The Elite Doula & Co
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Training with The Elite Doula & Co is like no other training available. Period.
This is not Pick-A-Part. We offer an all-in-one comprehensive training that prepares you to work with families as an Elite Certified Christian Pro-Life Doula - that includes fertility, childbirth education, birth, postpartum, breastfeeding counseling, newborn/infant care, as well as PICL (pregnancy, infant and child loss) bereavement training to provide our families with the very best continuity of care throughout their entire parenthood journey.
***We've added a L&D Birth Doula Course without all the extra bells and whistles of our full EDC training! More details below! ***
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 have professional training and experience in fertility, pregnancy, childbirth education, labor & delivery, breastfeeding, postpartum maternal care, newborn/infant care and early childhood parenting, and sometimes PICL (Pregnancy, Infant & Child Loss) bereavement knowledge either through an organization, her own experiences, private training, or any combination of her life experiences.
She is a practitioner. She is a professional. She is a birthworker. She is a coach. She is a DOULA.
She gives professional, 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 - despite what some may think.
She is NOT a high-priced nanny.
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 doula, 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!
How is EDC different than other certifying agencies?
We are proud to be going against the grain so to speak, to be shaking things up, and doing things better here at EDC. Here are just a few ways we are doing that:
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EDC is built upon faith-based and Christ-centered principals. We build our practices around teachings of our Heavenly Father and His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, we have built our curriculum around conservative Christian values, morals, and beliefs, as well as using traditional family and identifying language in all our material, including our training curriculum.
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EDC's student body is made up of women belonging to many different Christian religions and backgrounds, therefore students will become culturally and religiously competent during their training with EDC, and our curriculum includes first and foremost Biblical teachings, but also will include the perspectives of multiple differing Christian theories and religious backgrounds to represent the entire Body of Christ, as well as our student body.
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We believe that as a doula, your clients will come from many different religious backgrounds (Roman Catholic, Orthodox Catholic, Anglican, Protestants, Latter-Day Saints, Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Seventh-Day Adventist, Nondenominational, Multidenominational, etc., and it would be unethical and negligent on our part to not cover differing religious/cultural backgrounds and perspectives in our training.
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We believe our Heavenly Father created man and woman who are divinely designed with equally important, yet different abilities, responsibilities, and roles within the marriage, the family, and society. We honor and cherish God's design for men and women, for masculinity and femininity. We know and respect the truth that only women give birth and breastfeed their babies, therefore we do not train our doulas about the LGBTQ lifestyle or how to specialize in working with the social/emotional complexities within the LGBTQ community. An advanced training with a liberal-rooted/secular agency would be recommended before working with LGBTQ families, as we acknowledge that it takes special training and more advanced skill sets to serve this population.
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Acknowledging and knowing who your ideal clients are is respected and encouraged. We do not force you to be all inclusive in your practice.
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We have a comprehensive curriculum that integrates the ancestral wisdom, philosophy and principals of a doula combined with professional coaching methods. We know you want to give your clients the very best care, and now you can. EDC has created an exclusive education like no other.
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As it pertains to birth work and women and children’s health, we believe in informed consent and in a truly blended space where the necessity and respect for medical care providers and modern medicine, meets ancestral traditional women’s wisdom of birth practices, as well as complementary herbal & botanical integrative medicines. It is not an us against them mentality seen in other doula and birthing communities. We also value and appreciate OBs and midwives personal experiences and anecdotal evidence.
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We believe in true advocacy. Some women will not have a voice due to trauma or lack of understanding. You are their advocate and we encourage you to speak up when/if needed to protect your client.
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We believe in integrating a holistic approach to birth work if you choose. You will learn about essential oils and herbal remedies for pregnancy, birth, postpartum and babies.