Training Syllabus

Description

This is a 32-hour rigorous online doula training program that teaches learners the skills and knowledge needed to provide Full Circle Doula care to expecting families. The training is divided into four weeks and covers a wide range of topics including prenatal care, labor and delivery, postpartum and infant care, African American birth traditions, and more. The training is the first requirement to be certified as an SMC Full Circle Doula Birth Companion.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this training, learners should be able to:

1. Understand the SMC Full Circle Doula philosophy and provide culturally competent care to expecting families.
2. Identify the signs of pregnancy and common pregnancy discomforts as well as be able to provide appropriate support and resources.
3. Assist families in creating a birth plan and provide support during labor and delivery.
4. Understand the postpartum period and provide appropriate support and resources.
5. Recognize and honor African American birth traditions and postpartum rituals.
6. Be able to serve as a professional, ethical doula with strong communication skills as they relate to expecting families and other health professionals.
7. Understand public health in maternal and infant health and work towards improving birth outcomes, reducing maternal morbidity, and learning the causes of maternal mortality.
8. Establish a doula business and be a leader in the doula profession.
9. Begin developing a support network of other doula professionals and community resources.

Structure

This training has both independent learning components where learners will engage independently with instructional materials and lessons as well as interaction and with instructors and peer learners via weekly 3 ½ hour live instruction sessions via online streaming. Attendance and participation are required for each weekly live session.

Assignments

There are assignments associated with each week of the training. These include short essays, posting short answers in the course discussion groups and interacting with learners in the discussion group. Completion of all assignments is a requirement to successfully complete the training. Assignments can be found in the learning portal.

Pre-Training Required Reading

The below reading materials form the foundation of this training. Please make every effort to read all materials before the first training day.

1. SMC Full Circle Doula Philosophy, an abstract by Shafia M. Monroe. You can download that here.
2. The Doula Guide to Birth by Ananda Lowe and Rachel Zimmerman. You can order that here or potentially find it in your local library.
3. Listen to Me Good, Life Story of an Alabama Midwife, by Margaret Charles Smith and Linda Janet Holmes. You can order that here or potentially find in your local library.

Schedule

Orientation: Learn How to Navigate Your Training

• Your Dashboard and Training Group
• Progressing From One Lesson to the Next
• Weekly Live Zoom Meetings with Instructors
• Site Integrity: Content Sharing
• Quizzes: Pass/Fail
• Quiz: Course Navigation and Resources

Module 1: Orientation and SMC Full Circle Doula Care

• Welcome to SMC Online Full Circle Doula Birth Companion Training LLC
• SMC Full Circle Doula Philosophy
• Know Your Organization
• Quiz: Know Your Organization
• Tell Us About Yourself
• Who are SMC Full Circle Doula Birth Companions
• Opening and Rituals: Part 1
• Opening and Rituals: Part 2
• Certification Completion Guidelines
• 20th Century African American Midwife Legacy
• Bringin’ In Da Spirit Documentary
• Quiz: Bringin’ In Da Spirit

Module 2: Pregnancy Care and Nutrition

• Signs of Pregnancy
• Common Pregnancy Discomforts and How to Address Them
• Documentary: When the Bough Breaks
• Infant Mortality Prevention
• Quiz: Infant Mortality Prevention
• Birth Vision
• Creating A Birth Plan
• Nutritional Tips for Pregnant Women
• Herbs and Salves
• Doula Walk and Talk

Module 3: Labor and Delivery

• The Doula Bag
• Reproductive Anatomy
• Working With the Medical Team
• Physiology of Labor and Birth
• Quiz: Physiology of Labor and Birth
• Understanding Labor
• Signs of Labor
• Signs of Labor Part 2
• Labor Comfort Measures
• Labor Comfort Techniques
• Understanding Cesarean
• Quiz: Understanding Cesarean

Module 4: Postpartum Care and Entrepreneurship

• Black Birth Traditions
• Understanding Postpartum
• Understanding Newborns
• Quiz: Understanding Newborns
• African American Postpartum Care
• Mother Shower Blessing
• Black Birth Traditions
• African American Postpartum Belly Binding
• African American Postpartum Belly Binding: Part 2
• HIPAA Compliance
• The Labor & Postpartum Doula
• The Professional Doula
• Starting A Doula Business
• Post-Training Evaluation
• Final Proficiency Exam

Completion Requirements

All learners must complete all coursework, attend all live sessions, and receive scores of no less than 80% on all quizzes as well as the Final Proficiency Exam to successfully complete the training.

Timeframe to Complete Course

All Completion Requirements must be completed within the four (4) week training dates. SMC does recognize that an extension may be necessary at times due to extenuating circumstances. If an emergency presents itself, a learner may request an extension to complete the training. The request needs to be made within 48 hours of an emergency but no later than the last day of the course. Any extension will end one week (7 days) after the last official day of the course. Additional time might be permitted, depending on the circumstances and at the discretion of SMC.

Support

If you need any support regarding the instruction or assignments, please always feel free to reach out to your instructor. All other issues including any need for technical support, billing, certification process/requirements, etc. should be directed to the SMC Learner Services Help Desk at support@smcdoulas.com.