If you are a partner site, click here to enter your doula program data.

The Training

We currently have worked with 18 agencies in seven states to develop community-based doula programs. Each site serves a unique population from non-English speaking immigrants, to women in addiction treatment, to teenaged mothers. Our training team will work with your community to develop an interactive, intensive, 20-session course tailored for your target community. Community-based doulas are childbirth support providers who are of and from the community they serve. They are committed to helping other women in their communities have healthy pregnancies and satisfying birthing and parenting experiences. Doulas provide an array of services according to the needs of the mother and her family:

  More Information
  National Replication
  Networking Seminar
  A Doula Story

  • Linking the mother to health care and other services

  • Encouraging parental attachment

  • Staying with the mother through labor and delivery to coach and provide support

  • Teaching mother to breastfeed

  • Teaching mother to problem solve

  • Being available to answer questions

  • Providing home visits


Achieving Success

A successful doula has a commitment to helping women play an active role in their pregnancy and birth, a capacity to form strong trusting relationships, and an ability to listen and respond to a mother's needs. These women are committed to giving back to their communities and strengthening the resources for other community members.

One reason for the success of our replication sites is strong community partnerships. These partnerships involve a number of key stakeholders, including service professionals, local health and social service organizations, financial donors, community residents, and health care providers. We incorporate the needs, perceptions, and strengths of communities into strategies to improve community health. Individually, our doulas are successful at fostering a trusting relationship with the mother, and have had strong success in involving the father and extended family.

Chicago Health Connection has developed a phased approach to the replication process. We guide agencies through distinctive phases of planning and program development and provide appropriate consultation and technical support at each stage.

Our commitment to the agencies we partner with and the broad spectrum of support that we provide are hallmarks of Chicago Health Connection.


Interested?

If interested in national replication, or doula program development and training, please contact us. To apply to become a replication site, download an Application for the Community-Based Doula Program.


 
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