Training with The Elite Doula & Co is like no other training available. Period.

 

We are the original Christian, prolife doula training academy. We have taken the time to bring you a training that is truly better and more thorough than all the rest. 

​

We understand the poor quality and the huge gaps in training other doula training agencies are offering. The result, sadly all too often, is leaving new doulas feeling lost, like imposters, feeling unclear about where to even start or how to apply what little they've learned, and feeling like they don't have the confidence or skills that's really needed to do this sacred work with families.

​

At EDC we have created a curriculum that takes a deep and comprehensive dive into all the essential topics to set you up for success, so that you actually gain the right knowledge and the right skills needed to best serve your clients.

 

We offer an all-in-one comprehensive training program that prepares you to work with families as an Elite Certified Christian Pro-Life Doula. EDC certification includes trauma-informed prenatal coaching, fertility coaching, childbirth educator, L&D birth doula, postpartum doula, breastfeeding counseling, newborn/infant care specialist, as well as PICL (pregnancy, infant and child loss) bereavement doula training to provide our families with the very best continuity of care throughout their entire parenthood journey. That's 8 certifications upon graduation all in ONE course!!!! ​

​

When you're trained by The Elite Doula & Co you won't be left feeling like an imposter questioning yourself and your abilities, you won't be left feeling inadequate or insecure, struggling to answer your clients questions, and not knowing how to best serve them, or how to advocate for them when they are counting on you and need you most.

Instead, with EDC, you will gain the right education and the confidence knowing you are prepared to handle whatever comes your way, and knowing that you can serve all of your client's needs they way they deserve by offering the level of care you actually feel really good about. Speaking of being prepared to handle whatever my come your way, keeping our doula's safe while serving clients is crucial, so personal safety training is included in our curriculum. Other agencies don't even touch on keeping their doulas safe.   

​

We offer MORE in-depth education into all essential areas of preconception (trimester zero), infertility issues, prenatal and childbirth education, labor & delivery, postpartum recovery & family care, newborn & infant care, breastfeeding, trauma and maternal mental health, advocacy, pregnancy & infant loss bereavement, and business training starting in the very first module! 

You won't be left feeling hesitant about putting your services out there, you won't be left not knowing how to price your services, or what to have in your doula contracts. In fact, you'll be building your business with confidence all throughout your training with EDC. But you'll be building much more than just a doula business. You'll be building genuine relationships, real trust, and offering exceptional education, advocacy, support, and a level of care that has your clients trusting you deeply, hiring you again and again, and referring you often.

​

And because of how our curriculum is built, you'll be accepting clients and earning back on the investment you made for yourself well before graduation.

​

​

​This all sounds great! I'm ready to enroll now! 

​

Elite Certified Christian Prolife Doulas are more than a doula!

 

​Trauma-Informed Prenatal Coach - Trauma-informed prenatal coach training typically cost between $1,500 and $3,000

 

Women who are at an increased risk of childbirth trauma are women who have a fear of childbirth, women who have a history of previous trauma, who have limited family and social supports, or women with history of a difficult past birth experience. (Many of our students chose to become a doula because of their own past bad birth experiences.)

Elite students gain the training and skills needed to provide personalized, one-on-one trauma-informed prenatal coaching sessions with their clients combining a faith-based Biblical worldview, cultural and religious competency, prayer and scripture, with strategies for more than 25 of the most common triggers of anxiety and fear during pregnancy & childbirth, specifically geared for anxious or trauma-surviving mothers-to-be who are preparing for birth and parenting after experiencing trauma; grief/loss, assault, abuse/neglect, or previous bad birth experiences. 

Our doulas are not just trauma-informed, they are trauma-trained to provide true advocacy that best supports their clients, and to help reduce the risk of a traumatic birth experiences (doulas help protect the birth experience - medical providers are responsible for medical outcomes). You won't be left struggling not knowing what to do or say when complex situations arise and when clients need you most. 

