Birth as Biology, Rhythm, and Story

You’ll learn the physiology of labor while understanding the emotional and spiritual layers that shape each birth. 

Becoming the Calm in the Storm

This course teaches you the nervous-system skills that make doulas indispensable. You learn how to regulate yourself, co-regulate with others, hold intensity, and anchor the room when things get unpredictable.

Birth Across Cultures, Contexts, and Systems

Birth doesn’t look the same everywhere. You’ll explore how labor unfolds in homes, clinics, hospitals, birth centers, and traditional settings around the world. This global lens prepares you to support families in any environment—and understand how culture, access, and system shape birth.

About the course

This course guides you into the core of birthwork: understanding the physiology of labor, the emotional and hormonal rhythms of the birthing body, and the practical comfort measures that help keep birth unfolding smoothly. You’ll learn how to stay grounded, navigate intensity, support partners, and work within different birth settings and systems. If Course 1 gives you the “why,” this course gives you the how: the tools, the knowledge, the presence, and the instincts to support birth with confidence. This is where you begin truly stepping into the role of a birth doula.

What You’ll Learn

By the end of Course 2, you’ll understand: ♥ The scope, role, and responsibilities of a birth doula ♥ The hormonal blueprint + stages of labor ♥ Fetal positioning, variations, and physiological flow ♥ The limbic system + how to be the “calm in the storm”  ♥Comfort measures: touch, pressure, massage, movement, breath, sound ♥ How to support partners + create a strong birth team ♥ Birth across settings (home, birth center, hospital, free birth) ♥ How to advocate ethically within medical systems ♥ The spiritual, emotional, and ceremonial aspects of birth ♥ Your unique birth presence as a doula

Curriculum

12 Chapters · 62 Lessons

  1. 1

    What Is a Birth Doula?

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Welcome to the Journey of Becoming a Birth Doula

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      The Scope and Practice of a Birth Doula

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      Story as Medicine: Laura Hayward

    4. (Included in full purchase)

      Overview- The Doula’s Role in Prenatal, Birth, & Immediate Postpartum Support

  2. 2

    Pregnancy Awareness & Warning Signs

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Pregnancy & Baby's Development

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Common Pregnancy Complications

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      Warning Signs

  3. 3

    All Things Birth

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      VIDEO: Preparing Your Client For Birth ~ Painting the Picture of Birth

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Headspace, Surrender, and the Journey Inward

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      VIDEO: Getting in the Right Headspace for Birth

    4. (Included in full purchase)

      VIDEO: How to Help Bring on Birth

    5. (Included in full purchase)

      When the Call Comes

    6. (Included in full purchase)

      Stages of Labor - Overview

    7. (Included in full purchase)

      VIDEO: Early Labor

    8. (Included in full purchase)

      Protecting Hormonal Flow

    9. (Included in full purchase)

      Setting the Tone of the Birth Space

    10. (Included in full purchase)

      Labor Stations Part 1

    11. (Included in full purchase)

      Labor Stations Part 2

  4. 4

    The Biomechanics of Birth

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      VIDEO: Dr Nadia Wahid on the Physiology of Birth

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Anatomy & Physiology of Pregnancy

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      Anatomy and Physiology of Birth

  5. 5

    The Nervous System in Labor

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Being the Dominant Limbic System

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      The Doula as the Calm in the Storm

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      Nervous System Literacy for Doulas

    4. (Included in full purchase)

      VIDEO: Helping Manage Pain

    5. (Included in full purchase)

      The Power of Touch, Tools, and Pampering

    6. (Included in full purchase)

      VIDEO: Hands on Support

    7. (Included in full purchase)

      The Non-Touch Tools

    8. (Included in full purchase)

      Birth Affirmations

    9. (Included in full purchase)

      Birth Affirmation Cards

  6. 6

    Medical Interventions

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      VIDEO: Alexis Thompson on Medical Interventions

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Understanding Medical Interventions

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      VIDEO: Medical Interventions

    4. (Included in full purchase)

      Advocacy and Informed Decision-Making

    5. (Included in full purchase)

      VIDEO: Using your B.R.A.I.N.

    6. (Included in full purchase)

      Epidurals!

  7. 7

    The Pushing Party

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      The Pushing Party

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      VIDEO: Time to Push!

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      VIDEO: Positions for Pushing

  8. 8

    Reclaiming Cesareans as a Rite of Passage

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Reclaiming Cesareans as a Rite of Passage

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      VIDEO: Belly Births

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      Ceremony & Emotional Integration After Cesarean

  9. 9

    Doula-ing the Partners

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Partner Involvement

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      VIDEO: Listen Up Partners

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      Story as Medicine: Tatiana & Alexandru

  10. 10

    Working Within Systems

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Being the Bridge in Medical Birth Spaces

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Building Bridges in Medical Settings

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      Adapting Your Presence Across Environments

    4. (Included in full purchase)

      Land and Water

    5. (Included in full purchase)

      Understanding Free Births

  11. 11

    Spirituality, Ceremony & Rituals in Birthwork

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Creating Ceremonies

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Remembering the Sacred

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      Rebozos, Ritual, and the Intelligence of Cloth

    4. (Included in full purchase)

      Story as Medicine: Martha & Luzmila

  12. 12

    Getting Started as a Birth Doula

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Meeting People Where They Are At

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      The Purpose of Prenatal Visits

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      VIDEO: How I Doula

    4. (Included in full purchase)

      Supporting Birth Plans & Expectations

    5. (Included in full purchase)

      Structuring Prenatal Visits

    6. (Included in full purchase)

      (Review) Communication & Advocacy in Real Time

    7. (Included in full purchase)

      Becoming a Doula Is Becoming Yourself

    8. (Included in full purchase)

      Once You Become a Birthworker, You Are a Birthworker for Life

Step into the heart of birthwork with perspective, skill, & confidence.

Enroll in Course 2 and begin your journey as a birth doula.

Please contact us for access. (opens email in new window)