From Calling
to Competence
Our in person birth doula training prepares doulas to provide knowledge, compassionate non-clinical, client-centered support throughout pregnancy, labor, birth, and the early postpartum period.
Our curriculum blends physiological birth, medicalized birth, high-risk considerations, reproductive justice, and systems navigation so you are ready to support families in a home, hospital, community, agency, and independent settings.
Seemless & Secured
This Training Is For You If...
You're ready to build a practice that sustains you financially and professionally.
You're a community advocate, healthcare worker, or parent who wants to support families intentionally.
You care deeply about maternal health equity and want to be part of the solution.
You want rigorous training that prepares you for professional practice
You feel pulled toward birth work but don't know where to start.
About the Trainer
Adwapa
Asenso
Adwapa Asenso is a DONA International Certified Birth Doula, childbirth educator, and doula trainer with experience supporting more than 200 births across the United States, United Kingdom, and Ghana. Her work spans hospitals, birth centers, and homes, including physiological births, high-risk pregnancies, medical interventions, and cesarean births.
Adwapa began her professional birthwork journey under the guidance of Lorenza Holt, a respected maternal health advocate, educator, DONA Approved Birth Doula Trainer, and Spinning Babies® Approved Trainer. After completing her foundational doula training and certification through DONA International, Adwapa continued her professional development under Lorenza's mentorship, completing her doula trainer training through the Roots and Wings program.
This mentorship, combined with years of hands-on experience across diverse birth settings and healthcare systems, shapes Adwapa's approach to training the next generation of doulas.
Her teaching emphasizes practical skills, evidence-informed care, cultural responsiveness, ethical practice, and the confidence to support families through both expected and unexpected birth experiences.
Through DoudouKare, Adwapa carries forward a legacy of rigorous education, compassionate care, and professional accountability—preparing doulas who are not only knowledgeable, but ready to serve their communities with skill, integrity, and purpose.
Curious about the journey that led Adwapa into birthwork?
Rooted in Experience. Built for the Next Generation.
Beyond Affirmations
What You Will Learn
Maternal Health, Birth Equity & Reproductive Justice
Explore the history of maternity care, maternal health disparities, reproductive justice, and the doula's role in promoting respectful, equitable care.
Professional Identity, Ethics & Scope of Practice
Understand the nonclinical role of a doula, professional boundaries, confidentiality, ethical responsibilities, and collaboration with families and healthcare teams.
Pregnancy Anatomy, Physiology & Common Concerns
Build a practical understanding of reproductive anatomy, fetal development, pregnancy changes, and common conditions and complications.
Trauma-Informed, Birther-Centered Support
Develop communication and advocacy skills that honor client autonomy, informed decision-making, emotional safety, and diverse family experiences.
Pregnancy Loss & Diverse Reproductive Journeys
Learn compassionate, sensitive approaches to supporting families experiencing miscarriage, stillbirth, abortion, fertility challenges, and different pathways to parenthood.
Labor Physiology & Recognizing Labor
Understand the stages of labor, hormonal processes, physical and emotional changes, and how to recognize and support labor progression.
Comfort Measures, Movement & Labor Support
Practice hands-on comfort techniques, labor positioning, movement, relaxation, and individualized physical and emotional support.
Medical Interventions & Birth Variations
Explore inductions, labor augmentation, fetal monitoring, pain management, cesarean births, and other interventions while maintaining appropriate professional boundaries.
Birth, Immediate Postpartum & Newborn Transition
Learn about pushing and birth, immediate postpartum recovery, newborn adjustment, early feeding, and family-centered support during the first hours after birth.
Birth Settings, Care Teams & Systems Navigation
Understand hospital, birth center, and home birth environments, healthcare team roles, power dynamics, and effective professional collaboration.
Postpartum Wellness & Family Adjustment
Explore postpartum recovery, emotional wellness, infant feeding, newborn care, partner involvement, community resources, and planning for the transition home.
Sustainable Doula Practice & MassHealth Foundations
Develop foundational business skills, including client relationships, pricing, professional sustainability, and an introduction to Massachusetts MassHealth enrollment and documentation.
Our training combines classroom learning with hands-on demonstrations, birth simulations, case discussions, and practical assessments.
Training Completion
To successfully complete the program, participants must:
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Attend all required instructional hours.
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Actively participate in discussions, demonstrations, and practical learning activities.
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Complete required foundational learning activities and assessments.
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Demonstrate an understanding of professional ethics, boundaries, and the nonclinical doula role.
Participants who meet these requirements receive a DoudouKare Certificate of Training Completion, recognizing their foundational birth doula education.
Professional certification through DoudouKare (DK-CBD) is a separate process with additional experience, portfolio, evaluation, and competency requirements.
NEXT TRAINING
SPRING 2027
Worcester, MA
FORMAT
INVESTMENT
AVAILABILITY
In-Person Weekend
$1,400
Small Cohorts
Beyond Training: Professional Certification
Education Builds the Foundation. Competence Earns the Credential.
At DoudouKare, completing training is the beginning of professional development, not the finish line. The DoudouKare Certified Birth Doula (DK-CBD) credential recognizes doulas who demonstrate the knowledge, practical skills, professional judgment, and ethical standards necessary to support families throughout pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.
Professional certification is separate from the Certificate of Training Completion and requires candidates to successfully complete the following:
Certification Requirements
1. Foundational Birth Doula Training
Complete DoudouKare's Full Spectrum Birth Doula Training or an approved equivalent program.
2. Documented Birth Experience
Complete at least three qualifying birth support experiences and 25 documented hours of client support.
3. Client & Professional Evaluations
Submit three client evaluations and two evaluations from qualified professionals who have observed your work.
4. Doula Practice Portfolio
Submit a curated professional portfolio demonstrating the integration of knowledge, practical tools, ethical principles, and client-centered care.
5. Group Capstone Case Study Presentation
Demonstrate critical thinking, informed decision-making, professional boundaries, and practical support strategies through a collaborative birth scenario presentation.
6. Competency Assessment
Successfully complete the required knowledge assessment and demonstrate an understanding of birth physiology, interventions, advocacy, professional ethics, and scope of practice.
7. Professional Standards
Acknowledge and agree to uphold DoudouKare's Standards of Practice and Professional Code of Ethics.
Maintaining Your Certification
The DK-CBD credential is valid for three years. Certified doulas must complete 15 hours of approved continuing education, including two hours focused on ethics, and submit a renewal application.
The DoudouKare Standard
We believe professional birthwork requires more than compassion. It requires accountability, sound judgment, ethical practice, cultural humility, and a commitment to continued learning.
Our educational approach emphasizes respect for each family's autonomy, informed decision-making, confidentiality, professional boundaries, and collaboration within the maternity care system.
We are committed to preparing doulas who understand both the value and the limitations of their role.
Your Learning Doesn't End in the Classroom
The transition from student to practicing doula brings new questions, unfamiliar situations, and opportunities to grow.
DoudouKare provides three months of post-training mentorship to help graduates reflect on their experiences, strengthen professional judgment, navigate challenging situations, and build sustainable practices.
Mentorship creates space for case discussions, professional guidance, peer learning, and continued skill development.