​

 

Holistic Fertility Coach - Quality fertility coach training typically costs between $2,500 and $5,000

Through a Christian, faith-based and trauma-informed lens, EDC students gain the skills needed to coach and companion couples who dream of becoming parents. Our fertility coaches provide an exceptional level of personalized care, specialized education, and spiritual and individualized emotional support to couples who are trying to conceive. Our fertility coaches are trained to work with their clients from preconception all the way through building a healthy baby using integrative & natural/holistic approaches to health, wellness, and common infertility issues that better help a couple's chances of naturally conceiving, achieving a healthy pregnancy, and carrying a baby to term. Utilizing medical labs, up-to-date practices, and other tools learned, EDC students are equipped to help find and remove obstacles couples experience when trying to conceive. Our curriculum is continually updated with the latest evidence-based information, research and breakthroughs in fertility, hormone health, integrative and functional medicine. 

​

​

​Christian Childbirth Educator - Childbirth educator training typically costs between $800 and $2,000+ for training, workshops, and certification fees.

​

Elite Christian childbirth educators learn the skills to educate and empower parents-to-be to have healthier pregnancies and help reduce fear and anxiety on their pregnancy journey by providing parents with the knowledge and tools that will make their pregnancy and birthing experience as positive as possible while combining a Biblical, faith-centered perspective that respects God's divine design for motherhood and childbirth, integrated with up-to-date evidence-based practices. Christian childbirth education covers the spiritual, physical, cultural, and psychological and emotional aspects of childbirth, nutrition, exercise, fetal development, understanding and preparing for physiological childbirth - knowing how the body works during labor & delivery and understanding what to expect, comfort measures, relaxation, breathing and pain management options & techniques, labor positions, possible scenarios and medical interventions including C-sections, choices couples can make during pregnancy and childbirth ... and so much more! A full comprehensive, evidence-based childbirth education curriculum is provided for students to use and build their own Christian childbirth education course to provide both in-person and online CBE classes. 

​

 

L&D Birth Doula/Coach - Training to become a certified birth doula typically costs between $800 and $2,000+ for training, workshop, and certification fees.

​

 Elite Christian, prolife birth doulas/coaches support mothers who choose life. They learn the skills needed to provide their clients with spiritual, emotional and physical support, advocacy, expert education, continuous in-person labor support, provide an expert level of care at every stage during pregnancy and childbirth, help protect the birth environment and the wishes of mothers, and protect God's design for physiological childbirth when medically/safely possible. Our doulas are trauma-informed and trained to support both low and high-risk pregnancies, mothers with past bad or traumatic birth experiences, multiples, women with disabilities, and they support  women in all childbirth settings - home births, birthing centers, and hospital births. Our doulas are exceptionally skilled to help decrease bad birth experiences while increasing better birth outcomes for both mom and baby. Elite doulas are highly trained in the skills necessary to reduce secondary/vicarious trauma to protect their own emotional wellbeing, as well as preventing burnout.  

​

Postpartum Doula - Training to become a certified postpartum doula typically costs between $800 and $2,000

​

Elite postpartum doulas doula differently than other doulas. Instead of being trained for shiftwork acting as high-priced nannies or maids, Elite doulas understand that a postpartum doula’s role should be short-term, birth recovery-focused, and centered on easing the family's transition into life with a newborn. Postpartum recovery happens around the clock and we understand that newborns don’t follow a schedule—feeding, waking, and soothing happen both day and night, so Elite doulas are there for mom's postpartum recovery, as well as for parents' education, guidance and support. However, they aren't there to take over parenting responsibilities overnight so parents can sleep all night long without caring for their own baby—parents should always stay involved! As an Elite trained postpartum doula, you'll be bringing in tools and practices into your clients homes to coach, teach, guide, and support them, so they learn to feel confident in their parenting abilities—even when you’re not there. 

​

Doulas "mother the mother" and this is especially true for postpartum doulas! Elite postpartum doulas care for the physical, spiritual, emotional, nutritional, and baby care needs of new mothers through an evidence-based and Biblical worldview. Elite postpartum doulas are trained in physical and emotional maternal postpartum birth recovery. They are trained to provide a higher level of care by recognizing and mitigating sleep and nutritional depletion, to help prevent, identify, and refer out when needed for PMADs (Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders), urgent maternal warning signs, as well as PTSD from bad or traumatic birth experiences before the situation snowballs out of control, and how to best support your client if those do arise. Our doulas are also trained in breastfeeding counseling and newborn/infant care to provide the exceptional level of postpartum care families deserve. (See below). 

