during common birth-related challenges, helping birthing individuals feel informed and emotionally grounded when discussing medical interventions with their healthcare provider.

The course also places strong emphasis on the postpartum period—highlighting ways doulas can offer compassionate support, assist with early bonding and breastfeeding guidance, and recognise when to signpost clients to professional care for emotional well-being.

A module on cultural awareness ensures you develop the tools to support individuals from diverse backgrounds with sensitivity and respect.

By the end of this course, you will:

Understand the role of a birth doula, including its historical and modern context
Learn how to offer emotional and practical support during pregnancy, labour, and postpartum
Explore the risks and benefits of common medical interventions (as part of informed decision-making support)
Discover strategies to support birth partners and families
Develop cultural competence for inclusive doula care

Individuals looking to embark on a career as a birth doula will find this course invaluable as it offers foundational knowledge, practical skills, and the nuances of professional etiquette required in the field.

Midwives, nurses, obstetricians, and other healthcare providers involved in maternal care will benefit from this birth doula training course to deepen their understanding of emotional and physical support, leading to a more holistic care approach. Childbirth educators can enhance their teaching with doula insights, offering a broader educational experience to expectant parents.

This course will count towards your CPD (Continued Professional Development).

Introduction
Part 1: Overview and Responsibilities of a Birth Doula
Part 2: The History of the Birth Doula
Part 3: Ethics and Professionalism
Test Your Knowledge
Key Learning Points Exercise
Module 1: Assessment

Part 1: The Female Reproductive System
Part 2: The Stages of Pregnancy
Part 3: The Stages of Fetal Development
Part 4: The Physiological Processes of Labour and Birth
Test Your Knowledge
Key Learning Points Exercise
Module 2: Assessment

Part 1: Antenatal Education
Part 2: Providing Emotional and Informational Support
Part 3: Birth Planning and Informed Decision Making
Test Your Knowledge
Key Learning Points Exercise
Module 3: Assessment

Part 1: Comfort Measures During Labour
Part 2: Non-Pharmacological Pain Relief Options
Part 3: Pharmacological Pain Management Options
Test Your Knowledge
Key Learning Points Exercise
Module 4: Assessment

Part 1: Labour Positions and Benefits
Part 2: Mobility and Fetal Positioning
Part 3: Birth Environments
Test Your Knowledge
Key Learning Points Exercise
Module 5: Assessment

Part 1: The Role of the Partner and Family
Part 2: Strategies for Involving the Partner and Family Members
Part 3: Conflict Resolution Skills
Test Your Knowledge
Key Learning Points Exercise
Module 6: Assessment

Part 1: Complications During Labour and Birth
Part 2: Medical Interventions
Test Your Knowledge
Key Learning Points Exercise
Module 7: Assessment

Part 1: The Immediate Postnatal Period
Part 2: Breastfeeding Advice
Part 3: Postnatal Mood Disorders
Test Your Knowledge
Key Learning Points Exercise
Module 8: Assessment

Part 1: Cultural Competence
Part 2: Addressing Cultural Discrimination
Part 3: Serving Diverse Populations
Test Your Knowledge
Key Learning Points Exercise
Module 9: Assessment

Part 1: Setting up Your Doula Practice
Part 2: Marketing Tips
Part 3: Legal and Ethical Considerations
Test Your Knowledge
Key Learning Points Exercise
Conclusion
Module 10: Assessment

The Birth Doula Diploma Course will take up to 150 hours to complete, working from home. There is no time limit for completing this course; it can be studied in your own time at your own pace.

This is a Level 3 course and will give you 150 CPD (Continued Professional Development) points.

Upon completion of your course assessments, you receive 2 certificates. A certificate from the Centre of Excellence and a CPD certificate displaying the number of CPD points earned from the course.

This course is endorsed by the Quality Licence Scheme. Therefore, upon successful completion of this course, learners can also receive a certificate of achievement from Quality Licence Scheme and a Learner Unit Summary, which lists the details of all the units the learner has completed as part of the course. (This certificate is optional and costs an additional £25).

The Quality Licence Scheme is part of the Skills and Education Group, a charitable organisation that unites education and skills-orientated organisations that share similar values and objectives. With more than 100 years of collective experience, the Skills and Education Group’s strategic partnerships create opportunities to inform, influence and represent the wider education and skills sector.

The Skills and Education Group also includes two nationally recognised awarding organisations; Skills and Education Group Awards and Skills and Education Group Access. Through their awarding organisations they have developed a reputation for providing high-quality qualifications and assessments for the education and skills sector. They are committed to helping employers, organisations and learners cultivate the relevant skills for learning, skills for employment, and skills for life.

Their knowledge and experience of working within the awarding sector enables them to work with training providers, through the Quality Licence Scheme, to help them develop high-quality courses and/or training programmes for the non-regulated market.

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FAQs

There is no time limit for completing your course it can be studied in your own time at your own pace.

All of our courses vary in length but most of our courses will take you between 50 - 250 hours to complete. The length of this course can be found in the Accreditations section above.

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