Certification Program Database Update
In February of this year, we wrote about an unfortunate trend of doula training programs awarding certifications’instead of certificates of completion to participants who completed their initial training program: https://blog.doulamatch.net/blog/doulas-need-certification-standards . The distinction between a certification and a certificate of completion matters. Watering down the definition of what being a certified doula means is hurting our validity in the eyes of consumers and health care professionals.
After reviewing over 300 organizations that claimed to certify doulas: https://blog.doulamatch.net/blog/certification-rubric-coming, we removed 115 organizations from our database that were either defunct or could not pass our litmus test as a certification organization. Our goal with this effort is to maintain the integrity of our certification program database. If an organization claims to certify doulas, they must state what certification is awarded on their certification certificate and the standards by which the certification is achieved and maintained.
The doula occupation is unlicensed and unregulated. There is no occupation-wide standard for what a certified doula should know and be able to do. We offer consumers an opportunity to understand the vast differences in certifications awarded by the 200+ doula certification organizations currently in existence here: https://doulamatch.net/evaluating-doula-certifying-organizations