 

​

Breastfeeding Counselor - Training to become a certified breastfeeding/lactation counselor typically costs between $1,000 and $3,000

 

We believe in God's design for women to nurse their babies in the most natural way possible without all the (mostly unnecessary) interventions that create a cascade of interventions, that in turn leads to the disruption of natural physiological breastfeeding. You will learn to support and educate breastfeeding mothers who need extra help in problem solving to overcome the most common breastfeeding struggles and challenges, you will learn to support moms to exclusively breastfeed their babies at the breast, and to help ensure mom and baby can be successful on their breastfeeding journey together by providing care in a more gentle, natural, and holistic approach to breastfeeding that's personalized to your individual client's specific needs. You will learn how to identify lactation red flags, learn supportive language to use when you identify them, learn when feeding challenges are expected and what to do about them vs. when a referral would be appropriate, and you will learn how to frame lactation referrals in a way that supports mothers emotionally while strengthening professional collaboration. 

***NOTE*** This course will certify you as a Certified Breastfeeding Counselor. However, if you choose to become an IBCLC, we do not guarantee our course will fully satisfy or be accepted for IBCLCs lactation specific education requirements. IBCLCs are more medical-model and clinically-minded (physicians and registered nurses, for example), whereas CBCs tend to be a lot more holistic-minded (midwives, doulas, etc). Someone's style is usually more important to clients than someone's credentials. 

​

 

Newborn/Infant Care Specialist - Newborn/Infant Care Specialist training typically costs between $800–$2,500

​

Babies don’t come with an owner’s manual. Even when clients have previously had a baby, each baby is unique and has been blessed by God with their own little personalities and set of circumstances. Newborn/infant care specialists work one-on-one with parents to develop essential and strong parenting skills so they are able to safely care for their new bundle of joy, and to ensure a safe and healthy home environment for both the parents and their baby. 

​

As an Elite newborn/infant care specialist, you will learn a higher level of skills needed to support postpartum and/or new parents by providing in-home, hands-on, specialized support and education to help parents build confidence and manage caring for their babies with specific newborn issues - including bringing home NICU babies, premature babies, multiples, as well as the common newborn/infant care challenges most new parents face. Well-rested parents are safe parents, so you will learn how to minimize the risk of and relieve sleep deprivation by establishing healthy sleep/nap habits for baby including putting baby back to sleep at night to maximize rest for mom, safe cosleeping, and set baby up for long-term sleep success. You will also learn other essential skills such as feeding (bottle/supporting lactation), diapering, soothing and recognizing baby's cues, bathing, umbilical and circumcision care, baby & toddler safety -  babyproofing & childproofing the home, and so much more. 

​

***NOTE*** Unlike traditional NICS who work in a traditional fulltime nanny role, Elite NICS focuses exclusively on coaching, educating, and guiding postpartum or newer parents on how to safely care for the baby themselves OR they may care for baby overnight temporarily for parents who are extremely sleep deprived or when there is a risk of PMADs for mom. 

​

​

Pregnancy, Infant and Child Loss (PICL) Bereavement Doula - Training to become certified as an infant and child loss bereavement doula typically costs between $350 and $800+ for an entry-level basic training - whereas an advanced level training typically costs $1,000 or more

​​

Elite Christian Pregnancy, Infant and Child Loss Bereavement Doulas care for both grieving hearts and grieving souls, helping families feel supported emotionally and spiritually during one of the hardest experiences imaginable. EDC doulas have gone beyond basic entry-level training with complex grief and trauma training in high-risk pregnancy and loss, crisis response skills, and advanced communication techniques, and they are equipped to handle sudden or traumatic losses, medical complications, and emotionally intense hospital situations. EDC PICL doulas are trauma-informed and trauma-trained to companion, support, and walk alongside families who are grieving the loss of a pregnancy, stillbirth, newborn, young infant or child, while also incorporating Christian faith, prayer, and spiritual care, as well as cultural and religious competency into that support. This sacred work is much more than memory-making and praying with a family who've experienced a loss. 

