What are the different kinds of professional labor support?
Regulation and Training – Labor support professionals are completely unregulated; anyone can call herself a doula. Some women are so enthused about birth after their own birth experience that they begin offering their services to other birthing women without any formal training. Most professional doulas are certified, meaning they have taken some kind of official doula training course; this course may have taken just a few hours, or it may have taken several weeks or months of guided correspondence study, followed by a weekend workshop. Some doulas are also Licensed Midwives, which means that they have a birth-related education equivalent to a three-year midwifery program. Services Offered – Every doula determines the unique set of services that she offers. Most doulas do not provide any clinical services, such as assessment of the mother’s or baby’s physical well-being; their services are generally limited to comfort measures, reassurance and some patient rights advocacy. Some doulas