​

Elite PICL Bereavement Doulas are highly trained on how to be sensitive to Christian beliefs about life, death, and eternity. They help families find meaning, hope, or comfort rooted in faith, they support spiritual questions like “Where is my baby now?” from a Christian faith-based perspective, they provide a calm and compassionate presence during and after loss (miscarriage, stillbirth, infant loss, or child loss), help parents process grief without judgment, offer guidance through decisions (memorials, holding the baby, etc.), helping families spend intentional time with their baby, support both parents and sometimes siblings, advocate for the family’s wishes in a medical setting to ensure the family’s wishes are respected, help parents communicate with doctors and nurses and help parents navigate the hospital system, autopsy, genetic testing, and funeral arrangements. They attend labor and delivery to support in cases of stillbirth or fatal diagnosis, help parents navigate NICU admission or loss situations, help families facing fatal diagnoses or when there are complicated medical decisions, support through miscarriage at home or in the hospital, help create meaningful moments & keepsakes (baptism, blessings, memory-making, footprints, photos, memory boxes) and encourage rituals like naming ceremonies or memorial services, assist in honoring the child’s life, no matter how brief, connect families with grief counselors, support groups, or churches, provide maternal postpartum recovery care and support including lactation suppression counseling, help family reintegrating into daily life, provide ongoing follow-up support and grief guidance over the weeks and months after the loss, support for anniversaries and triggers, and much more. 

​

***NOTE*** Elite doulas are not trained to support women through an abortion. 

​

Attention Montana residents - we are working on publishing instructional hours for our course to satisfy Montana's new requirements. Each of the 8 sections above have well over 20 hours each, so our program more than satisfies the 20 hour minimum. 

​

This all sounds great! I'm ready to enroll now! 

​

I have a few questions first!

​

​

What exactly is a doula? 

 

Dou·la /ˈdo͞olə/ - comes from ancient Greek term meaning a woman who serves or  mothering the mother. It also includes ancestral wisdom passed down from generation-to-generation. Today, doulas are sometimes referred to as non-medically trained labor coaches. Doulas should have professional training and experience in trauma-informed care, advocacy, fertility, pregnancy, childbirth education, labor & delivery, breastfeeding, postpartum recovery & maternal care, newborn/infant care, early childhood parenting, and PICL (Pregnancy, Infant & Child Loss) bereavement support.

​

She is a practitioner. She is a professional. She is a birthworker. She is a coach. She is a DOULA.

​

She gives professional, spiritual, emotional, educational and informational support to moms during pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and loss.

​

She is all-knowing in childbirth education.

​

She is a breastfeeding guru.

​

She is a maternal mental health professional.

​

She statistically has helped birthing moms have more satisfying births with lower incidences of unnecessary medical interventions during labor and delivery.

​

She statistically has helped lower the risk of postpartum depression.

​

She works hard.

​

She DESERVES a living wage.

​

She is her own boss - a boss babe.

​

She is NOT a maid or a high-priced nanny - despite what some may think.

​​

She is NOT always without medical or mental health training.

​

She comes with her own unique skill set.

​

She is NOT ethically bound to someone or some big agencies ideals of scope of practice or ideals on how she supports women - one size does not fit all.

​

She is NOT limited in her own unique abilities as dictated by some certifying agencies.

​

She is NOT formally or legally regulated by any state entity - or other doulas’ beliefs for that matter!

​

She has full autonomy - the same we strive to give our clients.

​

In the end, if you my sister, have the experience, knowledge, training, skill set, life experiences and ability to serve a woman in anyway outside the parameters some larger agencies have set for their own benefit - and it does not legally or ethically venture into a regulated professional scope of practice that you are not qualified for - then by all means DO YOU! Doula - DO YOU!

​

PS - I do want to add that if a doula is trained in other professions such as a social worker, pastor, massage therapist, herbalist, nurse, therapist, coach, etc., and is serving her clients in a dual role wearing multiple hats - it is ethically best practice to be transparent and make her additional role/skill set known to her clients.

​

That is what a Doula is!